Do I need to secondary a hefeweizen?

I want to make a hefeweizen, but my secondary will be tied up for the next 3 weeks with my stout. Can i get away with fermenting in the primary only, considering hefes are so yeasty.

Short answer...No, you do not need a secondary for the Hefe. Secondary helps clear a beer and finish it up...Hefe's are best young and are not meant to be clear. I'd let it ferment 3 weeks in primary and bottle.

I make a lot of HWs.

I secondary every one for the sole purpose of eliminating excess yeast from the keg/bottle/glass.

If the beer gets somewhat clear during the secondary I will syphon up some of the yeast, but just enough to get the beer cloudy again.

This results in a cleaner brew in the glass. :rockin:

Good to know I can go from primary to bottle on this one... I really should invest in another carboy.

That raises another question, can a secondary be a bucket instead of a carboy? Attempting to answer myself here (gears turning slowly)... considering its only a process.

Additionally, what are the pros and cons of bucket secondaries vs. carboys?

Typically you want the least amount of head space in a secondary since there is much less CO2 production to push out the O2 - so a 5G carboy filled high is best. Many people ferment in buckets and use the 5G carboy to secondary (if they secondary at all).

homebrewer_99 said:

I make a lot of HWs.

I secondary every one for the sole purpose of eliminating excess yeast from the keg/bottle/glass.

If the beer gets somewhat clear during the secondary I will syphon up some of the yeast, but just enough to get the beer cloudy again.

This results in a cleaner brew in the glass. :rockin:

Click to expand...

As you can see, there are multiple methods lol...this is a common thing among brewers. You will have to choose which you prefer.

I would recommend against using the bucket as secondary for reasons listed above. Use your bucket as the primary and carboy as a secondary if you choose.

I created a flowchart to determine if you need to use a secondary. Enjoy!

mightynintendo said:

I created a flowchart to determine if you need to use a secondary. Enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/DOC6mSCnYH9yRjAwCu2-fQ?feat=directlink

Click to expand...

Wow, I like your flowchart! I will still use my own though...

Does it need to be clear? If yes, then cold crash at 3 weeks. If no, then bottle at 4 weeks.

I do not secondary any ale. Lager obviously requires it.

TheMan said:

Wow, I like your flowchart! I will still use my own though...

Does it need to be clear? If yes, then cold crash at 3 weeks. If no, then bottle at 4 weeks.

I do not secondary any ale. Lager obviously requires it.

Click to expand...

True. I don't use secondaries either for any ale unless I'm adding fruit. Even dry hopping I don't. This flowchart is more geared towards the beginner type who wants to use a secondary to accomplish some of the basic brewing needs, i.e. if it is a question.

Many of us do not use secondaries at all (except for multi month aging, oaking, adding fruit)

I couldnt find the link, but there are many discussions about this, including one that cites a discussion between jamil and palmer.

Basically, I leave my beers in primary for 3-4 weeks, then rack right into my keg.

To answer your question more directly, no, i would not rack your hefe.

I use whatever is handy as my secondary. I have used a bucket, carboy, and bottling bucket as a secondary no problem, as long as it is clean.

Funny chart...

Thanks guys for the advise, and the great chart mightynintendo. I think I'm gonna just primary this for 2 - 3 weeks, then bottle. after that, I'll probably need to buy another bucket and carboy, as the brew bug's got a grip on me, and I wanna get more batches going.

homebrewer_99 said:

I secondary every one for the sole purpose of eliminating excess yeast from the keg/bottle/glass.

Click to expand...

Putting the beer in the secondary will not make it clear more. The yeast in suspension will not know if they are in primary or secondary. Just let it sit longer in the primary and be careful when racking.

I'm about to brew a hefeweizen and I have no intention of going to a secondary. Everything I've read and everyone I've talked to says no secondary is needed... or even desirable. Around 2 weeks in the primary then to bottle.

I think the idea is to keep as much hefe in your weizen as you can

Ouruboros,
I agree with you. I am planning in brewing a hefeweizen on Memorial Day and have no plans to use a secondary. I will go between 2 and 3 weeks in the primary and then bottle.

Beerrific said:

Putting the beer in the secondary will not make it clear more. The yeast in suspension will not know if they are in primary or secondary. Just let it sit longer in the primary and be careful when racking.

Click to expand...

This is true, but for new brewers who are short on primaries it makes perfect sense to rack to a secondary to free up a primary...versus letting it sit in the primary for another week or so.

Personally, I only have 7 primary buckets and over 20 carboys...so I prefer to rack so I can make room to brew some more.
Some brewers pipelines are bigger and better than others.

homebrewer_99 said:

This is true, but for new brewers who are short on primaries it makes perfect sense to rack to a secondary to free up a primary...versus letting it sit in the primary for another week or so.

Personally, I only have 7 primary buckets and over 20 carboys...so I prefer to rack so I can make room to brew some more.
Some brewers pipelines are bigger and better than others.

Click to expand...

Oh, yeah... I don't have much equipment, so keeping that pipeline flowing is always on my mind. The barleywine I'm mulling over... I'm not too happy with the thought of tying up carboys for upwards of 6 months for just one beer. Which may or may not turn out to suck.

Why do you use a secondary when adding fruit?

andysim said:

Why do you use a secondary when adding fruit?

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One excellent reason is to prevent bottle bombs. (Fruit has sugar.)