What's with the bananas

[BDawg]

Dub-

What temps are you chilling the wort to before you pitch?
How are you aerating?
What yeast strain are you using?

[Dublicious]

When I pitch it's usually a little high. Thinking low 80s. (see the edited post ) Maybe I should stir the wort before taking the temp, cause I never get a solid reading and assume it's gonna even out. Also, proper aeration is something I did pretty hardcore w/ the IPA, but I don't think I've done it enough in the past. Yeast is generally whatever the recipe calls for... Orange hefe is this guy "3068 - Weihenstephan Weizenâ„¢"

[Dublicious]

Guess I should drink less before posting so I remember to answer the questions appropriately... aeration consists of shaking like a mofo for a minute before pitching, and a minute after.

[BDawg]

80's is WAY high. Chill to mid 60's then pitch.
Aeration - the "shake the shit out of it method" is hard work and needs more than 2 minutes.
I'd pick up one of these for 50 bucks or so and do it right:
http://www.williamsbrewing.com/WILLIAM_ ... T_P699.cfm

Finally, there is absolutely no wonder that you have the banana flavor in the Bavarian Hefeweizen, since the yeast is bred to do so: 3068 is by far the BEST hefe yeast, and the banana/clove flavor is both desired and sought after. The Weinstephan yeast strain is head and shoulders the BEST hefe strain and it produces that flavor by design.

If you DON'T like the banana/clove flavor, you want to try WLP0320 (American Wheat) strain, which is what Pyramid and Widmer use.

HTH-

[alan_marks]

FWIW, Stan Hieronimous has a chart toward the back of Brew Like a Monk describing the different flavor profiles one can have with belgian style yeasts putched at different temperature ranges. He lists both the White Labs and Wyeast strains. He notes that starting in the lower temp ranges (low 60's) and letting them ramp up of their own accord would reduce the banana flavor.

[Dublicious]

80's is WAY high. Chill to mid 60's then pitch.
Aeration - the "shake the shit out of it method" is hard work and needs more than 2 minutes.
I'd pick up one of these for 50 bucks or so and do it right:
http://www.williamsbrewing.com/WILLIAM_ ... T_P699.cfm

Finally, there is absolutely no wonder that you have the banana flavor in the Bavarian Hefeweizen, since the yeast is bred to do so: 3068 is by far the BEST hefe yeast, and the banana/clove flavor is both desired and sought after. The Weinstephan yeast strain is head and shoulders the BEST hefe strain and it produces that flavor by design.

If you DON'T like the banana/clove flavor, you want to try WLP0320 (American Wheat) strain, which is what Pyramid and Widmer use.

HTH-

Thanks for the info! I was on the fence as to whether this was normal w/ the yeast as soon as you asked and I hadn't even considered it until then(though I know it's in character for the style). I do have the "brew like a monk" book as well so I'll check that out(thanks alan).

I'm definitely going to take more care cooling the wort, there's really no reason why I couldn't wait and just enjoy a beer. I was seriously considering the oxygen setup anyway, my only fear was that I wouldn't be able to kill this banana flavor and my interest would wane (as it has before) and I'd waste the money on new equipment. If these will help get rid of that frustrating flavor then it's worth the money.

Thanks for all the help!