Wheat beers 'mit hefe' in kegs...

...just doesn't work for me. Every pour has too much yeast. I just BMBF'd the remainder of a Hefeweizen and Dunkleweizen because I felt I was wasting it by drinking it one glass at a time from the keg. This is probably an old discovery for many but I don't make/drink too many beers 'mit hefe'.

Lol, when I got to the end of Hefeweizen keg the yeast was so thick it actually clogged the tap (at low pressure).

I'm having the opposite problem. After 2 weeks in the keg, my "mit hefe" Hefeweizens turn into Kristallweizens.

The answer to this one is really simple. You are taking too long to drink your beer and the yeast settles. . I do Hefe all the time and never had a clog - but I don't usually take it out of primary for about 6 weeks. How about letting your beer sit in the fermenter longer so the yeast can settle out more and less yeast is transferred to your keg?

-OCD

With a hefe, every couple of days I unhook and take the keg out, flip it upside down, give it a little shake, and put it back in the kegerator. The yeast tends to last until the last glass that way.

As I just brewed a hefe yesterday, I was wondering about this. When I rack, should I stir up some trub? I'm only going to be fermenting for a week (unless it's obviously still going), so I hope there isn't much time for it to settle out.

I lay it on its side every other day and give it a short 2 ft roll on the floor...voila!!

Sigafoos said:

As I just brewed a hefe yesterday, I was wondering about this. When I rack, should I stir up some trub? I'm only going to be fermenting for a week (unless it's obviously still going), so I hope there isn't much time for it to settle out.

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If you used the right yeast there will still be plenty after a week . I let mine sit 2 weeks and still nice and cloudy when I rack to the keg. I do have a Hefe that has been in the primary about 3 weeks I plan on swirling it a a few hours before racking just to get some of the yeast back in suspension.

I bet there is more to it

Next time I put a hefe on tap I am putting a long dip tube on the gas side in hope that it will keep the yeast in suspension through agitation of CO2 going into the keg on every pour.

Oh yeah springer, it was the Wyeast 3068 that smelled like a hefe even without any beer to ferment. Mmm.

i did a hefe and have a huge foam yeast head in the fermintor. Do I transfer this to the bottling bucket as well? Its been in the primary for a little over 2 weeks and i still have a large foam cake, and ferm. is still going strong

babalu87 said:

I bet there is more to it

Next time I put a hefe on tap I am putting a long dip tube on the gas side in hope that it will keep the yeast in suspension through agitation of CO2 going into the keg on every pour.

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Why not just use two beer out tubes???

It also had to do with the particular kegs I chose to use. These were both Cornelius kegs with dip tubes that went all the way down into the well. I've cut dip tubes on a few of my kegs but just didn't for these two. Had I cut a little off it prob wouldn't have been so bad...they're cut now though.

But I still think that unless you do something to agitate it that you'll get too much yeast in the early pours and then not enough in the late pours. It's always settling and you're always pulling from the bottom. And since I don't want to have to shake/invert a keg every few days I'll prob just plan to bottle these 'mit hefe' brews shortly after kegging them.

That's a good idea babalu, I'd be interested if it actually yielded great pours for the whole keg.

homebrewer_99 said:

Why not just use two beer out tubes???

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I could do that but it wouldnt be a beer out tube

My only concern is beer coming back up through the line (hooking up other kegs on the system etc) so I need to find a one way valve that will prevent this.

babalu87 said:

I could do that but it wouldnt be a beer out tube

My only concern is beer coming back up through the line (hooking up other kegs on the system etc) so I need to find a one way valve that will prevent this.

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Most gas splitters are equipped with check valves. If yours doesn't have one, it's only an ~$8 part.


This is a great idea and while I'm not a huge hefe fan, my wife is. I'd love to cobble together a hefeweisen keg and see how it works.

TrojanMan said:

Most gas splitters are equipped with check valves. If yours doesn't have one, it's only an ~$8 part.


This is a great idea and while I'm not a huge hefe fan, my wife is. I'd love to cobble together a hefeweisen keg and see how it works.

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Yeah, I have those check valves but they are far from bullet-proof.

I was thinking of something on the tube itself or at the least right at the gas in fitting.