Does a Wheat beer NEED a secondary?

Just wondering if there is any advantage except clarity for moving a heffe weizen into the secondary fermenter? Should I bother? Don't we want a little sediment? Thanks

Einze, zwei, drei, zoopha....

I just brewed a wheat and only left it in secondary for about 2 days before bottling ( I had to take it to a friend's housewarming 2 weeks from bottling).

It was a huge hit.
It was all gone in a weekend.

I don't think it would have gained anything from clarification in the secondary, but take that for what it's worth since I've only brewed one wheat beer.

Homebrewer_99 is the wheat expert, so maybe he'll chime in.

...and here I am...

Actually, the answer is yes...and no.

It doesn't NEED a secondary at all, but I recommend one for the simple fact that a day or two in a secondary allows more of the yeast to fall out and make the beer look lighter in color.

IMO, you can rack from the primary right to the bottling bucket only if the following condition exists: 1) the brew has fermented out. Meaning, the FG is within the range for the style.

If your FG is 1.014 and your recipe recommends between 1.008 and 1.010 then I would say rack to the secondary and wait another week or so to see if it will drop some more.

Right now I'm drinking one that I let go all the way down to 1.005. That's dry.

My basic recipe is 1 lb of grain (or another lb of Extra Light DME), 1 lb of Extra Light DME and 3 lbs Wheat DME with 1.1 oz Hallertau (3.5%) at the boil then add another at 45 mins and finish with another 15 min boil. It's a very basic recipe that I always tweak a bit here and there, but it always comes through for me.

My starter was a 5th generation WLP351 yeast!

I am quite pleased with it and will repeat this recipe again except with fresher yeast.

I just got 4 more vials of WLP351 and have one in the primary right now (it's only available in July and Aug!). I used it when I entered my 1 and only HB contest. It won Best of Style and Best of Show and beat out over 100 other brews. Why gamble with success??

I went with a 10 day secondary with the hefe I brewed as my second beer. I got busy and couldn't get it to bottles. It is definately clearer than any commercial hefeweizen and lost some of its character. Still an excellent beer, but not what I was shooting for. So maybe it is a good idea to own a hydrometer... I don't... yet.

HB99: What are you using for grain? Are you doing a mini-mash or steeping?

And: do you know anything about the difference between the WLP351 yeast and the Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan Hefe yeast?

I just use a pale malt. Nothing special...and I steep for 30 mins at 160F.

As for a difference between the yeasts...nothing that I can think of that would make me not use Weihenstephan. I have used all the Weizen yeasts available to us.

IMO all the weizen yeasts are good. I like all their flavors. Never had a bad batch, but I guess it's just a habit that I use WLP351 a lot.

Just make sure you rack some of the yeast from the secondary if the beer has gotten too clear. Plus if you pour like they do in Germany (which I do) and use a REAL weizen glass (of which I have over 50 of...) then make sure you stir up the yeast from the bottom with the last 1/2 inch of beer left in the bottle to get that great head and cloudy effect.

Most commercial Hefeweizens I get are pretty dang clear until I agitate and pour the yeast as Bill recommends. Most German breweries do lager their Hefeweizens for some period before bottling and then bottle condition with a lager yeast at cooler temps, so a secondary is not out of style at all. I think the cloudiness comes perhaps partially from the protein (wheat only has about 10% more protein than barley btw), but mostly from kicking up the yeast from the bottle.

Thanks HB.

I'm sure my problem was too high of a racking and then bottling efficiency because I've been agitating to get what little yeast I have in my bottles out.

I probably ought to get some REAL beer glasses instead of using the 1 Guinness pint glass I have and the water glasses I have. But with a grad student's wage I think I'll keep putting my money towards ingredients rather than glasses.

Nothing to worry about, I shake my bottles too. ...as they do in Germany...

Does the idea of mixing up the yeast sediment in the bottom of the bottle apply to all wheat beers?

I've never had a wheat beer. I have a batch of Belgian White just about ready to bottle and I bought a bottle of Hoegaarden to sample for comparison.

So I'm supposed to roll the bottles around a bit before opening, yes?

I pour most of the beer into the glass. Then I'll do a swirl and pour that into the glass as well. If you pour it just right it makes kind of a cool swirl in the glass before it mixes.

Trrance said:

Does the idea of mixing up the yeast sediment in the bottom of the bottle apply to all wheat beers?

I've never had a wheat beer. I have a batch of Belgian White just about ready to bottle and I bought a bottle of Hoegaarden to sample for comparison.

So I'm supposed to roll the bottles around a bit before opening, yes?

Click to expand...

Yes, it applies to all wheat beers IF you want the yeast (which is good for you).

NO! DO NOT roll your bottle. Pour the beer in the glass first.

Take a glass and rinse it under cold water (inside). Hold the glass almost horizontal to the floor/table/counter/sink and slowly pour the beer down the side (inside). As the beer level gets higher (closer to the rim) slowly tilt your glass upright. When there's about 1/2 inch of beer left in the bottles give it a couple of shakes to stir up the yeast on the bottom and pour the remaining beer into the center of the foam (head). If it rises too quickly slow down your pour.

how do I get proportionaly correct ammount of yeast from this style when serving from a half-keg? We asked the beer dist to store in cooler upside down, we tap on saturday and dont drink again till next sat - do I need to roll the keg a bit por what?

You get HW from a keg? What kind?

I'd store it upright. Of course, German HW on tap always comes out cloudy.

I treat a wheat beer as any other brew. My mash methods are based on traditional German methods, not what I can get away with because it is a wheat. Some skip the irish moss in the boil because it's a wheat, I still adhere to the addition. I will skip a secondary based on gravity and fermentation properties, not because it is a wheat. I don't drink wheat beers young because it's wheat, I just don't have patience. They still get better with a little aging like any other ale. When it does come time to pour, I tend to deviate. I will agitate the sediment to suspend some yeast which it is known for, also seems to be the logic for altering normal brewing practices.

I shake too !