My great grandparents came over from Swabia, and were wheat farmers in Kansas. I’ve been told stories of them brewing beer in a wash basin. Sounds a lot like a hefe to me, but I haven’t found any family members who knew what recipe (if any) they used.
In my humble opinion, the prototype for the style is Widmer Hefe because Widmer was the first brewery to brew an American Wheat beer. Widmer started with an alt strain from Zum Uerige, which is held under the Wyeast accession number 1007. The strain became less flocculent in use at Widmer. The less flocculent version is held under the Wyeast accession number 1010. If I recall correctly, Widmer Hefe used to be bittered with Willamete and finished with Cascade, which gave it the citrus brightness. We are talking about a restrained hopping rate here. The grist is basically 2-row pale, malted wheat, and a small percentage of crystal/caramel.
Exactly.
Boulevard Wheat reminds me of Ken’s description in the original post. It is very light quaffable bready beer. Not too much hops. It is great in the taproom.
I have made quite a few hoppy wheats. I kind of gave up on those. APAs are better IMHO.
My version of American Wheat is:
8lbs - Rahr 2-row
4lbs - Malted wheat
Very low hop additions, but a bit more in the bittering addition than the recipe I swiped from somewhere (don’t have the exact numbers on me right now).
WY1010 - American Wheat
It’s one of the beers you will usually find on tap at my hose because it is simple and refreshing.
Paul
I probably stayed away from Widmer thinking that it may have some banana & clove (which it wouldn’t if it was made with 1007). Banana and clove is not my thing nor are the witbier components so what I described in the OP is really just a blonde or golden ale. Tommymorris also mentioned the ‘bready’ aspect of it. With only one hop addition the yeast character will come through, for better or worse. With an English ale in the mix there will be some bready character which makes it all the better. Would someone be a dear and bring me a pint of this beer that I haven’t made yet? 
Widmer has no banana or clove, but it is hazy like a German Hefeweizen. That is why Widmer Hefe is referred to as an American Hefeweizen. The “American” in this context is that it is a clean, low ester beer. From what I understand, 1007 is close to being straight from Zum Uerige whereas 1010 is what happened to the culture after being repitched at Widmer. Widmer is the source for both cultures.
I find that a good Wheat Malt will give me all the “bready” I need, plus a slight sweetness and a nice smooth mouthfeel. For an American Wheat, I’m not looking for any contribution from the yeast, but I certainly understand there are many reasons why you might. I prefer it just like Slowbrew describes, simple and refreshing.
I used to make one every spring hopped with Amarillo and with US-05 since it was easy, tasted good fresh and didn;t matter if it was hazy. Now of course if it’s NOT hazy you have a problem. 
I’ve done batches of wort 50/50 Pils & Wheat malt, aim for 1.050, hop to 20 IBUs with Noble or US Noble-children like Sterling or Mt Hood. Then, split the batch and pitch half with WLP300 and the other half with WY1010, just to show how the same wort with different yeast will produce 2 totally different beers.
AM wheat can be an enjoyable pounder when fresh and on a hot day. Otherwise, its pretty boring.
I can see some people saying this and I understand. I am usually blown away by ‘simple’ while others find it boring. I have some buds and family members who want and need everything that is new or different in their beer: Sour, new hops and lots of them, brett, nutty new yeasts, belgian complexity, fruity character, etc. Nothing wrong with that and it’s a fascinating new (newish) part of our hobby. Meanwhile I have pretty run-of-the-mill beers on tap here. I had some buds over… he’s a German-head and she is actually FROM Germany. I told them “I have a nice helles on tap in the bar” and she winced, “Oh, I don’t really like Helles” and my wife was drinking a beer I made for her (Amarillo & Citra Pale Ale) and my wife gave her a sip… that’s what she wanted. You just never know, ya know?
I’m envisioning this American Wheat being consumed fresh and on a hot day so it should be pretty refreshing and poundable.
While I certainly enjoy some styles more than others, I have yet to perceive any well made beer as “boring”. ???
And I don’t see American Wheat as strictly a summer beer. I brew a lot of Stouts and Porters and it’s nice to have a clean, palate cleanser on tap at the same time.
Any thoughts on using the dry Voss yeast in something like this? I haven’t used it but it’s supposed to be neutral to orangey, which could work. Maybe with some Mt Hood or something? I liked the Amarillo idea too.
I feel like it would be a good way to get a sense of the yeast because there isn’t much else in the way.
For those who like more flavor, higher ABV, more modern hops and modern flavors, some old standards seem boring. I don’t necessarily see it that way as a simple, well-made beer can be very nice. There have been a lot of conversations about Yuengling and how boring and bland it is but when it’s fresh I really like it. It’s totally my kind of beer. This American Wheat is similar… it will not knock your socks off but if it’s well-made and fresh it should be a nice beer to have on tap.
For me, it’s more that there are other beers that fill the same niche that tend to be my go to (i.e., pale lagers). I would probably enjoy a well made Am Wheat, but I don’t know if I see a “to-style” version of this making it into my rotation.
OTOH, I have a pack of OYL Sundew in the fridge that I was going to try out in a blond ale. Maybe I’ll go with a wheat as the base beer instead.
The Sundew is supposed to bring some strawberry & melon notes to the beer, right? Could be a good application for it with a wheat-based beer.
I was over at my BIL’s house and I left some Shiner Bock at his house. Later we were on a zoom call and he told me that he had never had one so he tried one a couple days earlier. He said, “I drank it. It was fine. I don’t see myself drinking another one though”. :D Beers like Negra Modelo, Indio, Shiner Bock, Dos Equis Amber are right up my alley. I make beers in that style all the time but for some it’s just not working and I suppose that’s part of the fun. When I envision a beer I want on tap, I am so happy that I am a brewer and can envision the beer, design the recipe and hopefully end up with what I originally envisioned. In some cases there are no commercial versions of what I envisioned that I could just pick up at the store.
The American Wheat does sound good. When I first got into craft beer I drank a lot of Goose Island 312 at Old Chicago. They always served it with a lemon, which was always very nice and refreshing. Now that warmer weather is coming, I kind of have a craving for that again. I also used to drink a lot of Oberon, not as much anymore, but I usually pick up at least one six pack every spring/summer when it comes out. Haven’t had Goose Island 312 for a long time.
So beers I think of when I think of American wheat:
Goose Island 312
Bell’s Oberon
Boulevard Wheat
Those pretty much nail it for me. Yeah, maybe they’re boring to the average craft beer palate these days, but they are easy drinking and refreshing tasting beers on a hot ass summer day.
I like a well-made American wheat also! I think of a beer with relatively low bitterness, relatively clean yeast character, and maybe a touch of sweetness in the malt. It’s a bit bland for some folks, I suppose, but I find the style to be a nice, approachable sipper when warm weather rolls around. Hangar 24 Brewing in Redlands, California, makes an absolutely delicious Orange Wheat Ale, which inspired me to make my own version (on tap right now!). I’ll probably make another batch pretty soon, using oranges from a tree where I work. Gotta take advantage of local ingredients while they’re available!
I am making this beer this weekend. It is not going to be Widmer-like or Oberon-like but it will be gold, refreshing, probably clear and certainly adaptable to a lemon or orange slice. It will be nice on a warm, sunny day for sure. On the “boring” thing… I suppose all beers have their place. Sometimes we have to see a beer for what it is instead of what it’s not.