El Hefe

Prepare a 1.5 L yeast starter about 2 days prior to pitching yeast.

If you’re not looking to win any competitions, feel free to skip the step mash. It’s a lot of extra work for a fairly minimal gain. But if you want to try out the step mash and don’t have a mash tun with a heating element try a decoction mash.

Mash in at 113°F (45°C) and rest 30 minutes. Use a heating element or decoctions to achieve rests at 135°F (57°C) for 30 minutes, 156°F (69°C) for 30 minutes, and 168°F (76°C) for 10 minutes. The rice hulls add no sugar or flavor, but help to prevent a stuck mash. If you’re not used to brewing with wheat, do not skimp on the rice hulls; they could save you a lot of time. On a Brewzilla, I find I need a full pound (about half a kilogram) of rice hulls to prevent a stuck mash.

Drain mash tun and sparge with 168°F (76°C) water until you have 7 gal. (26.5 L) of pre-boil wort. Boil 60 minutes, adding Tettnang hops at the start of the boil. Add Whirlfloc tablet 5 minutes before the end of boil. Chill wort to 75°F (24°C), transfer to fermenter, and pitch yeast starter. Expect a very active fermentation—use a blowoff tube rather than an airlock. Lower the temperature of the fermenter to 68°F (20°C) when you see signs of activity. Allow fermentation to run for two weeks.

Fermentation temperature control is key to success with this recipe since so much of the flavor comes from the yeast. If you don’t have any special equipment for controlling the temperature, I suggest putting your carboy into a large bucket of water to help stabilize the temperature, like the buckets you use to ice your keg at a party. You can also take temperature readings of the water a couple times a day the first couple of days and adjust using warm water or ice as needed.