Are you looking for a very straight forward 5 gallon Hefeweizen, that brews with hints of citrus, banana, and clove? Well, one of our regional distributors — Craft-A-Brew (www.craftabrew.com) — has a easy homebrew kit for you!

This particular kit uses Briess Carapils® and CBW® DME Bavarian Wheat as the main components that set homebrewers up for a successful and delicious brew.

The recipe is for 5 U.S. gallons (19L).

  • OG: 1.043
  • FG: 1.006
  • ABV: 4.5%
  • IBU: 20
  • COLOR(SRM): 3

QUANTITY/INGREDIENTS

  • 8 oz. Briess Carapils®/Mash Grain
  • 5 lbs/Briess CBW® Bavarian Wheat Dry Malt Extract
  • 2 oz. Tettnang (Bittering, Aroma)
  • 11.5g Fermentis Dry Yeast WB-06-1 packet
  • (1) Grain Steeping Bag

BREWING PROCEDURE

  • Pour at least 2.5 gallons of water in to the brew vessel and heat until it reaches 155°F.
  • While water is heating, place specialty grains in the grain bag and tie off the top. Once water reaches 155°F, steep the grains for 20 minutes while maintaining the temperature. Remove bag and discard.
  • Bring to a boil.
  • Turn off and slowly stir in the Briess CBW® Bavarian Wheat Dry Malt Extract. Do not let it clump or stick to the bottom. Once all of the malt extract is completely dissolved, turn the heat up to medium-high and bring the wort up to a slow rolling boil.
  • Add 1/2 of the Tettnang Hops (Bittering) and start timing for a 60 minute boil.
  • Add the other 1/2 of the Tettnang Hops (Aroma) 2 minutes before the end of the boil.
  • After the 60-minute boil, turn off burner and remove from brew vessel.
  • Cool down the wort as quickly as possible by placing it in a ice bath. Temperature must be below 75°F before it is safe for yeast. Put a lid on the brew vessel while it cools down to avoid contamination.
  • While wort is cooling, sanitize the fermenting equipment (fermemter, lid, rubber stopper, thermometer, airlock, etc.) along with the yeast pack and a pair of scissors.
  • Once wort cools down to 75°F or lower, transfer to the fermenter. Leave residue in the bottom of brew vessel. You may have to use a funnel at this point if your fermenter is a carboy.
  • If necessary, add more cold water for a volume of 5 gallons.
  •  Aerate the wort by sealing the fermenter and rocking back and forth for a few minutes.
  • Use sanitized scissors to open the yeast pack and add yeast to the wort.
  • Seal your fermenter. Add water to the airlock (until it reaches the fill line) and insert into the stopper.
  • Let your beer ferment for 2 weeks in a cool (60-75°F) dark place.

FERMENTATION

  • Fermentation activity will last between 12-72 hours after adding the yeast. A krausen (kroy-ZEN) layer will develop on the top layer during fermentation. After 72 hours, fermentation will slow down, the krausen layer will subside and activity will be minimal the remainder of these 2 weeks.

BOTTLE/KEG DAY

  • Sanitize siphoning and bottling/kegging equipment.
  • If bottling, prepare 2/3 cup of table sugar and 2 cups of water to act as the priming solution. Bring to a boil then let cool down.
  • Once cooled, pour into bottling bucket.
  • Mix beer and priming sugar solution; fill and cap bottles.
  • When kegging, fill directly into the keg.

NEXT 2 WEEKS: CONDITIONING

  • Condition bottles in a room temperature, dark place. After 2 weeks, bottles can be refrigerated.
  • With kegs — slowly pressurize the keg, building up to preferred PSI pressure — and enjoy fresh from the tap.

BREW COMPANION

  • Always keep yourself in good company while homebrewing. (Just don’t let your friendly K-9 eat any hops!)
  • Here is my brew companion, Barley 🙂 Cheers!