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While it's always a good time to be drinking wheat beers, as the weather gets a bit colder and the days get a bit shorter for many of us, a wheat beer full of flavour and body seems like just the right thing to put a smile on the face of your customer and yourself.
When brewing wheat beers, we are spoilt for choice when it comes to the flavours, notes and styles to choose from. We’ll give you the lowdown on what yeast is best for different wheat beer flavour profiles, and look at how they can help you add your own spin to your wheat beer.
The definition of wheat beers varies around the world. Germany requires >50% wheat malt while in Australia many Pale Ales may contain upwards of 20% wheat.
Wheat can have a significant impact on the flavours and appearance of beer. Wheat contains a greater amount of proteins compared to barley. This results in wheat beers generally having a longer lasting head and a cloudier appearance. However, The contribution of wheat to the overall flavour profile of beer is lower than that of barley when using a non-phenolic yeast, however wheat can powerfully enhance the flavour profile of your beer when using Fermentis’ range of specialty phenolic yeast selected for their unique flavour profile.
When it comes to yeast for your wheat beers, there are numerous choices that offer different flavour profiles and finishes. Knowing what characteristics different yeasts bring will help you make sure you get the desired results from your brew. While picking a yeast is somewhat dependant on the beer you are making, here are a few of our favourites that we think you’ll love…
Like all Fermentis dry yeasts, the SafAle WB-06™ was created to produce a wide variety of beers. It is ideally suited to brew Belgian and German style wheat beers like Wits & Weizens, and is unique in the dry finish and high drinkability it provides. SafAle WB-06™ shows slow sedimentation, allowing it to remain in fine suspension and provide its signature delicate fruity and phenolic character.
After a light fruity, Belgian-style wheat beer with moderate clove and peppery top notes? Then the SafAle BW-20™ is precisely what the doctor ordered. Fermentis has developed the SafAle BW-20™ to deliver a fuller mouthfeel by not completely fermenting maltotriose. The yeast also promotes a hazy appearance and is well suited to work harmoniously with fruit and spice additions.
Straight from Weihenstephan, Germany, this yeast is perfectly created for traditional Southern German-style wheat beers (Hefeweizen) by providing a true to type fruity (banana) and spicy (clove) flavour profile. The yeast will produce medium amounts of sedimentation and a powdery haze in your final brew.
Looking to promote the benefits of wheat beers (head retention, haze, mouthfeel etc) without phenolic yeast flavour characteristics? US-05™ is a terrific choice. This neutral strain provides clean, reliable fermentation and is perfectly suited to Australian takes on wheat beers within such as Hazy Pale Ale, International Pale Ale or Pacific Ale styles where wheat is used at up to 30% of the grain bill but a neutral yeast flavour is desired.
So while all these yeasts are great for wheat beer, you can see that each one offers you something different for the look, flavour and finish of your brew. The fun comes with playing with what a yeast adds to your beer and coming up with something that is unique and delicious! Still got questions about wheat beers and what ingredients you need? We are always happy to point you in the right direction.
We are constantly experimenting with new brews and trying out our yeasts to get a first-hand experience of how they develop. Reach out to the team with your questions and our resident beer experts will be able to help you out.
