Brew Four: HefeCentury Kleffeweizen

This is my first 100% grain brew. I borrowed Alex's brewing gear (a hacked cooler and a turkey fryer) and headed over to Anne's to make magic. She asked me to help her make some beer for her upcoming 50th birthday party and I gladly agreed. She wanted a hefeweizen and named it Hef-Century Kleffeweizen (a little play on words and her last name).



I borrowed the recipe from Alex:

• 7 lbs wheat malt
• 5 lbs pilsen malt
• 2 cups rice hulls
• 1 oz Hallertau Hops (I used Tettnang Hops instead)
• Wyeast 3068

Jae and Anne and I completed the mash stage, which is where all the magic happens in extracting all the malt. We had to maintain the temperature at 110F for 20 minutes, then raise the temp to 133F for 25 min, then raise again to 145F for 30 min then finally to 154F for 30 min. Then the sparge. Then the boil - which managed to boil over even with 3 pairs of eyes watching it.





We clearly allowed too much grain into the fermenter - it was like bread dough on the top of it.

In all we got 17.67 L at 5.15% ABV.



So, my fear is that the brew got infected somewhere between the boil and cooling to the point when you pitch the yeast. There is a distinct sour flavour in the one beer I've sampled from the batch. Otherwise, the banana notes in the aroma are killer. I look forward to sipping one this weekend.



Happy Birthday Anne!