Brewing with Wheat by Stan Hieronymus

Author:Stan Hieronymus
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Brewers Publications
Published: 2009-05-31T16:00:00+00:00

RAMSTEIN CLASSIC

Original Gravity: 1.054 (13.5 °P)

Alcohol by Volume: 5.4%

Apparent Degree of Attenuation: 78%

IBU: 12.5

Malts: Wheat, Pilsener, Munich, chocolate

Hops: Hallertau, Perle

Yeast: House yeast, acquired from Germany

Primary Fermentation: Yeast pitched at 60 to 70° F (16 to 21° C) depending on season, rises to 70 to 71° F (21 to 22° C), 5 days

Secondary Fermentation: 30 to 32° F (-1 to 0° C), 14 to 15 days

Also Noteworthy: Bottle conditioned

He seldom pushes a yeast beyond seven generations before propagating a new batch. “They say the second generation is the sweet spot. We try to get as close to that as we can,” he said. “It does make a difference. I can tell you in the last year when we went to ten (generations) we saw it. I guarantee it loses its ester and its phenolic profile.”

He paused, thinking of another way to describe the result. “It becomes a lot more, I hate to say this, American,” he said. Then he laughed.

He puts the yeast to work at about 60° F (16° C), although in warmer weather it will start higher, and lets it rise to 70 or 71° F (21 to 22° C). He used to hold the temperatures a little lower to promote cloviness, at the time saying, “There are a lot of banana wheat beers. Why would we try to copy, say, Weihenstephan?”

Ramstein Blonde, a pale hefeweizen, sells best, followed by the Ramstein Classic, initially called Ramstein Dark. Both have more banana character than early batches and now receive better reviews from the online beer community. “I’ve begun to appreciate the complexity that banana brings,” Zaccardi said.

He originally aimed for 3.5 volumes of CO2 in packaging, but bars couldn’t properly dispense the beers on tap, so in 1998 Zaccardi lowered the target to 2.5 to 2.75 volumes. He calculates his speise addition so that it contributes 1.25 volumes on top of 1.5 naturally in the beer. High Point shoots for 20 days from opening a grain bag, the start of the production process, to tapping a keg.

Now that he has made a variety of styles under contract, such as a Belgian-style dubbel and a German-style Pilsener, Zaccardi remains convinced wheat beers present the greatest challenge for a brewer. “Brewing consistent wheat beer is the hardest thing to do,” he said. “You have to control something that is uncontrollable, the yeast.

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