Wheat beer is one of the oldest forms of beer. Since wheat is a staple grain, like rice in eastern Asia, it should come as no surprise that it has been used for brewing for thousands of years. While wheat beer has been common in Europe for centuries, it has only recently caught on with home brewers in the United States in the past couple of decades.
Although the brewing techniques have to be changed a little from other forms of beer, the process is still very similar to most brewing and is not typically more complicated. However, there are some key differences when it comes to wheat beer that most brewers, and drinkers, should take into consideration before brewing it themselves.
There are two common varieties of wheat beer to be aware of: weissbier and witbier. Weissbeer can refer to several different kinds of beer. Hefeweizen is an unfiltered wheat beer, considered to be more of a traditional wheat beer. Kristallweizen is, as you can imagine, a filtered version which is clearer as opposed to the cloudy clarity of Hefeweizen.
Witbier is named for its hazy, almost white appearance when cold. It is notable because it is not typically brewed with hops and is instead flavored with a blend of spices known as gruit, which can consist of things such as coriander and orange.
When it comes to brewing wheat beers on a professional level, there can be some tricky spots and changes have to be made to accommodate the differences in brewing wheat beer. Wheat mashes tend to be more difficult to work with that malt mashes.
For brewers with upward-infusion mash vessels and raking lauter tuns will find the job much less laborious than brewers using equipment better suited to barley malts. But the troubles of brewing companies are far from most peoples’ minds. For the home brewer, wheat beer brewing doesn’t necessarily have to be so complicated.
Wheat doesn’t contain certain enzymes needed for the conversion of sugar during mashing. Because of this, malted wheat is combined with barley malt to provide the needed enzymes, usually in a 50/50 ratio. The strain of yeast used typically determines a great deal of the flavor.
For instance, Bavarian wheat beer contains a clove and banana flavor from the strain of yeast used, while Berliner Weisse has a strong tart flavor and American wheat beer is more of a neutral flavor due to the common ale yeast used in fermenting. Fermenting temperatures can also vary, but are recommended at about 65F.
Wheat beer is an old and beloved beer among many different cultures. Serving it can take on different forms as well. Americans often serve a wheat bear with a slice of lemon or orange, which Bavarians avoid.
Instead, they will sometimes drop in a grain of rice for longer-lasting foam or even mix their wheat beer with cola or lemonade. Regardless of how you choose to serve it up, wheat beer is a long-time favorite on many pub menus and will likely stay that way for years to come.
