The Dunkelweizen
Banana in beer?
Oh yes, it’s possible. It's not that we put real bananas in the beer; it's a natural ester called ‘iso-amyl acetate’ which is produced by the yeast and is a byproduct of the fermentation process.
Let me introduce our new recipe, the 340 Dunkelweizen. A mahogany-coloured weizen beer with a subdued banana aroma and light caramel taste.
It is my first recipe since starting here so I am very excited about it because it is also the first time we are using reused yeast in slurry instead of dry yeast.
To be able to get the banana flavour you have to underpitch and ferment at a slightly higher temperature. Since we are not equipped yet with laboratory devices it is hard to calculate the right amount of yeast cells, but we managed to get a nice banana aroma and flavour. Personally, I wanted a bit more banana, so we will work on that with the next batch.
We cheated a bit with the malt since a real weizen should at least contain 50% of wheat malt according to our German friends. However, we are a craft brewery and as a craft brewery you can try new things. I wanted to give this Dunkel a caramel taste and I didn't want the Dunkel too dark, so one bag less of the dark wheat, one bag of caramel malt and there you go, we created that beautiful mahogany color!
Why did I choose to brew a Dunkelweizen? Well, I am a fan of Weizen beers especially in the summer and its origin is from Germany, which is next to my home country (Netherlands). Since I am traveling for a year, this beer reminds me a bit of home.
This Dunkelweizen pairs wonderfully with both salty mains and sweet desserts, so as a food and beer lover this is a great combination.
Come check it out; grab a stein or fill up a growler and taste a bit of Dutch love in this sweet banana flavoured german wheat ale. ‘340 The Dunkelweizen’.
OG: 12.7°P
FG: 3.3°P
ABV: 5.04%
IBU: 17
- Ingeborg Vijn
Brewer
