Homebrew silver
Fred Kline of Coatesville is Pennsylvania’s sole medalist in the annual American Homebrewers Association national competition. He won a silver for his weizen.
I asked Fred a question that’s always puzzled me: Why is it that American craft brewers - capable of making pretty much any beer style in the world - have such a tough time with Bavarian-style hefeweizen? Fred’s view:
“…In my humble opinion, there could be a few factors. By the way, I agree with you on that. Some of the local Micros do a decent job (Royal Weisse of Sly Fox and Victory’s offerings) although they seem a little less bold and restrained.
1. The Germans may do decoction mashes in their sleep at this time. So they are set up to do this efficiently, grabbing a great malt flavor from the grain to accent the Hefe yeast where as I don’t think most American breweries are set up to really do a decoction efficiently. It’s easier to get accolades from a hoppy or big beer, which I also enjoy very much as well.
2. The Germans let the yeast be powerful giving big banana and clove while staying balanced. They’re just the experts at the right fermentation temp, yeast strain and pitching rate etc. to get the most. I bottle mine right after the primary is done to capture the most fresh might of the yeast.
3. Maybe a lot of our breweries still possess a mentality that because a Hefeweizen is considered a light, refreshing summer type of beer, they error on the lighter side of the spectrum to hit a broader market. The Germans have been drinking good beer a couple of centuries long than us. Their palates expect bold, complex grain bills.
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