Those great weissen and dunkels from SW Germany are my goal, but for a Mr. Beer sized fermenter, should you use half the Wyeast pack? I've been trying to figure out the answer to this for a while, as on another board, I saw some posts that seem to hint that too much yeast might be a bad thing. Or does the sulfur simply work itself out if you use the whole pack (which seems to be what's implied in this thread) and it's not a big deal?

Use the whole pack... It's actually the perfect number of cells for a Mr Beer-sized batch.

You're going to want to stay away from the Wyeast American Wheat strain that started this thread and go with the previously mention 3068 or maybe 3333 which will give you the German Wheat banana esters and clove phenolics you're looking for. With that being said, pitching rate and fermentation temp will manipulate those flavors. Pitching a whole smack pack will mean less stress on the yeast (since it's a bigger amount) and might lower those flavors. Fermenting at a warmer temp might offset that.

Some other folks with more experience with the German wheat strains can chime in with better opinions than mine.

Well, I don't spend a lot of effort in holding temps right now. I'll fix that when I finally move out of my apartment, so assume an average of 68, with air temp moving from 65 to 70 throughout the day. I know this isn't optimal, but it's all I can do right now. Thanks for the feedback, I have 3068 actually in my recipe, so that's what I'll try first.

That Wyeast 3068 is a really active one. If using the MrBeer keg to ferment in, I'd suggest putting the cap on and tightening until the lid just barely catches the threads... nice and loose. That will give plenty of room for the CO2 to escape. You might want to set that keg in a cake pan or something as a extra precaution for anything that might run up and over the sides.

Got a plastic tub or cooler that will fit the LBK? Then you've got a way to control temps!

Here's a great thread HatchetJack started about it.

Oh, and I agree...a full pack of 3068 or other Bavarian Wheat yeast is exactly what you're looking for.

I've used the 3638 twice and will be using it again in my next advanteos wizeinbock. Good stuff