American Weissbier II Brewday

Since the last version was a success, time for another. A couple of changes: I went with a neutral American yeast (1056), cut 1 lb. of 6-row while adding 1 lb. of white wheat, extended the mash to 90 minutes (I wasn’t sure if 6-row’s diastatic power was enough with only 60 minutes), and added another ½ oz. of Cluster with 10 minutes to go. The color was significantly lighter than the last version going into the carboy; the yeast choice is intended to provide a better sense the flavor contribution from corn. I’ll keep you all posted.

147. American Weissbier II
Mash:
4 lbs. Breiss 6-row
3 lbs. Breiss Flaked Maize
3 lbs. Breiss White Wheat

Mash @ 153° F for 90 minutes w/ 3 gallons of RO water & 2 g. gypsum; collected almost 2 gallons @ 1.082
Batch sparge @ 168° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water & 2 g. gypsum; collected 4 gallons @ 1.026

Added ¾ gallon to bring to 6 ¾ gallons; brought to a boil (60 minutes) & added:
w/60 to go: 1 oz. Cluster leaf 7.6% AA

w/10 to go: ½ oz. Cluster leaf 7.6% AA

Chilled and racked on to Wyeast 1056 yeast cake from 146. Rock-it Cup Rye Pale Ale

Brewed: 6/3/2013 @ 68° F; rose to 72° F in first 12 hours; passed high krausen in 36 hours
Secondary: 6/16/2013 @ 1.008
Bottled: 7/6/2013 w/ 3.15 oz. table sugar

OG: 1.048
FG: 1.008

Tasting Notes (7/25/2013): American Weissbier II pours a slightly hazy straw with a thin white head that hangs around like fruit flies near an airlock, and there are lots of tiny white streaming bubbles, which give the beer a nice look. In the nose, there is mainly husky graininess with a slight sweet corniness underneath, but you have to look for it. Without the knowledge that there was corn in it, though, you’d probably pass over it, although the sweetness is more clearly evident. Flavors open dry and grainy, with a kiss of sweetness before the bitterness in the middle kicks in, and the finish has a touch of that soapy bitterness I associate with lagers. In fact, this beer reads kinda like a lager with the dry body and lingering bitter finish. The carbonation bite that leads into the finish has the same effect—it dries and cleans the palate, and then the slight sweetness comes back with the bitterness in the finish. It is also noticeably lighter than 140. American Weissbier, my first experiment with this beer; dropping a pound of 6-row and replacing it with a pound of white wheat also rounds the beer a bit more on the palate, and the neutral yeast choice (Wyeast 1056 here, as opposed to White Labs 570 Belgian Golden) also lets the grainy sweetness come through across the beer’s profile. This is a good, easy-drinking beer that I’ll be adding to the regular rotation, although I’m sure I’ll continue to experiment with yeast selection to see what I can discover.