Priming with Wheat DME?! Disappointed.

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RoaringBrewer

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So, I brewed up a hefe and wanted to keep it 'all malt' so I used (a little less than) 1 1/4 cup of wheat DME to prime with (I thought this was the equivalent of 3/4 cup of corn sugar?!)...

I must say I'm dissapointed. The beer carbed up in 2 weeks (so much for DME takes longer!), however there is much more sediment (should have expected this I suppose) and the beer is basically a gusher when poured. It doesn't overflow much when chilled and opened, but man if you don't pour this at 1oz. per 1 minute, the thing is just one big mess of head/foam.

Is this normal with Wheat DME or did I mess something up in the conversion? Or is wheat DME (55/45 mix) the exception to the prime with DME rule that I just missed?

The other dissapointing thing is that the carbonation is not anything close to the hefe style. Should have used maybe 3/4 cup wheat DME if I was going to do this. Mouthfeel/Tastes way overcarbed...

Thoughts? I guess I learned a lesson on this one... Good thing this was only a 2.5 gallon batch.
 
i think you used double the amount you should have as 3/4 cup corn sugar is usually for 5 gallons not 2.5
 
Ah, son of a &*$&*#; I knew I missed the obvious answer.

Guess I should dump these then before the explosion. Damn damn damn.

This is what happens when you hate bottling and do so in a hurry... Grrrrrr...
 
Is there any way to save the batch from dumping?! Is it possible to open the bottles to release the pressure til this point and then recap?

Obviously I've doubled the DME so they will blow if something isn't done. A little over is doable, double is probably NOT. Haha.
 
I have already chilled some and I mean you need to pour SLOOOOOOOW not to get a cup of head; and even then its not so hefe-style with all the carbonation. I guess I'll save the 8-10 I have chilled and just ditch the rest before they blow!
 
i had a barleywine the same way - i have vented 4 or 5 times now - just lift the edge of the cap barely enough to release pressure and re-crimp the cap.
this saved my batch.
good luck!
 
I don't think you need to pitch the batch. So it's a little overcarbed, I don't think you're going to be having bottle bombs...just gushers. The increased sediment is probably just because there was more yeast than usual in suspension as its a hefe yeast and not very floculent. A lot of folk will gently roll the beer to get all that back into suspension before drinking.

I agree with everyone else, its a bummer, but poor as slow as you can't. If it tastes good don't throw it away.
 
So, I only had 18 bottles left. I vented them all, had a little foam over, and then recapped. I'm going to store at room temp for 2 weeks and see if they keep carbing (to the appropriate level). If so, I'll cool and drink. If they don't carb enough now that I vented, then I'll do the unthinkable and ditch it.

As for now, I'm drinking a victory hop-devil so I'm happy. :)
 
Right off the top of my head you must have done something wrong.:(

I say this because I always prime with 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 C DME and NEVER have gushers.

Since you have gushers and used the proper priming amount I can only surmise that you bottled early.

Several questions come to mind:

1. What was your OG and FG?

2. At what temp did you let your primed bottles sit for those 2 weeks?

3. Did you disturb them in any way?

4. Do you know how to pour a Hefe Weizen?

Answer these and I may be able to help you.:D
 
homebrewer_99 said:
Right off the top of my head you must have done something wrong.:(
Hey noob, read the whole original post. :D He did a half batch, but primed for full 5 gallons.
 
Extra trub is due to the fact that with malt extract the yeast will reproduce before going anerobic, leaving you with more trub.

Also the 2x amount which has been pointed out already.

No need to dump the beer, just pour slowly and let it rest before drinking.
 
Brewsmith said:
Hey noob, read the whole original post. :D He did a half batch, but primed for full 5 gallons.
Noob...HAHA!! I surely did miss that one...;)

A clear case of over priming said the blind judge!

OK, the best he can do at this point is to get the beer as cold as possible without freezing and venting it.

Another thing is he can open the bottles and pour the beer into pitchers and serve.

I still would like to see his recipe and notes.
 
Obviously I overprimed by making only 3 gallon and priming for 5. Anyway, here was the original recipe for anyone who is curious.

It was a very simple wheat-beer I brewed as an experiment to test the Brewferm Blanche dry wheat yeast (which worked very well might I add with only 3 hour lag time, good attenuation, good flocculation [beer is very clear for wheat!], and the right amount of clove/banana flavors.

From Beersmith:
Wheat- 3 Gallon Batch
Bavarian Weizen (Weissbier)

Type: Extract
Batch Size: 3.00 gal
Boil Size: 1.50 gal
Boil Time: 60 min

Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU
3.25 lb Wheat Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 100.0 %
1.00 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker [4.50%] (45 min) Hops 15.9 IBU
0.50 oz Hallertauer [4.50%] (10 min) Hops 3.1 IBU
1 Pkgs Brewferm Blanche Dry Belgian Wheat Yeast (Brewferm #Similar to WLP400) Yeast-Wheat

Est Original Gravity: 1.047 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.044 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.011 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.7 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.4 %
Bitterness: 19.0 IBU Calories: 193 cal/pint
Est Color: 6.6 SRM

Notes
Prime with Wheat DME. 3 Hour lag-time with only yeast rehydration. Right banana/clove notes. Acceptable replacement/substitution for white labs or wyeast wheat-beer yeasts.
 
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