Hey everyone,

Brewing a hefeweizen this upcoming weekend. I am going to very slightly bump up the ABV from the classic style (~6.8% expected).

I'd like to get as much banana flavor as possible. My understanding has been that the way to produce the esters that want is a) increasing fermentation temperature, and b) under pitching.

The first part is easy enough. However, since I am bumping up the ABV a bit, I am a little nervous about under pitching. A lot of forums I've read have suggested not even making a starter if you want to go for a banana bomb, which I do.

Do you think there is any danger of a stuck fermentation if I pitch straight from the bag? Maybe I could make a starter and just not shake the test tube or use a stir plate so that it is less robust?

Curious to hear thoughts.