Hey all, I have graduated to AG brewing now and getting more comfortable with the process; making some good beers too. I would really like to make a Widmer Hefe from all grain. Does anyone have any receipe’s that have turned out really good and close to the original? My wife loves Widmer Hefe and so do I, it was her first introduction to our wonderful PNW craft breweries. She grew up in Texas and on a beer diet of Bud, Coors, and Rolling Rock. When she first tasted Hefe, she was hooked and has since been my biggest critic of my homebrews. Thanks in advance for your resources! :cheers:
That beer has changed a bit over the years. As a native of PDX, I worked up a pretty good clone of its early 90’s iteration, but I have no clue where that brew log is now. Actually, I do, I just don’t want to dig the damned thing out 
The gist of it is 4lbs 2row, 1lb of Munich, 5lb wheat malt, and a bit too much C40. Bitter with a charge of the Noble of your choice and 2oz of Cascade late, 5min and knockout. Widmer has become a lot clearer and less hoppy over the years, it used to look like the sort of coffee that people that don’t like coffee drink and it had a pretty respectable Cascade presence. A tablespoon of flour after knockout will give it the sort of heavy, heavy haze it used to sport.
That’ll get you in the ballpark. I think today’s Widmer has backed off on the C40. Back then, most NW Ales had two primary flavors C40 and Cascades.
Wyeast 1007 would also work.
Yes, it would, but 1010 is what Widmer uses.
Yes, it would, but 1010 is what Widmer uses.[/quote]
I prefer 1010, but when I go to my LHBS if the 1010 is getting long in the tooth I’ll go with 1007. I usually have at least three or four yeast choices for most of my beers so I can get whatever has the best date. I brew three gallon batches and a lot of my beers are low enough in O G that I don’t need a starter if the yeast is really fresh which leaves me with one less step.
I see from their website that the stuff is fairly hoppy for a hefeweizen, and has some Cascade. Those seem to be the distinguishing characteristics that set this apart from a standard hefe.
I’m not into cloning brews, but if I did I would try and use the same yeast and hops, and then utilize a standard grain bill for the style on the first attempt and adjust to get the right level of sweetness and malt character in subsequent batches.
[quote=“tom sawyer”]I see from their website that the stuff is fairly hoppy for a hefeweizen, and has some Cascade. Those seem to be the distinguishing characteristics that set this apart from a standard hefe.
I’m not into cloning brews, but if I did I would try and use the same yeast and hops, and then utilize a standard grain bill for the style on the first attempt and adjust to get the right level of sweetness and malt character in subsequent batches.[/quote]
Lennie, that’s becasue it’s not a hefeweizen. It’s an American wheat beer. Around here, we say that it’s Budweiser for people who want to be seen drinking a “craft” beer.
Clever… I like that. I will say that I notice a lot of “craft” beer drinkers picking up the hefes/wheats. I think this is in large part to Leinenkugels’ success. But I do appreciate their beers every once in awhile.
[quote=“Denny”][quote=“tom sawyer”]I see from their website that the stuff is fairly hoppy for a hefeweizen, and has some Cascade. Those seem to be the distinguishing characteristics that set this apart from a standard hefe.
I’m not into cloning brews, but if I did I would try and use the same yeast and hops, and then utilize a standard grain bill for the style on the first attempt and adjust to get the right level of sweetness and malt character in subsequent batches.[/quote]
Lennie, that’s becasue it’s not a hefeweizen. It’s an American wheat beer. Around here, we say that it’s Budweiser for people who want to be seen drinking a “craft” beer.[/quote]
Makes sense, I wasn’t thinking about the loose use of terms in the craft beer industry.
[quote=“Denny”]
Lennie, that’s becasue it’s not a hefeweizen. It’s an American wheat beer. Around here, we say that it’s Budweiser for people who want to be seen drinking a “craft” beer.[/quote]
Ok, I will bite, besides the yeast, what turns it into a real Hefe?
I just brewed the recipe posted above by Cangrejo this weekend as I was looking for a Hefe recipe and something maybe a little hoppier than the NB recipe.
Check out the BJCP style guidelines. To me its all about the yeast and getting a nice balance of banana and clove. I keep my bitterness low at 15 IBU.
[quote=“560sdl”][quote=“Denny”]
Lennie, that’s becasue it’s not a hefeweizen. It’s an American wheat beer. Around here, we say that it’s Budweiser for people who want to be seen drinking a “craft” beer.[/quote]
Ok, I will bite, besides the yeast, what turns it into a real Hefe?
I just brewed the recipe posted above by Cangrejo this weekend as I was looking for a Hefe recipe and something maybe a little hoppier than the NB recipe.[/quote]
Pretty much the yeast, just as the yeast defines many Belgian styles. The yeast gives a hefeweizen banana and clove flavors that American wheat beers like Widmer don’t have.
Ok, got it. I brewed the recipe above with real Hefe yeast, I hope. It was harvested from a batch a long time ago and I brought it back with starters.
I hope the cascade plays nicely with clove and banana
