What has been your Hefeweizen fermentation time?

As the title says... "What has been your Hefeweizen fermentation time?"

I am currently brewing a honey hefeweizen (started last weekend dec. 31st). It started fermentation about 8 - 10 hours after pitching yeast... about 18 hours later the krausen was bubbling out of the airlock. Replaced the airlock with a blowoff tube and left it in till today (sunday - 1 week later). I checked the gravity and it came out at 1.030 (OG was 1.050) and frementing at about 64 to 68 degrees. I shook the bottle to get it going again and currently bubbling at 5 to 6 bubbles per minute.

I read somewhere that it can take up to 14 days for a wheat beer for fermentation to complete, so I was wondering what everyones average fermentaion is?

Thanks

I brew HWs a lot, but I dont ever rush them so I don't know the minimum amount of time, but I will say that you can bottle them within a week since you don't need to put them in the secondary.

So once fermentation is done you go straight to bottle?!

Cregar said:

So once fermentation is done you go straight to bottle?!

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Yep you don't need to wait for it to clear in 2ndary, it's a HW. If you are using honey in your recipe then give it a good 2 weeks in the primary to make sure the honey ferments out.

I made a hefe with honey a couple months ago and it took a few weeks to ferment completely. My other hefe took about a week to finish.

cool... thanks for the advice!

Bizarrely my hefes take between 20-25 days to ferment out using WLP300. As far as I know i'm alone in this experience, perhaps i'm fermenting too cold (18 -20C ish)

The one I just made sat in primary for 10 days. It still had krausen when I kegged. The alcohol content is pretty low and the unfermented is pretty high. So you don't get buzzed, but you do get GFH (gas from hell).

I've only done one hefe (but two wits). The hefe that I did was racked onto an existing cake from a wit I had just racked off of it. Yes, it was still a hefe - the wit had a mix of hefe and wit yeasts. Anyway, lag time was ridiculous, like 45 minutes. Didn't even have time to finish aeration! Fermentation took off, no blowoff though, and it was done in less than 2 days. Went from 1.051 to 1.012. One of my fastest ferments yet. And one of my best beers yet!

Yea since I dont do a secondary with my Hefes, I usually let it go about 10-12 days in the primary and then straight to keg. And the yeast on the bottom of my keg once its blown is minimal.

Another question for ya...

Since the activity calmed down I took out my blowoff tube and replaced it with a airlock. I was using a 2 quart bucket when I was using the blowoff tube. After pouring the water out of the bucket I noticed a thick white something at the bottom of the bucket.

Was that yeast??? If so, did it get blown out through the blowoff tube?

Along these lines...I haven't made a Hefe (or any wheat for that matter), but in general how long do they need before they are ready to drink after bottling? I want to brew one for summer consumption. One more thing, same question but with Weizenbocks, and when are they typically consumed? (Don't mean to take the thread off topic, but I didn't think this question merited a whole other thread)

Cregar said:

Another question for ya...

Since the activity calmed down I took out my blowoff tube and replaced it with a airlock. I was using a 2 quart bucket when I was using the blowoff tube. After pouring the water out of the bucket I noticed a thick white something at the bottom of the bucket.

Was that yeast??? If so, did it get blown out through the blowoff tube?

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probably...but unless the water in your bucket was somehow sanitized and "sealed off", which blowoff buckets usually aren't, then it might be contaminated.

Evan! said:

probably...but unless the water in your bucket was somehow sanitized and "sealed off", which blowoff buckets usually aren't, then it might be contaminated.

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The bucket was filled with sanitizing solution and water.

i'd pitch that yeast in the bucket

mine take around two weeks to ferment fully... then i bottle them. i have one that's past it's third week in primary. it's getting bottled tonight...

Mines more of an amberweizen, but after the stuck fermentation and all, it's going on almost a month of fermentation. I finally took the advice to relax, and not worry about it, but I am getting anxious still because I think after all the waiting I am going to end up with a good brew.

well I just took my gravity reading today (2 weeks after pitching yeast) and it came out at 1.021 the OG was 1.050. It's going at about 3 to 4 bubbles per minute. Should I keep it the primary till it get to the FG of 1.011 or rack it to my secondary to get it off the yeast and let it finish in there? Will it finish fermenting in the secondary or pretty much stop fermenting?

Thanks again for the advice.

The HW's I've done have taken a little longer than other ales to ferment...like 2-3 weeks.

I always leave any beer in the primary until it finishes fermenting and then transfer to the secondary for conditioning. Contrary to many homebrewers I always secondary my HW's for a couple of weeks, I think it helps. It's also interesting to note that most commercial brewers (in Germany) cold condition their Hefeweizens before bottling according to Warner in German Wheat Beer.

Hey BG, do your hefs remain cloudy after the conditioning? The one I did, (which took about 4 weeks in primary) was crystal clear by the time it was done conditioning. I used wy3333 though, and I think that had something to do with it.

I do my Bavarian Hefe's two weeks in the Primary bucket and then keg. Both times they were finished fermenting. I do age mine a minimum of 2 more weeks chilled on gas at 12 psi. So far so good.

Cregar said:

well I just took my gravity reading today (2 weeks after pitching yeast) and it came out at 1.021 the OG was 1.050. It's going at about 3 to 4 bubbles per minute. Should I keep it the primary till it get to the FG of 1.011 to get it off the yeast or rack it to my secondary and let it finish in there? Will it finish fermenting in the secondary or pretty much stop fermenting?

Thanks again for the advice.

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I had almost the same exact gravity when I racked to secondary. It wasn't ready and I ended up with a stuck fermentation. Secondary really isn't for fermenting, just for clearing. The senior guys and gals will tell you not to think about transferring until you are pretty sure primary fermentation is actually complete (A couple of days with the same SG). And definately not to consider bottling with a SG above 1.020.

cool... I'll just keep it in primary till the gravity drops some more.

Thanks again for all the help.

Chairman Cheyco said:

Hey BG, do your hefs remain cloudy after the conditioning? The one I did, (which took about 4 weeks in primary) was crystal clear by the time it was done conditioning. I used wy3333 though, and I think that had something to do with it.

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I've noticed the same thing with wy3333. Makes more of a krystal than a hefe. The 3068 fermented around 65 gives a better HW taste, IMHO.

I've got a wit that has been in primary for eleven days now. It spent the first week in the mid to low 60s, although now it's up to around 70ºF. The OG was 1.048 and when I checked the gravity a couple days ago it was still 1.026. As of today, it's still bubbling at a rate of almost 9bpm. So it looks like it will be in primary for at least two weeks.

Chairman Cheyco said:

Hey BG, do your hefs remain cloudy after the conditioning? The one I did, (which took about 4 weeks in primary) was crystal clear by the time it was done conditioning. I used wy3333 though, and I think that had something to do with it.

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I use 3068 and had one that didn't clear after 40 days at ~45-50F (I was travelling a lot). Now, they will clear in the bottles if they're left in the fridge unmolested long enough, but most commercial HW's will be clear like that if you don't disturb the yeast cake. I just give the last ounce or so a swirl and pour it in.

mysterio said:

Bizarrely my hefes take between 20-25 days to ferment out using WLP300. As far as I know i'm alone in this experience, perhaps i'm fermenting too cold (18 -20C ish)

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Not alone...

Same temps, same ferment time (WPL320 American Hefe yeast)

I was going to bottle last weekend, but the LHBS was closed (probably due to snow on Monday), so I skipped the bottling session as I usually bottle the same day I brew.

My first Wheat ale (dry yeast, Safeale T-58) was done in about 10 days at 75F (24C). I'm at the mercy of my basement temps.

I dumped my hefe ontop of an existing cake...and it finished out in like 2 days. Not sure about that long fermentation time. Did you make a starter? Did you aerate?

Evan! said:

Not sure about that long fermentation time. Did you make a starter? Did you aerate?

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No starter. 35ml White labs vial. I'm used to using smack packs that are in the 'days old' category. (This may likely put me into ALWAYS with a starter, but I'm not worried about it. I wasn't in a rush to get it out of the primary.)

Yes. I believe in the power of aeration. I whisk the cooled wort for 5-10 minutes. I add to water that I've already whisked or shaken the daylights out of, then give a nice shake to the entire carboy. I have no problems (SWMBO does) getting bottled O2 and a stone.

It started along well, very active ferment w/ medium krausen at 18 hours, then just slowed to a nice even chug. It's cold in the basement (4F below the lowest recommended temp for that yeast). I don't think 3 weeks is out of control.

It looks good, smells good, and has finished the ferment (FG numbers to come at bottling), and it'll head to bottles along with the cider this weekend. It is going to be replaced with a chocolate stout for Late March. (I hope). I'm tempted to pitch on the wheat cake for it, but I'll likely go with a starter of the dry yeast for the recipe.

so Im brewing a Hefeweizen right now and its been fermenting for about 10 days. Bubbles are still forming at one every 20 seconds, and when I look in the carboy its still moving and every.
But when I look at my carboy it has a layer of yeast at the bottom, all the beer, and then a layer of what looks like sludge at the top.
Is that normal? should I mix it up? Shake? stir?