Name
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The name comes from The Lord of the Rings. Aragorn at multiple times in the books uses this medicinal herb with great effect. When crushed into boiling water, the fumes it produces cause a bright, fresh, healthy feeling to pervade over any room. He uses it to probably save Frodo's life when he is infected by the dagger of the witch king on Weathertop.
The taste of Bavarian Weiss, when done well, has a bright freshness that has more than once made me think of the way Athelas is described in the books. It is also a beer with a deep and ancient history in the world of brewing. Weihenstephan, where the yeast originally was isolated, is one of the oldest breweries in the world, and Bavaria is, of course, a place with deep brewing culture and history.
It is a special beer for me because it is one of the ones I've brewed for the longest and with the greatest success. It is, in a way, a humble beer. Very simple, but the magic of the Weihanstephan yeast always gives it its distinctive character which I am still enjoying exploring.
Notes from Recipe Formulation
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- I'm using an infusing of boiling water to raise it quickly between the ferulic rest and the saccharification rest because I want to avoid spending any time in the protein rest territory. I want to try to preserve the head retention if possible.
- Because I'm doing a half batch even a single pouch of the yeast is actually twice as much as I need. I've read that over pitching can change the character you get, so I'd like to try only pitching half the pouch. I'm going to save off the other half in a sanitized jar.
- I plan to dose the full quantity of the mash water with the salts and then measure out the correct quantities for the infusion and the strike.
- I mash in a kettle, so during the 60 minute rest I'll probably need to turn the heat on and stir on occasion in order to maintain temp. It is winter, and I brew outside.
