Before I jump into this post, I wanted to clear up a couple things. This beer was created for my wife and yes, its named "Axis of Evil" because I love her and she loves (tolerates) my hobby far more than most. The name is a joke on how awesome she is when it comes to my hobby, plus it being a German Weizen helps a lot. So, I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea concerning the history of the name.
My wife has a taste for Hefe-weizen's. The problem is I don't. So when creating a recipe I had to make her convey what she wanted in the beer without me really understanding the style, flavor profile or understanding what she really wanted. It started off as creating a recipe for a Orange/Lemon American style Hefeweizen. I did a double decoction trying to get this right. I thought the end result was spot on to the style I understood she wanted. Come to find out she wanted a German take on the style. The recipe was scrapped and I started over again. (after 2 attempts BTW)
Switching to White Labs WLP300 was key. I started using the WLP320 and hated it. Way to many esters for what we were looking for. I also started this recipe looking for an American profile, which slowly changed over to a newer German feel. WLP300's key a low fermentation temperature, under 65. (My target for this beer is 63.) When starting low, you get a better balanced ripe banana to clove profile. When starting above 67 I started to get a bigger green, unripe banana to harsh clove phenols created by the yeast. I find this (What I call green banana) harsh and a red flag concerning a bad fermentation. Now the harsher clove doesn't bother me as much, but it seems they are created together so you might as well stay low on the fermentation temps.
For the hops I knew I wanted to use hallertauer, mostly because I had a large amount sealed in the freezer. Pairing this with a German Pils and 52% of various types of Wheat Malt. The Melanoidien Malt was slid in to mimic a traditional double decoction mash. Which for this recipe I didn't want to continue doing. I can tell its lost some complexity, but not at the expense of the recipe. I've found this beer a challenge overall, having brewed this 6 times, 4 on this final recipe I am happy to say this is right where my wife wants it to be.
Aroma: Hints of bubble gum paired with a background of clove. I get a rounded malt sweetness that is almost "fluffy".
Appearance: A solid white head that commands attention sitting on top of a ripe banana yellow hazy liquid. This beer is solidly hazy. Which is needed for the style. The lacing on this beer can not be forgotten, rings remembering each sip remain on the glass.