Begin Brewing!

It's been quite a while since I tasted a true Hefeweizen.  The incredible popularity of IPAs, Pale Ales, Sours, and Stouts has been gradually squeezing dozens of other tasty styles off store shelves.  This is very unfortunate, especially for those of us who grow tired of the lack of variety. In any case, I decided today to try my hand at brewing a decent German style Hefeweizen.  I began by reading an article on BYO.com about the style and tweaking an award-winning recipe from the AHA's web site.  This version features the traditional German Pilsner malt base, combined with both red and white wheat malts, and some Carapils for body and head retention.  I'll be using German hops for the bittering and a true Hefeweizen yeast for fermentation. Some things I've done in this recipe that you might wonder about, and why I did them: I wanted to source German wheat, but couldn't, so I went with Briess and Swaen, which were the best I could find at the time. ...

Early on in my exploration of (drinking) craft beer, I came across a few examples of the Belgian Witbier style such as Hoegaarden .  These were light, flavorful beers that could be really enjoyable in warm weather.  Until now, though, I've never brewed one.  I'm not sure why.  It is time to change that... For those not familiar with the Witbier style the BJCP judging criteria describe it as "a refreshing, elegant, tasty, moderate strength wheat-based ale" with a malty sweet grain flavor, zesty orange fruitiness, and often a crisp, dry, slightly tart finish.  It's not a style for hop-heads, though, as it is described as having a hop bitterness of "low to none" in the judging criteria. My goals, based on judging criteria and personal preference, for this beer are: Aroma:   Orange and coriander up front, with some malty and herbal elements Color:   Pale gold to yellow, cloudy from the yeast and wheat, with good head retention Flavor:   ...