First Wheat Beer, What to Expect?

So I just put together my first wheat beer and I know there are many things that are different about this than regular beer. I used a can of Coopers Wheat and then 3 lbs of Briess DWE 60/40 along with the yeast supplied in the kit. Did about 5.5 gallons to account for loss during transfer. I have heard these do not clear at all or always retian a haze, they are fast fermenting and you don't have to wait long to drink them, and they are low in bitterness or overall hop character. Given my recipe, what should I be expecting?

I'm not an expert but I think your status looks pretty good.

My wheats do clear out pretty well, but if they do you could always give it a good 'shake' or pour aggressively to get the trademark unfiltered look (I don't filter any though so all of them have a little clous I guess).

I happen to love wheats, I've only done 6 or 7 batches of beer altogether and my first one was a hefe, and it was my favorite too.

Good luck!

Three weeks in the bottle and it will be very good. Six weeks it should peak. Enjoy

The Cooper's Wheat was the first one I ever made. I think I used 2 or 3 pounds of light dme with it and it was fabulous. Honestly, it is still one of the best beers I've ever made. I left it in the primary for 10 days then bottled. It never cleared completely (which I don't think it was supposed to).

I plan on a week in primary and a week a glass carboy secondary. I have heard that this kind of beer does not really need to condition that much and will be ready after being carbonated for about 10 days. Anyone else with more experience with wheat beer agree with what I have heard or should I just go ahead with the 1-2-3 method?

i think 1-2-3 is always the best choice, but you can still make a decent beer if you don't. lately i've been taking readings when i think it's done just to be sure.

I always open a bottle every week just to see how the beer is coming, but three weeks is standard before i really break them out, and yeah for a hefeweizen i think six weeks is nominal

BrewFrick said:

So I just put together my first wheat beer ...

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We are in the same boat here BrewFrick. I brewed my first wheat beer on Sat, so we are a day off and I used all DME (Munton & Fison Dry wheat malt extract). We'll have to compare notes.

I did add .8 oz of corriander seed to my boil to emulate Blue Moon a little bit (not an exact clone) and I bought some orange extract to add to the priming sugar water if I feel like it in a week or two.

Well what was your exact recipe? I just went with the kit and didn't try to do anything extra with it. Mine has already completed the initial ferment and will hang out in the primary until Saturday or Sunday, I don't know if I should put it in the secondary or if I should just bottle it and let it condition for that extra week in the bottle.

Why use the secondary? It's a wheat beer, get all that yeasty goodness into the bottle.

I say bottle it up.

That is the way I was leaning anyway since I know it won't clear like the others will. Then I have to bottle agiain this weekend, but I should have a stock of about 5 cases after that. I need to brew two batches at a time, I drink lots of my product.

Just made a hefe and bottled after 10 days in the primary. First time I didn't use a secondary. Turned out great...nice and cloudy and thick. I'd forget the secondary, just more to clean...

i'm not even gonna clean when i bottle this one, just dump some more wort in there

i hope it only takes 10-12 days. i'm at 9 now and it's still bubbling a bit, but it was fermenting like mad the first 5 days and went pretty steady the few after that, so i think it's probably close.

BrewFrick said:

Well what was your exact recipe?

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Hey Brew, sorry for the late reply here, but here is my recipe (it's a pretty simple one):

Hefe-Weizen
Ingredients:
6 lbs. Munton & Fison Dry wheat malt extract.
1 oz Saaz hops 3.3% AA Boiled 60 Min
1tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min)
.8 oz Corriander Seed (Boil 5.0 min)
.6 oz Bitter Orange Peel (Boil 5.0 min)

WYeast 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen

im also in the same boat. my first brew was wheat about 2 weeks ago. i put cloves, corriander and dried orange peel to the boil, and 2.5lbs cane sugar to up the alcohol a tad. why do the say dont use cane sugar. i had great success with it in wine?

Ya don't need to condition in a secondary with the wheat...that said, make sure your gravity is done moving.

Using a shorter conditioning time and then bottling can lead to excessive fermentables going into your bottles and result in gushers.

My wheats usually go 2 solid weeks in the primary and then to keg (or bottle).

This thing has been done for about 3 days, no bubbles at all and gravity right on, just waiting to put the dextrose and hose to it now.

i'm doin my second honey hefe this week
3 lb wheat lme 60 min
3 lb wheat lme 15 min
2.5 lbs honey(clover) 15 min
.5 lbs carapil (steeped)
1 oz saaz 60 min
1 oz saaz 0 min
white labs wlp 380 hefe yeast
sg 1.060 fg @1.010-15

aaaaalllllLLLLLLLLL-RRRRIIIIIIGHHHHTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IT'S WEISS-BIER SEASON!!!!!!!!!!

Bottled this stuff today. Tasted ok right out of the primary but I like even green beer, I'm a beer whore. So after a few weeks in the bottle I will be better able to tell if this is a repeat recipe or not.

yeah, my franziskaner clone didn't taste too hot after a week. way too much banana that was not there at the bottling stage, i hope it mellows out a bit, but it's drinkable anyway. it's weird, it tasted just like franziskaner when we bottled. probably won't when it's done.

Yep it tasted about like hoppy banana juice to me.

After my week one tester I had the similar 'hoppy banana juice' effect, but now @ week two, the tester was much much nicer. It was a nice refreshing beer, but much clearer than I anticipated. It is lightly hazy, but not quite as hazy as other hefes I have had. All in all I am pleased. I do think I could have crushed my corriander a little finer because that flavor has not been shining through in the last test bottle, but it is only week 2 of bottle conditioning and the real flavors may come on with time I hope.

cormi3r said:

Hey Brew, sorry for the late reply here, but here is my recipe (it's a pretty simple one):

Hefe-Weizen
Ingredients:
6 lbs. Munton & Fison Dry wheat malt extract.
1 oz Saaz hops 3.3% AA Boiled 60 Min
1tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min)
.8 oz Corriander Seed (Boil 5.0 min)
.6 oz Bitter Orange Peel (Boil 5.0 min)
WYeast 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen

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Why the Irish moss? Wheat beers are supposed to be hazy.

Sounds good overall. Enjoy!

I get myself confused, but technically aren't the orange peel and corriander elements of a wit, not a hefeweizien? A hefe is basically wheat and pils malt (or wheat extract), bittering hops, and hefe yeast.

the_bird said:

I get myself confused, but technically aren't the orange peel and corriander elements of a wit, not a hefeweizien? A hefe is basically wheat and pils malt (or wheat extract), bittering hops, and hefe yeast.

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Which is why he said he was going for a Blue Moon type beer.

... but it was labeled "Hefe-Weizen"...