Hefeweizen Undrinkable

So I brewed my Hank's Hefe (midwest kit) quite a while ago and started drinking a few now and then with one big problem. This brew always makes my stomach ache. From what I've read this is from active yeast still floating throughout the beer which can be worse with wheat beers. My other home brew (Ferocious) gives me no problems what-so-ever.

What (if anything) can I do to knock the yeast out?

I was thinking two options:

Pasteurization - putting the bottles in a pot of boiling water and hoping the caps don't blow.

Near freezing - putting the bottles in the freezer in the hope the yeast is killed off/knocked off but the bottles don't blow.

Any suggestions?

My first thought was similar to your freezer idea. Bring it to near freezing temps then transfer to the fridge and let it sit a week or two. I once turned the temp way down on my beer fridge and managed to turn some of my beer into slushies. Once I brought the temp back up and thawed out my brew it was brilliantly clear, to the point where you could easily read small print through the glass. This should force even the most persistent little yeasties to drop out of suspension. This is, of course, under the assumption that it's the yeast that's giving you the tummy ache.

You should be able to get most of the yeast to drop out when you chill the beer before serving. Just make sure to pour carefully to not disturb the yeast. I would definitely not boil the bottles. That seems like a good way to blow them up in your face.

I just took a bottle, put it in a plastic pitcher, threw a plastic bag over it and into the freezer it went. We'll see how it comes out...

Same thing happens to me, which is a shame as I really like the Clementine Hefe I recently brewed

If they are fully carbed, stash them in the fridge for 2 weeks. That will be enough time for the more persistent yeast to drop out.

AverageJoe said:

I just took a bottle, put it in a plastic pitcher, threw a plastic bag over it and into the freezer it went. We'll see how it comes out...

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Beers always freeze solid for me before they pop... 30-40 minutes in the freezer is about the limit in my experience before you end up with a slushy.

AverageJoe said:

This brew always makes my stomach ache. From what I've read this is from active yeast still floating throughout the beer which can be worse with wheat beers. My other home brew (Ferocious) gives me no problems what-so-ever.

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Judging by post count is a bad thing, but are you fairly new to homebrew? You'll get used to it. There's nothing wrong with your brew. It's like when cabbage, salad or brussel sprouts gives you issues; because you don't normally consume it. Once you get used to it, it's all good.

-OCD

beerocd said:

Judging by post count is a bad thing, but are you fairly new to homebrew? You'll get used to it. There's nothing wrong with your brew. It's like when cabbage, salad or brussel sprouts gives you issues; because you don't normally consume it. Once you get used to it, it's all good.

-OCD

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Why would his homebrew be any different than a commercial unfiltered hefe?

bruin_ale said:

Why would his homebrew be any different than a commercial unfiltered hefe?

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Because he has 5 gallons of it. And he probably has way more yeast in suspension than a commercial brand. Plus even his ordinary beer has plenty of yeast in it, so I am guessing that it's just yeast overload until his body gets used to it. There are threads related to yeast and homebrew and bodily functions gone haywire if you care to search for them.

Could be the wheat, but you'd think he knows about a wheat allergy prior to now.

-OCD

Interesting.. hadn't really occurred to me that there'd be that big of a difference in the number of yeast. I try to crash cool most of my beers before serving to floc the yeast - of course not the hefes

How many times have I told you guys about excess yeast?

This is a fine example of why I secondary EVERY BEER!!!

Hell yes, that yeast is alive! When you bottle too soon you have a ton of excess yeast in the bottle and you put all the yeast from the bottle in the glass then into your stomach.

If you do try a secondary for even 1 day you'll find a bunch of yeast at the bottom of the carboy and the beer will still be cloudy.

I usually secondary my HWs for at least 3 days. If the beer goes clear then you can add some of the yeast back into the bottling bucket just to make it (slightly) cloudy again.

homebrewer_99 said:

How many times have I told you guys about excess yeast?

This is a fine example of why I secondary EVERY BEER!!!

Hell yes, that yeast is alive! When you bottle too soon you have a ton of excess yeast in the bottle and you put all the yeast from the bottle in the glass then into your stomach.
.

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UH-OH!!Watch out ,the anti-secondary police are coming to link you!!OMG are they gonna link you up real good.

Ok, so I drank a lot of commercial Hefe's prior to this (Paulaner, Summit, Firehouse etc), none of which have ever given me a problem. I did secondary this and left a huge yeast cake on the bottom of both the primary and the secondary. The bottles conditioned completely undisturbed for a month. I've let them sit for 3 months now waiting for this issue to resolve itself. Maybe that answers some of the questions or responses posted.

AverageJoe said:

Ok, so I drank a lot of commercial Hefe's prior to this (Paulaner, Summit, Firehouse etc), none of which have ever given me a problem. I did secondary this and left a huge yeast cake on the bottom of both the primary and the secondary. The bottles conditioned completely undisturbed for a month. I've let them sit for 3 months now waiting for this issue to resolve itself. Maybe that answers some of the questions or responses posted.

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OK, now I'm perplexed??

RCCOLA: They'll never take me alive I tell ya....

homebrewer_99 said:

How many times have I told you guys about excess yeast?

This is a fine example of why I secondary EVERY BEER!!!
...

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Sing it loud brotha.....:rockin:

don't commercial hefes usually filter and then add back a different yeast? I thought I heard that somewhere, I could be wrong...if that's the case then maybe you have a specific digestive problem with the yeast you used to ferment, or at least there's a lot more of it in the HB than in the commercial. I mean, the commercial hefes I've had, you never look into the bottle and see a big thick ring of sediment like you can get with homebrew, so maybe they don't add back as much yeast?

jmiracle said:

don't commercial hefes usually filter and then add back a different yeast? I thought I heard that somewhere, I could be wrong...if that's the case then maybe you have a specific digestive problem with the yeast you used to ferment, or at least there's a lot more of it in the HB than in the commercial. I mean, the commercial hefes I've had, you never look into the bottle and see a big thick ring of sediment like you can get with homebrew, so maybe they don't add back as much yeast?

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...hmmm, this sounds familiar...

try taking a little Bean-o prior to consumption