Brewing my first Hefe, any suggestions for my system?

I am going to brew my 5 batch of all grain and it will be the Bee Cave Brewery Hefe. I only started to dial in my system on the 4th and 5th batches. The first 3 were rough...

I brew with a 3 keggle system, direct fired mash tun, and a SABCO false bottom. Im still having a hard time maintaining a constant temp in the MLT. I will be using a pump for the first time on this batch. Im not sure if I am going to use the pump to go from the HLT to the MT, or if I will use it to take the wort from the MT to the BK. Let me know what you think about that, if it even matters...

Anyhow... I have read that Hefe's can be tricky. Ive heard that they can get stuck, or end up with some off flavors if not done well. Why is this? The recipe calls for some rice hulls, so hopefully that will help.

Also, I was considering a 10 gallon batch. Does this make it any more difficult?

Definitely rice hulls!

For the price, they are worth it. I have made more hef's than any other beer. The ONLY stuck sparge I ever had (for any mash) was the time I thought I had some rice hulls at home, found out I didn't, and said "screw it"

Rice hulls are your friend :rockin:

So is the risk of a stuck sparge the only thing that makes a hefe difficult? Do I really need to do any temperature rests? I mean, I certainly can, but I dont have that great of controll over my temps yet...

Use the rice hulls, they do help.

Also, if you are fly sparging with one pump, I prefer to gravity drain fromt he MLT to the BK, and pump water into the MLT from the HLT. This way your flow rates stay constant and you do not risk pulling a suction on the mash bed.

The biggest factor in a good hefe (or at least one of the biggest) is the temperature of fermentation. Keep it cool (below 70º) actually fermentation temp and you should be fine. Above that and the banana/bubblegum notes will be over the top and out of style.

I ferment my hefes with Wyeast 3068 at around 63º to get a nice yeast character.

I do a protein rest at 122 for my wheat beers. However, you must be able to raise the temps quickly to your sacc rest temps or you risk over using the enzymes and breaking down too many long chain proteins.

I usually dough in thick at 99º for about 30 minutes, then infuse to my protein rest at 122º for 10 minutes then start my recirculated direct fired step. I get up to 145º in under 10 minutes and hold that temp for 50 minutes. Then I raise to 168º via direct fire and fly sparge, maintaining the bed around 170º. I start my boil as soon as the bottom of my kettle is covered.

Make sure you wait for a good hot break before adding your bittering hops and starting the 60 minute boil timer.

Hey, thanks a lot for the input. I have a hard time dialing in my temps, as I am still getting used to my system. My KAB4 definitely brings it up quicks, but it seems to keep heating up long after I turn off the flame. Therefore, its tough for me at this point to hit the temps dead on, without going too high. It will come with more practice on my system. Ive only brewed 5 batches with it so far.

I think i might just try to do the 122 degree protein rest for 10 minutes, then fire it up for the mash. Hopefully that will give me a good product.

That will work nicely. I highly suggest running your burner as low as it can go while not blowing out, and circulating the mash via your pump as quick as you can get it flowing through. Shut the burner off a few degrees below your target and allow the temps to stabilize. If you need more heat re-fire the burner for a half minute or so to bump the temp a bit. I always keep a bucket of ice around too so I can throw in some cubes if I overshoot by a bit. Try to avoid using the ice, but it is handy to have around.

If you are really interested in reading some people talk extensively about brewing hefes, try this thread.

The one thing I picked up is an acid rest at 111 degrees may enhance clove flavor if that is what you like. I just brewed my first using this style (111 for 20, 152 for 40, 168 for 10) used WL380 yeast and keeping a cool ferment. Oh, my recipe went the direction of Schneider Weiss: 5lb wheat malt, 2lb vienna, 2lb pale malt, 6oz crystal 15l.

Oh, that thread is a 45 page monster a la the apfelwine thread, but there is ALOT of good info and experience to look at. I really enjoyed it, and I am looking forward to enjoying my first hefe!

Actually, do I need the protein rest with a well modified grain? What exactly is the benefit? (still a newbie to the All Grain)