Hey folks, hope you guys are doing well.
So in this wait of my beer get ready, 4 in the fermentation now, I bought one weissbier and loved, for me was a surprise because it was for me a style I thought it was bland and unpleasant, the only one I like is the schneider weiss. So after this surprise I’m gonna brew some in the summer, I live in the southern hemisphere so summer is a few months away, but I get a stuck point, which yeast use? I don’t have the option of liquid yeast from you North America and Europe, so dry it is. After some read I’m inclined to a yeast similar to the bavarian wheat from wyeast, the 3638, not the 3068 because I like the idea of the some other fruits esters in the beer beside banana. Anyone have some tips about it? And tips about hefeweizen in geral would be good too, like the ferulic acid rest would be recommended? I’m after more fruit than clove.
The yeast I’m considering is munich classic lallemand and mangrove M20
I would recommend Munich Classic yeast… except you said you don’t want to use something like 3068 and I’m pretty sure these are approximately equivalent… so then maybe you would not want to use the Classic.
Mangrove Jack M20 = Munich “Regular” and will NOT give you a classic hefeweizen but is more of a witbier yeast. Normally I wouldn’t recommend this one for a hefe, but if you are looking for something different, this one should give you some pear and pepper flavors if used warm enough around 70 F (21 C). Probably not much clove or banana at all.
You could also try Fermentis T-58, I haven’t tried this yet but based on lots of reviews it should be interesting and close enough for a hefe. Also the BE-134 or MJ M31 could also probably pass for a hefe, with again some pear and pepper going on. All of these are more Belgian than German but pretty close, the latter two with much higher attenuation ~85%.
I have attempted many hefeweizens of many variations over the years, but with limited success. My greatest success was with WLP380, fresh but underpitched at ~70 F. I’ve been wanting to try the Munich Classic yeast for a while but haven’t yet. That or 3068 which should be the same. As far as underpitching… I’m not sure anymore if it really helps. Ferulic acid rest, I don’t know, I haven’t tried it yet either. Next time around I plan on reviewing the following site in detail before trying to brew this style again.
https://braumagazin.de/article/brewing-bavarian-weissbier-all-you-ever-wanted-to-know/
Hope this helps. Prost!
IMO, T58 isn’t even in the ballpark for a hef.
I agree. More of a belgian yeast. I have used in wits previously but wouldn’t use it in a hefe
Thanks for the response BrewBama, Iliff Ave Brewhouse, Dennis and dmtaylor
As for you said dmTaylor, I want something different but not away from hefe, I was look for a more schneider vibe yeast, banana and vanilla ester with some red fruit, apple and plum, and some ppl say the 3638 it the one they use, and I’m keeping in mind that gonna use the schneider beers as a inspiration not try to do a clone. I’m really bummed to know the M20 is not gonna give me the cool banana plus vanilla was they say. Well look like gonna go with the munich classic, and maybe a little touch of vanilla or gonna try do some with the classic and other half with the M20, but a long shot here. And yes gonna underpitch by 80% of total yeast I would need.
Never seen the Munich wheat strain. Super cool! I could see myself using that for something in the future…
Just a response folks I got a way to grab some 3638 wyeast, my sisters are doing a exchange program in Italy so they gonna buy it for me and bring me, hope everything work out, if not munich classic and M20.
Cheers folks and thanks for the help
I came across this thread when I was looking for a dry hefe yeast. I ended up using the M20 and was pretty happy with it. Fermenting in the low 60s I got a lot of clove and some banana, with a little bit of fruity bubblegum type background flavor. Turned out pretty much perfect for the style so no complaints.
munich classic lallemand, dont try to bring it up high to get banana etc and don’t underpitch like some people recommend IMHO.
full pack for 5 gallons, mid 60s ferment and let it free rise.
In the end I used the wyeast after used the M20, that was a much more classic hefeweizen flavor but both really good