Window Seat Dunkelweizen

 I’ve brewed American Wheats, Belgian Wheats, and Hefeweizens—but Window Seat is my first ever Dunkelweizen. Translated as dark (“dunkel”) wheat (“weizen”), this Bavarian style is brewed much like a hefeweizen, but with the addition of darker grains to give it a deep brown color and mildly roasty flavor.

 Grainbill:
3.0 lb Red Wheat Malt
2.0 lb Maris Otter
1.0 lb Munich Malt
0.25 lb Chocolate Malt
0.5 lb Dry Light Extract

Hop schedule:
.5 oz Tettnanger (4.5%) - added during boil, boiled 60 m

Yeast:
White Labs WLP380 Hefeweizen IV Ale

I’ve been experimenting with different ways to get a better extract efficiency now that I’ve converted to full-mash brew-in-a-bag, and this time I fell short (thus the half pound of added DME). I suspect the problem lies in sparging, as BiaB typically gets pretty good mash efficiency.

Extract issues aside, Window Seat is a delicious beer and one that is perfectly to-style. Poured into a tall weizen glass, it’s a deep, rich brown with red edges and a thick, pillowy, beige head with plenty of lacing. Aroma is like pumpernickel bread with delicate stonefruit notes. The taste is crisp wheat spiciness up front, mild toffee-like sweetness with roasted grain in the middle, and a gentle fruit finish. I prefer my German wheats to have more apricot flavors, and less banana—which is why I always ferment them with WLP380.

Brewing a new style is always fun, especially when the finished product comes so close to what you’re after. Though Window Seat was my first dunkelweizen attempt, it certainly won’t be my last.

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