What craft brewers must know

German-style wheat beer is the most popular craft beer among consumers. Almost all craft breweries/factories will produce German-style wheat beer. For those who love craft beer, German-style wheat has long been Incorporate into life, and for those who are new to craft beer or who are about to enter the door of craft beer, the following knowledge can help us understand and understand in detail.

Overall Impression: A wheat beer with white and delicate foam, strong ester aroma, slightly sour taste, soft and smooth taste, harmonious and refreshing, strong killing power and low bitterness value. It is a low-alcohol beer favored by consumers. Drinks, it can make consumers have a strong desire to drink again.

1 Aaroma  

Phenolic (predominantly comforting 4-vinylguaiacol) and esters (classic clove, banana, apple and fruit esters). The balance and intensity of phenolic and ester aroma components can be multi-level, but better wines must have a reasonable balance and appropriate prominent features.

2 Appearance 

It should have long-lasting, white, fine foam, pale straw to gold in color, clean and soft, light and even, with a thick, mousse-soft feel. In the unfiltered liquor, the rich protein components in wheat are incorporated into the liquor, which weakens the clarity of the beer, giving the liquor a light and subtle hazy feeling.

3 Flavors

Low to medium intensity banana and clove flavors, phenolics and esters are multi-layered in balance and intensity, but the better wines have reasonable balance and proper prominence. Optional, very mild to moderate vanilla and/or faint bubblegum flavors can accentuate banana flavors, allow for a moderate sweetness and roundness, but not be the dominant flavor. A small amount of soft bread or wheat aroma complements the grainy sweetness of the malt. Hop flavors are very low to none, and hop bitterness can be very low to medium, with a round, rich mouthfeel with a relatively clean finish. Because the actual retained sweetness is higher than the presence of hop bitterness, the perceived sweetness will be higher. A high sweetness or a heavier finish will seriously impair the desire to drink again and to drink freely.

4 Taste 

Wheat beers need to be medium-low to medium-bodied, definitely not heavy-bodied, and suspended yeast will add to the body feel. The texture of the wheat component imparts a soft, creamy saturation to the wine, while the very high-kill mouthfeel results in a refreshing and delicate finish with exceptional foaming.

5 Notes 

This is a class of refreshing, fast-maturing beers that use very little hops and exhibit a characteristic banana or clove aroma that is yeasty. These types of beers are usually intolerant to aging and are best enjoyed fresh. Cloudy wheat contains suspended yeast, and crystal wheat is filtered for great clarity. Crystal wheat contains less phenolics than cloudy wheat and is more fruity.

6 Typical raw materials 

According to German brewing tradition, at least 50% of the malt must be wheat malt, and some versions use as much as 70%. The rest is typical pilsner malt, and mashing is their traditional practice, but modern winemakers usually don't follow this step. Wheat ale yeast will produce the typical spicy and fruity taste, and high fermentation temperatures will affect the overall balance and produce off-flavors. (In my country, according to the national standard GB4927-2008 "Beer" in 2008: the production raw materials of wheat beer are mainly water and malt, of which the proportion of wheat malt to the total malt is greater than 40%).