American Yeasty-Wheatsen

Also known as my Widmer Hefeweizen clone...as usual, I couldn't wait a whole week after bottling up my American hefeweizen ('yeast-wheat' beer), but I made it a whole four days, and so I think I did pretty well. This one finishes quickly anyway (that's what she said!), so I figured why not. So how is it? See for yourself.

damn you, tube! or should I say, damn you, blogger! Go to my youtube page to see the non-chopped but still pitifully lo-res version.

Yes, I am very, very happy with how this turned out. As I mention in the video, this was an homage to the brewery that got me turned on to craft beer way back in the when, Widmer Brothers. In 1991 I was starting art school in Portland, Oregon, and my first job was at a brewpub. My co-workers and I whiled away many an hour and many a pint after our shifts talking shop, talking shit, and getting really drunk on great micro-brews from Widmer. That was my introduction to craft beer. Since that time Widmer has gone coast-to-coast, and their quality has suffered in kind. But I still wanted to offer them respect for getting my attention back then, and kindling a love of great beer that continues even stronger today. I wanted to clone the hefeweizen in particular, as that was and is their signature beer. Here's to you, Kurt and Rob Widmer. You truly rock.


I'm also super happy because this is my first batch, number seven to be exact, that I consider to be an unequivocable success. It's far from perfect, don't get me wrong, but it's the first one that when I taste it, the word 'but' doesn't immediately spring to mind. That's a milestone for me, and gives me so much encouragement to brew on. Thanks again, Widmer dudes!


I brewed a half batch of this one, due to some constraints I was under, but the next brew will be a full-batch (5 gal./20 L) all grain repeat of the same brew--which was also only my second all grain brew, incidentally, and the first with fresh, dedicated ingredients (my first AG batch having been a 'bastard batch' to use up extra, out-dated stuff in the fridge before my trip to Portland last month; the results were not great.) The experiment this next time will be to see how the finished full batch differs from the half batch, just from increasing the volume. I suck at math, and rely too much on brewing software, so I expect deficiencies related to those two things will reveal themselves.


Most notably, I am curious about the mysterious workings of that most fundamental property of beer, the yeast. Quite like the Midichlorians of Star Wars, which excrete 'Force' juice, yeast are the very life of beer; they are all around us, and they flow through us. But unlike Midichlorians, yeast are not a cheap cop-out to explain a story that has run aground on a serious sandbar called guaranteed box-office success. Yeast are actually a real force to be reckoned with as a brewer.


Seems like I'm getting deeper into this post than I intended to, but suffice to say, I've collected the excess yeast from the half batch ('harvested' it, in other words), and will revive and propagate it for the full batch. So I'll be looking for differences in the yeasts' performance and flavor characteristics in particular, and differences related to mash temperatures vs. container volumes as well.


Oh, before I hang it up though, I'd like to say a word about the lemon. A lot of people are like, 'Lemons are for sissies' or 'F*ck that sh*t' when it comes to lemons in beer, for various reasons. Other people even go, 'Oh then, why not put a pineapple wheel in!' or 'I bet a ~ would be great!' But there have to be limits. There are regional and seasonal precedents that allow such things to be added to a pint of beer. It's not simply 'anything goes' when it comes to these things. But that's all I will say on the matter now.


To be continued...