First Brew...primary fermenter

So here I am and here it is. My first batch transferring from my first to secondary fermenter. It stinks and looks cloudy so I wanted to see what you guys thought. It is a German Wheat Hefe. WOOHOO. I hope it works out. It sat in the primary for 4 days and will sit in this secondary for about 3 days. I wanted to get an opinion on the color, good, bad, sell my stuff:cross: :cross:

Anyways, constructive criticism will be appreciated!

Tyler

PS. I wanted to add a photo to show you the beer to get an idea of how it looked but I can' t attach photos. Any ideas???

By "stinks", I take it theres sulphur smell? Thats normal. Hefeweizen is supposed to be cloudy, but instead of just letting it sit in secondary for 3 days, take gravity readings each day. If the gravity does not change, the beer should be done, as long as its at or very close to your est. F.G.

Yes, that sulphur smell. Oh but the hops smelled great. I'll give that a whirl. Hopefully it will lighten up a little after priming and bottling.

You moved it too early. NEVER move to secondary in under 7 days.

and technically a Hefeweizen shouldn't go into secondary, because its supposed to be cloudy. 3 weeks in primary, then bottle assuming you hit final gravity.
Don't expect it to get real light...extract brews are always darker than they 'should' be.

Also in reading your post, it seems to me that you think secondary is where fermentation ends....its not. Secondary is a 'clearing tank'...not a fermenter (despite the term 'secondary fermentation'...it doesn't apply to beer makers).

You only move to secondary to clear the beer, AFTER it reaches final gravity and the gravity stops dropping...3 days of consistent gravity readings.

That is what I thought, but the instructions from the local brew shop said 3-4 days for secondary. It has already nearly stopped bubbling but I'll wait for another day or so and then start priming.

Well, it's your beer and that's the beauty of it- you can make it your way. Still, if it were me, I would never, ever bottle in a week, especially if it only "nearly stopped bubbling". I've had a beer in the primary fermenter for two weeks, and now I'm thinking about opening it and taking a sg reading and see if it's ready to transfer. There never is a benefit to rushing it, and at times if you rush it, it can be downright dangerous (bottle bombs).

If you own a hydrometer, it would be great to use it and check the gravity before you consider bottling. If the beer is finished, that's great! If it's not, it's good to know so you avoid bottle bombs.

Edit- attach photos is easy! You just need to upload them to a hosting site like photobucket. Then post them here by using the tools just above the reply screen. I'd love to see a picture!

Trying a picture.....



http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q76/germanyberensen/smallbeer-1.jpg

The picture is there- it looks good so far. I'd wait about a week or two to bottle, though.

Ya, I just want to TRY to have it ready for the 17th of this month, that is my 30th b-day, I need some good beer to drink...to ease the pain you know! LOL. I was mostly worried about the color of it. But that looks alright?

So it hasn't done much in the last week, i was just cautioned at bottling so early. There isn't much going on so on sunday i will attempt the priming and bottling. wish me luck!!! LOL

So the beer is done. It has a good color to it but the flavor is a little off. It doesn't taste exactly like a hefeweizen and I realize it won't taste exactly like it but it almost tastes like an ale mix. I don't think its a bad batch but I guess I'll find out in a few days when I drink 5-6 of them and spend the next day on the toilet right?

Your brew is very green still. The flavor is going to change quite a bit.

We'll see, I guess it'll be a Christmas present to me.

Are you guys sure that the sulfur smell is normal? I know that it can be normal when lagering due to the lager yeast producing hydrogen sulfide, but in Palmer's book, "How to Brew", he writes, "Bacterial infections can also produce sulfuric odors, and if you are not brewing a lager beer, this is a good sign that you have an infection".

Now I am relatively new to the brewing game myself, so perhaps there's something I don't know here. Do the yeasts used for wheat ales also produce hydrogen sulfide?

Thanks.

Only time will tell. You just have to wait.

My last brew was a Fat Tire clone and had one hell of an infection. It looked good and didnt smell bad but as soon as I took a sip I threw it up. If it tastes ok even a little off, I wouldn't worry.

orfy said:

Only time will tell. You just have to wait.

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This is the best advice you will get - patience is a HUGE virtue in this arena. We all wanted so bad to try our first beers far sooner than we should have. Unless you've really effed something up, time is your friend. I had an Octoberfest that smelled so bad when I racked to secondary (like ripe ass) I thought for certain it was a total loss. Turned out to be an excellent beer after about 2 months in the bottle. Be patient.

Following up on my last post, I did a little research, and yes, wheat ale yeasts can often produce sulfur. So your beer may be just fine.

cclloyd said:

This is the best advice you will get - patience is a HUGE virtue in this arena. We all wanted so bad to try our first beers far sooner than we should have. Unless you've really effed something up, time is your friend. I had an Octoberfest that smelled so bad when I racked to secondary (like ripe ass) I thought for certain it was a total loss. Turned out to be an excellent beer after about 2 months in the bottle. Be patient.

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+1 on this. its the hardest thing you will have to do in brewing. You can always start a couple more to get your mind off it