strain family
Weissbier yeast
Ale strains that produce unusually high isoamyl acetate and 4-vinyl guaiacol — the banana and clove of Bavarian wheat beer.
These strains carry an active POF gene, which lets them decarboxylate ferulic acid from the malt into 4-vinyl guaiacol — the clove note. They also produce very high levels of isoamyl acetate, the banana ester.
The balance between the two is controllable: warmer fermentation and higher pitching stress favour banana, while a ferulic acid rest in the mash favours clove.
Behaviour
| Fermentation temperature | 17–23°C |
|---|---|
| Apparent attenuation | 72–80% |
| Flocculation | low |
| Esters | very high |
| Phenols | high |
Used in
- Weissbier
Bavarian wheat beer defined by its yeast: pronounced banana and clove over a soft, cloudy, highly carbonated body.
- Kristallweizen
A filtered Weissbier: the same banana-and-clove character in a brilliantly clear beer with a lighter, crisper body.
- Dunkelweizen
A dark Bavarian wheat beer where banana and clove meet bread crust and light caramel from Munich malt.
- Weizenbock
A strong wheat beer combining Weissbier yeast character with bock malt depth — banana and clove over dark fruit and bread.
- Roggenbier
A German rye beer, spicy and full-bodied, fermented with Weissbier yeast for banana and clove alongside rye’s pepper.
- Alcohol-free wheat beer
An alcohol-free wheat beer — often the most convincing of the category, because wheat body and yeast esters survive dealcoholisation well.