CarnieBrew
Well-Known Member
I've done a number of extract hefe and dunkelweizen brews with Wyeast 3068 over the last few months, since discovering that fermenting my brews at 17C (62.6F) gave me the exact flavour profile I was chasing (similar to a Weihenstephan hefe/dunkel).
The beers have come out great, particularly the dunkel, terrific mouthfeel, great aroma, and that bready/malty caramel almost chocolate flavour you get from a commercial version.
Interestingly though, I'm getting a final gravity of around 1019, with a starting gravity around 1052. That's an attenuation of less than 65%. When I've fermented higher with this yeast, I've had lower finishes, around 1015. But I much prefer the result from the lower ferment temp.
I'm not all that worried about it, I've done forced ferment tests and the beers are always fully fermented, and they carb up perfectly when bulk primed. I'm just curious if anyone's had a similar result with low temp ferments on 3068?
I've always used yeastcalc.com to determine my starter volumes, with a view to under-pitching at around 80% of optimal (e.g. 150 billion in 5 gallons). Not that pitch rate has a lot to do with FG as I understand it.
My fermentation is normally complete within 5 or 6 days, at which point I raise the temp up to 68F, and I've even given the fermenter a swirl (which doesn't really seem necessary given 3068 is such a low floccer). Then I leave it another week, at which point it's still at around 1019...I bulk prime, bottle, and am drinking it 5 or 6 days later.
My recipe is similar to that in "Brewing Classic Styles", but that recipe suggests an FG of around 1013, as do the BJCP guidelines. 3.5kg (7.7lb) of CBW Bavarian Wheat LME, 350gm (12oz) of crystal grain.
Any other hefe/dunkel extract brewers out there using 3068 at ~62F? What final gravity do you get?
The beers have come out great, particularly the dunkel, terrific mouthfeel, great aroma, and that bready/malty caramel almost chocolate flavour you get from a commercial version.
Interestingly though, I'm getting a final gravity of around 1019, with a starting gravity around 1052. That's an attenuation of less than 65%. When I've fermented higher with this yeast, I've had lower finishes, around 1015. But I much prefer the result from the lower ferment temp.
I'm not all that worried about it, I've done forced ferment tests and the beers are always fully fermented, and they carb up perfectly when bulk primed. I'm just curious if anyone's had a similar result with low temp ferments on 3068?
I've always used yeastcalc.com to determine my starter volumes, with a view to under-pitching at around 80% of optimal (e.g. 150 billion in 5 gallons). Not that pitch rate has a lot to do with FG as I understand it.
My fermentation is normally complete within 5 or 6 days, at which point I raise the temp up to 68F, and I've even given the fermenter a swirl (which doesn't really seem necessary given 3068 is such a low floccer). Then I leave it another week, at which point it's still at around 1019...I bulk prime, bottle, and am drinking it 5 or 6 days later.
My recipe is similar to that in "Brewing Classic Styles", but that recipe suggests an FG of around 1013, as do the BJCP guidelines. 3.5kg (7.7lb) of CBW Bavarian Wheat LME, 350gm (12oz) of crystal grain.
Any other hefe/dunkel extract brewers out there using 3068 at ~62F? What final gravity do you get?