German-Style Wheat Beers
                by Lord Ansel the Barrister
   Copyright 1996 by Dennis Walker. All rights reserved.


Wheat beers have been brewed in what is now Germany for
many centuries. The Degenberger family brewed wheat beers in
the town of Schwarzach in Bavaria in the 15th and 16th
centuries. Another Bavarian brewery, Weihenstephan, near the
town of Freising, is also thought to have brewed wheat beers
in period times. Originally an abbey, and still in
operation, the Weihenstephan facility is believed to have
been brewing beer since 1040 A.D. Most wheat beers are
actually brewed from a combination of wheat and barley.
Some sources believe them to be among the world's older beer
styles, possibly originating in times when farmers harvested
fields of mixed grains. There are four recognized varieties
of German wheat beers. Berliner Weisse is a northern German
beer. Supposedly called "the champagne of the north" by
Napoleon, Berliner Weisse is very light in body, pale in
color, low alcohol (about 3% by volume), with almost no hop
bitterness. Like the Belgian lambic beer family, Berliner
Weisse is a lactic beer. It is fermented with both yeast and
lactic bacteria, resulting in a sharply sour beer. It is
something of an acquired taste, and challenging to homebrew
consistently because of the dual fermentation. Weizen
(wheat), also called Weissbier (white beer), is the favored
wheat beer of southern Germany. This style of wheat beer,
although a golden yellow in color, was so much lighter than
the typically dark German ales that it came to be called
"white beer." Weissbier is light-bodied, around 5-5+%
alcohol by volume, and lightly hopped. There is a
fruity/spicy aroma and flavor characteristic of wheat beers.
Hefe-weizen, or weissbier mit hefe (with yeast) is a
version of this style in which the beer is
bottle-conditioned (like most homebrew). It is often drank
with the yeast sediment intentionally stirred up.
Conversely, a weizen filtered so as to remove the yeast is
called kristall weizen. Incredible but true, Germany, land
of dark, full-bodied brews and the highest per-capita
consumer of beer in the world, has a popular version of
weizen called leichtes weissbier, meaning (you guessed it),
light white beer. Dunkels (dark) Weissbier or Dunkleweizen
is a dark version of weizen. Of course a beer culture which
developed and embraced so many dark styles must have a dark
"white" beer as well. Dunkleweizen is similar to regular
weizen as to body, bitterness, and alcohol levels but is
brewed with darker malts to produce a richer, maltier aroma
and flavor. Finally there is weizenbock. Bock is a style of
German lager that is traditionally malty, somewhat sweet,
strongly alcoholic, with little or no hop flavor or aroma.
Weizenbock combines the characteristics of the two styles.
It is the heartiest of the wheat beers. It can be either
dark or light in color, with alcohol from 7% to over 9% by
volume.

Brewing wheat beers. The most important difference between
regular (barley) beer brewing and wheat beer brewing is the
yeast. The unique aroma and flavor profile that typifies
wheat beer comes only partly from the use of wheat malt. In
large measure it is due to the phenolic characteristics of
the specialized strains of yeast used to make wheat beer.
There are both dried and liquid versions of these strains
available from homebrew suppliers. Reculturing from the
yeast sediment in a bottle of commercial hefe-weizen
probably won't give you a wheat yeast strain. Because the
strains of yeast used in wheat beer brewing don't
flocculate (settle) as well as other strains, in most cases
the commercial breweries filter this yeast out and use
another type for conditioning hefe-weizen. The sediment in
homebrewed wheat beers made with wheat yeast strains may not
be as firm as usual (relax). Most wheat beers are made from
a combination of wheat and barley malt. The ratio varies
greatly. Many of the wheat malt extracts sold to homebrewers
are actually wheat-barley blends (usually around 60%wheat/
40% barley). At least one label, Ireks, offers a pure wheat
extract. The risk of chill haze is increased with wheat
beers due to the higher protein content of wheat malt.
Additives such as papain or polyclar can help minimize
this.Modern, commercial German wheat beers are very highly
carbonated--noticeably more so than regular beer. I wouldn't
recommend experimenting much beyond one cup of priming sugar
unless you use champagne bottles. All-grain wheat beer
brewing offers additional "learning opportunities." Because
wheat grain is smaller and packs more densely, and also
because of the higher protein content (which causes a more
glutinous mash), stuck runoffs or very slow lautering can be
a problem. Multiple-step mashes to reduce proteins are
necessary.

Recipes. Here are a couple of recipes to get you started in
the wonderful world of weizen:

Basic Weissbier (5 Gallons):
--2 cans wheat malt extract
--1/4 tsp. Irish moss
--1 oz. boiling hops
--1/2 oz. flavor hops
--1/2 oz. aroma hops
--Papain or polyclar
--wheat beer yeast
Use a brand of extract that is around 60% wheat/ 40%
barley. You need about 6+-7 lbs. of extract. Two 3.3 lb.
cans work well (if you use a brand that comes in 4 lb.
cans, you might want to make a 6-gallon batch). Use
Germanic-region hops (Hallertauer, Saaz, or Tettnanger). You
want about 4-6 HBU bittering. For flavor, I like
Hallertauer or Tettnanger; for aroma, Hallertauer or Saaz.
It isn't critical; you aren't going to perceive all that
much hop influence in a weissbier. Boil for one hour with
the Irish moss going in for the last twenty minutes, the
flavor hops for the last ten, and the aroma hops for the
last one or two minutes. Follow the supplier's directions on
the papain or polyclar. Use cup corn sugar or 1&1/4 cups
dried malt extract at bottling.


Cream of Wheat (5 Gallons):
 --1 can Alexanders wheat malt extract (4 lbs.) (60% wheat/ 40% barley)
--1/2 lb. light dried malt extract
--1&1/2 lbs. clover honey
--1 oz. Hallertauer hops (boil one hour)
--1/2 oz. Hallertauer hops (boil three minutes)
--1/4 tsp. Irish moss (boil twenty minutes)
--Papain or polyclar as directed
--Wyeast Bavarian Wheat liquid yeast culture  or Whitbread dried ale yeast
--3/4 cup corn sugar to prime.
This is my favorite "lawnmower" beer. If you got any of my wheat beer at the last two Fools'
War site parties, it was this recipe. It is light, crisp, and refreshing. It is very low in bitterness. I
recommend using a starter with the liquid yeast. The starter doesn't need to be wheat malt. , lb.
of light dried malt extract in a pint or so of water works fine. I have also made this recipe using
Whitbread dried ale yeast. You lose some of the wheat beer character, and the beer finishes
somewhat drier, but you get a really crisp, drinkable beer. Boil the malts, honey, and boiling
hops for one hour, with the other ingredients added as specified.

References:
--Frane, Jeff, "Weissbier: Will That Be White or Wheat?",
Brew Your Own, May 1996, pp. 21-23.

--Jackson, Michael. The New World Guide to Beer. London:
Running Press, 1988. ISBN 0-89471-884-3.

--Papazian, Charlie. The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing.
New York: Avon Books, 1991. ISBN 0-380-76366-4.

--Robertson, James, "Wheat Beer", All About Beer,
August-September 1990, pp. 36-38.

--Warner, Eric. German Wheat Beer. Boulder: Brewers
Publications, 1992. ISBN 0-937381-34-9.