Kent

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Hello all,

I’m a new member and new to the home brew world as I have only made a few brews using kits. And would like to start off by saying this is a great site full of great advice.

I’m currently brewing a Coopers Wheat Beer and would appreciate some expert advice as I’m not used to the way the brew should behaving.

With the kit I have used 500g of Muntons Wheat Beer Spray Malt and 300g of Dextrose as the kit suggested. And used Safbrew s33 yeast in replacement to the standard yeast provided.

What I don’t know/understand is the following:-

1) Should there be a yeast cap? Or as this is a Wheat Beer fermentation occurs at the bottom. I don’t have a yeast cap just a bit of froth but its bubbling away like a beauty.

2) The kit says that fermentation should be completed within 10 days but a lot of comments I have seen say leave for a longer period of time to allow the yeast to brew out. If I reach FG should I move to the next stage or leave it?

3) Do I need to drop it into a secondary or bottle straight after primary?

Thank you for your help.

Edcculus

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Welcome to the forums!

1. Yes, all ale yeast is saccharomyces cerevisiae, thus top fermenting. Unless your packet said "lager yeast".

2. For a wheat beer 10-14 days is fine. You dont really need to age them. Just make sure the gravity is stable.

3. No need to secondary. Wheat beers are supposed to be cloudy.

scinerd3000

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your going to have krausen. im assuming thats what you mean by yeast cap. Ale is top fermenting and lager yeast is on the bottom. All beer finishes at different time and the 10 day mark is a good ballpark. Take gravity when you think its done and then a few days later and if the numbers match then your good to go. Alot of people, all grain brewers especially, will let it sit in primary for a long time, a few weeks if not the wole month and then move to keg, or bottle. Letting it sit in primary for an extended period will not hurt you what so ever. After a month you start risking infecton or skunking if tyour carboy is in direct sunlight. If your using a bucket maybe a little less time because its not airtight and you could have oxidation issues but i doubt it. Secondary is purly so you get a cleaer beer. As a beginner i would recomend it because it makes things easier but i doubt this beer is going to clear. its wheat.

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Kent

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Thanks for the quick reply.

The yeast is Safbrew S33 and advises it’s for larger and Wheat Beers. Should I expect a yeast cap?

I will bottle once I reach FG. Do I need to prime/charge with Dextrose/Sugar whilst bottling?

Sorry for the lack of technical jargon.

scinerd3000

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just dont fill to the top of your fermenter because wheat adjuncts are added to beer to aid head retention and maintain the bubbles. As the yeast produce c02 it will get trapped and essentially form a large head on your fermenting beer which can overflow everywehre. SO yes, id say expect one...it also depends what temps your at. You should search the beginners forum because there is alot of resources there. When your yeast is maintaining its gravity, transfer to bottling bucket via syphon (aeration=bad), add 3/4 cup dextrose dissolved into maybe 1 cup boiling water per 5 gallons of wort. then bottle. Let your beer sit until most of the stuff settles out. Many people use a secondary fermentation so as to limit the amount of proteins and "gunk" in there beers

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BEER_4_BREAKFAST

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Ya, I recently brewed a Wheat and the krausen went up into my air lock and I obviously had to roll with a blow off tube for a few days until the krausen settled down.

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Gonefishing

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My memory ain't what it used to be,but I seem to recall using way less priming sugar than that with a wheat beer. It seems to me that even then I had to be very careful pouring it or I had a mug full of foam.... and that was from a bottle, not kegged.

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tomheff

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My question to you is why did you discard the Coopers yeast? The yeast that comes with the Wheat beer kit is a weizen yeast strain.

Saccharomyces

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Most of us recommend against using the yeast with the kit. The larger packets of dry yeast or even liquid yeast yield better results.

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tomheff

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I consider that bad advice and a waste of money. Have you used the weizen yeast that comes with the Coopers Wheat Beer kit or is this just a standing recommendation?