Brü It Yourself | New Old Friend Wheat Beer

Author: Marshall Schott

Way back in the summer of 2002, my then-fiancée and I met up with some friends for a classy dinner at a newly opened Old Spaghetti Factory in Lynwood, WA. I’d turned 21 a few months prior and was looking at the beer menu when my barely-older buddy suggested I try “the Hefenweizen.” I found Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen on the menu, immediately noticed the absence of an “n” in its spelling, and thought the description good enough to order a pint. The beer I received was quite cloudy and came with a slice of orange on the rim, which I was instructed to drop into the beer, so I did.

On first sip, I thought, “this tastes orange-y,” though after a few more, I felt like I was starting to get a decent idea of the flavor of the actual beer – crisp, clean, and surprisingly refreshing (with obvious citrus notes). A few months later, while visiting Bavaria, I ordered a Hefeweizen and was shocked at how different it tasted – banana and spice, oh my! It wasn’t long after that I learned Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen isn’t the same as Bavarian Weissbier, and since then, I’ve developed an odd fascination with American Wheat Beer.

As I approached my first brew day in my new brewery, I debated the style I should go with. I wanted to make a good impression on my new neighbors who are mostly wine drinkers, so IPA and Imperial Stout were off the table, but I also wanted to share something more unique than a Blonde Ale or pale lager. Ultimately, I settled on American Wheat Beer because, while it looks complex, perhaps even unapproachable, it really is quite the opposite, an excellent gateway beer!

| Making New Old Friend Wheat Beer |

I kept this recipe simple by going with 50/50 on the grains and sticking to a single hop variety that I felt might enhance the fruitiness of the beer. Massive thanks to Northern Brewer for providing the grains for this batch!

New Old Friend Wheat Beer

Once the full volume of filtered tap water, which I treated with potassium metabisulfite and adjusted to my desired mineral profile, was properly heated up, I incorporated the milled grains then checked to ensure it was at my target mash temperature.

While the mash was resting, I weighed out the kettle hop additions.

When the 60 minute mash step was complete, I removed the grains and proceeded to boil the wort for an hour, adding hops at the times listed in the recipe.

With the boil finished, I quickly chilled the wort with my JaDeD Brewing Scylla IC.

A refractometer reading showed it was at my target OG.

I then transferred the chilled wort to a sanitized fermenter.

The filled fermenter was connected to my glycol unit and left to finish chilling for 45 minutes before I pitched a pouch of Imperial Yeast L13 Global.

With the fermenter connected to a sanitizer-filled keg, the beer was left to ferment at 66°F/19°C.

The following evening, I noticed the keg had already been purged, so I attached a blowoff tube to the fermenter. A week later, signs of activity were absent, so I took a hydrometer measurement indicating the beer had finished at 1.010 FG.

At this point, I set the glycol unit to 34°F/1°C… and completely forgot to swap out the blowoff tube for low psi CO2. When I returned 12 hours later, I noticed nearly all of the sanitizer solution in my blowoff flask, probably around 300 mL, had been sucked into the beer. This is when I made the swap to CO2 and let the beer sit for another 36 hours before transferring it to the keg that had been purged with naturally produced CO2. The filled keg was placed in my kegerator and burst carbonated overnight before I reduced the gas to serving pressure. After a few days of conditioning, it was nicely carbonated and ready to drink.

| IMPRESSIONS |

As much as I appreciate unique beers that are packed with pungent flavors, I have a penchant for crushable styles that, while likely not blowing anyone’s mind, are immensely satisfying. American Wheat Beer is one such style, hence the reason I chose it as the first beer to brew in my new brewery. Despite the unplanned addition of some Star San solution from the blowoff vessel, I was very pleased with how this beer turned out and felt it really hit all the stylistic marks.

While I’ve yet to share this beer with all of my new neighbors, the two that have tried it made comments I’m sure most homebrewers can relate with, namely the encouragement to start my own brewery. After sharing my utter lack of interest in that career path, the focus shifted to the specific style and the fact that I made it in my garage. I gave them an open invite to stop by whenever they see me out brewing, and who knows, maybe one day they’ll brew their own.

The person who has been drinking and providing feedback on my beers longer than anyone, Timmy Tim, was also a fan of this one, commenting on how he expected it to taste different based on the way it looked. Personally, I loved the way the Amarillo mingled with the crisp, almost tart, character I get from the high dose of wheat malt, which was rounded out by a nutty note from the Maris Otter. This is a recipe I’ll absolutely be making again in the future, though I’ll likely swap out the hops for the sake of variety.

If you have thoughts about this recipe or experience making something similar, please feel free to share in the comments section below!

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