All grain hefeweizen turned out yellow instead of golden?

Brewing Processes
1

Kegged my first hefe today and poured a sample just to see the color and it is glowstick yellow. Not the golden amber color that you typically get with a hefe. It’s also very watery which I’ve been told will go away after conditioning in the keg for a bit.

I used a franziskaner clone recipe

7lb german wheat malt
2lb 12oz pilsner
1oz hersbrucker
.2 oz SaaS
.2 oz perle
.34 lb maltodextrin

I made a yeast starter and used wyeast 3068

I hit my OG right on the money at 1.045 and final gravity was 1.012.

Just curious as to what i may need to change next time because this turned out nothing like franziskaner.

2

German breweries get some additional color from decoctions. If it matters to you, you could add a pinch of melanoidin malt.

3

The grains on this one are pretty light, so that might be one possibility…as Skyler mentioned, decoction could be a factor. What is the color on the wheat malt? There are various varieties, and some are darker than others. If you’re happy with the flavor and just want to adjust color, a bit of Carafa II can be used for some minor color adjustment.

4

I’ve stopped buying Hefeweizen since it’s so hard to get fresh. Interestingly, it darkens as it ages. Perhaps you’ve brewed a fresher example than what you’re used to buying locally?

5

Took me a while to get my color dialed in but ended up with 50/25/25 wheat/pils/munich.  A little specialty malt can also work as suggested.  Also, 1.045 is little on the low side for me and aim 1.050ish.  On paper it doesn’t appear much difference but it is to me.

6

I am curious as to what you think the srm is on the beer. Also it’s clarity. I find that when I keg beers they change in the keg over time. Mid keg the beer looks different than beginning and end. Sometimes it clears up a bit and the color changes. Sometimes they are just hazy, sometimes yeast matter. None of this is drastic change, but you know when you’re close to he bottom. My guess is it’s still within style.

7

The guidelines call for 2-6 SRM. I wouldn’t doubt if several brewers work really hard to get a 2. Maybe just consider yourself a master of getting the color low

8

My hefe’s are always very light. I’ve never thought of it as a negative, as I want it to be a lighter beer.

The recipe I’ve used for years for a Hoegaarden clone always comes out more orange than the original, though. I’ve stopped worrying about that, as it tastes just fine.  Looks more like a Blue Moon though, which some people seem to appreciate.