Beer of the Moment Article - Riggers' Weizen

Click here for large font text.
	Paul Rigby

Weizen


History
Both in Babylon and Egypt wheat was often the basis for beer, even to the extent that at certain times it became so popular that it had to be reduced or eliminated by law in order to leave enough wheat for bread.
In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Weizenbier was a privilege of the nobility. The Reinheitsgebot of 1516 was not a control relating to purity of beer for the masses, but rather a mandate to protect this "refined" style of beer for the nobility in Bavaria. No private brewer was allowed to brew beer with wheat, be it in the towns or in the country, even for home consumption. At that time, beer was invariably dark and brownish in colour, and hence this Weißbier or white beer was a luxury. The nobility and the cloisters had the exclusive right for the brewing of Wheat beer, producing a clear monopoly, and by circa 1600 all of the Weißbier breweries were either under the control of the nobility or the monks. In 1602, Weißbier in the Hofbräuhaus in Munich was so successful that many other court breweries followed its pattern. Later, in 1764, the abbot of Kloster Andechs (still one of the noteworthy breweries, and tourist attractions in Bavaria), instituted Weißbier in his cloister.
As economics, politics, and tastes changed, in 1806 most of the nobility relinquished their right to the brewing of Weißbier, allowing for the privatisation of Weißbier breweries; anyone could now brew "white" beer. Weißbier was clearly out-of-style, with the old "brown" beer still fashionable as evidenced by the fact that as late as 1856 even the famous Hofbräuhaus in Munich was once again brewing primarily their brown beer, and gave up any right to white beer. Throughout this time-period, the beer was unfiltered, just as it is today with beers such as Edelweiss Hefetrüb and Dunkel. However, during the severe depression years in Germany, the 1920s and 30s, the upper-class decided that they did not have to drink this trüb (cloudy) beer , and all sprang to the modern, filtered version. In the 1970s, the Germans began to realize that the filtration process removed most of the essential flavours and healthy qualities which are present in the yeast strains, and have now returned to the unfiltered versions.
In the past the blond or white beer had captured the imagination and taste-buds of the nobility. Now, this lighter, fruitier flavour has captured the taste-buds not only of the younger but also the older generation. Referred to a Weißbier, Weisse, Weissbier, and Weizenbier, it is a beer brewed with at least 60% wheat in the malt, rather than 100% barley for the mash. Weizenbier is lightly hopped, thus presenting a sometimes slightly tart flavour. It has been described as somewhat sweet and aromatic in flavour, honey-gold to amber in colour, with a clean, white foam, and a refreshing, not too dry after-taste.
*This information is excerpted from the publication by Conrad Seidl: NOCH EIN BIER: Reisen zu den Stätten Europäischer Braukunst. Deutiche Verlag GmbH, Austria, 2nd ed. 1994.

Enhanced Kit Version (23 Litres)
A wheat beer is probably the easiest style of beer to make using a kit.
I suggest purchasing almost any wheat beer style kit, but as you can probably gather a German style would be the best choice but in my opinion almost all wheat beer kits are very good quality. As usual I suggest using malt extracts rather than dextrose or sugar, in this case I recommend using average everyday light malt extract.
Follow your usual kit method for the remainder of the brew.

Malt Extract & Mini Mash Version (23 Litres)
Base Malt – 1.5kg Light Barley Malt Extract
1.5kg Light Wheat Malt Extract
Mini mash grains - 700gms German Pilsner Malt
300gms German Crystal Wheat Malt
Put half a litre of cold water in a saucepan and add grains and heat up VERY SLOWLY (over a 25 to 30 minute period) until just short of boiling. Strain the liquid into a saucepan for the boil, and discard the grain residue.
Hops – For bittering aim at around 16 IBU's using any German hop, I generally use only noble hops in any of my brews even for bittering but you can really use any hop for this purpose. You could also use higher alpha acid varieties such as German grown Northern Brewer or Perle for bittering, quantity will vary depending on the %AA (alpha acid) of the hops selected. Grain & Grape staff will be happy to do the calculations for you.
Total boil time should be 90 minutes with the bittering hops boiled for only 60 minutes.
Yeast - There are a myriad of wheat yeasts available, I recommend Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan (being the home of classic German wheat beers) or else Wyeast 1010, 3056, 3333 or 3638, all are good but have different flavour profiles and it is a matter personal of choice. Grain & Grape staff will be happy to advise you on the pros and cons of each. If you prefer the convenience of dry yeast then try DCL Saf Wheat.

Full Grain Version (23 Litres)
Grains - 3100gms German Wheat Malt
2500gms German Pilsner Malt
200gms German Carahelles Malt
2 litres Rice Husks
Mashing regimes are many and varied. Most modern malts are very well modified and only need a simple single step infusion mash to obtain very good results. Wheat malt is somewhat different to barley malt in that it has a much larger proportion of high molecular weight proteins (this factor then demands a slightly prolonged protein rest be undertaken) and is also huskless (this will effect the lautering process as the ratio of husks to grains is the key to effective lautering - hence the addition of the rice husks) in this case I suggest mashing in at protein preparation temperature of 50ºC and rest for 30 mins, raise to 1st saccrification temperature of 60ºC and rest for 50 mins, then raise to 2nd saccrification temperature of 70°C and rest for 10 mins. Raise temperature to mash out of 78°C for 10 mins using either an infusion or direct heat or if you wish to be a little more traditional then a simple decoction to raise to mash out could be employed.
Hops – For bittering aim at around 16 IBU's using any German hop. I use only “Noble” hops because they are always low in alpha acid but more particularly because being “Noble” they are the best! I generally advise the use of lower alpha hops for all brewing purposes particularly bittering, especially for lower to moderate bitterness beers up to about 30 IBU’s. If your scales are a little inaccurate two or three grams over in a total weight of twenty or thirty grams of a lower alpha hop will not be noticeable but three grams over in ten or twelve grams using a 12 or 14% AA hop will mean an almost undrinkably bitter beer. If you choose to use higher alpha acid varieties then try German grown Northern Brewer or Perle for the bittering, quantity will vary depending on the %AA (alpha acid) of the particular hops selected.
Total boil time should be 90 minutes with the bittering hops boiled for only 60 minutes.
Yeast - There are a myriad of wheat yeasts available, I recommend Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan (being the home of classic German wheat beers) or else Wyeast 1010, 3056, 3333 or 3638, all are good but have different flavour profiles and it is a matter personal of choice. Grain & Grape staff will be happy to advise you on the pros and cons of each. If you prefer the convenience of dry yeast then try DCL Saf Wheat.