Do You Secondary a Wheat?

[ThirdGen]

I brewed my American Wheat friday night (2nd batch is down!) and the instructions say Primary for 2 weeks and then bottle. However, I had a beer judge taste my first brew and said that one of my off-flavors could be fixed by leaving the beer on the yeast longer in the primary (so more like 3 weeks total).

So, with a wheat beer, is it okay to do 3 weeks primary and then bottle and let carbonate for 2-3 weeks, or should I do 3 weeks primary, 1-2 weeks secondary, and THEN 2-3 weeks carbonating in the bottles?

 

[modernlifeisANDY]

Three weeks in primary will be more than enough to handle your recipe. A secondary for wheat beers usually isn't worth it. A lot of us don't even secondary our beers anymore.

 

[marubozo]

No reason to secondary a wheat at all since about the only arguable reason to secondary a beer other than for dry hopping or adding fruit is to help it clear up. Since the wheat style usually calls for a hazy beer, wasting time with a secondary would be a fool's errand. Give it 2-3 weeks in primary and you're good to go.

 

[GRHunter]

No

 

[homebrewer_99]

I secondary ALL of my brews and do not consider it "a fool's errand".

I make lots of German-style Hefe Weizens and secondary each one...been doing it since 1994....been drinking them since 1975.:rockin:

The reason I do is to allow more of the yeast to drop out. If it gets too clear at bottling/kegging time I will just rack some of the yeast back into suspension.

I like the cleaner flavor.

But, no, it is not necessary.

 

[PT Ray]

I secondary ALL of my brews.....

The reason I do is to allow more of the yeast to drop out.

It's cool to see a bottle conditioned beer with just that little bit of dusting. Still isn't worth to me two secondary, I'll live with a bit of sludge.

 

[Encinoman]

damn I got my hefe in the secondary right now, so maybe i should just rack mine too..

 

[marubozo]

I secondary ALL of my brews and do not consider it "a fool's errand".

I make lots of German-style Hefe Weizens and secondary each one...been doing it since 1994....been drinking them since 1975.:rockin:

The reason I do is to allow more of the yeast to drop out. If it gets too clear at bottling/kegging time I will just rack some of the yeast back into suspension.

I like the cleaner flavor.

But, no, it is not necessary.

Well, I was making more of a generalization towards new brewers You know, the people who primary for 5 days and as soon as the bubbling stops hurry up and move it to secondary and think they are actually helping their beer out. Done properly and for the right reasons like you mentioned it can be helpful.

 

[ThirdGen]

Thanks, if it helps at all I did not strain the wort at all, so all of the hop/sludge went right into the primary from the brewpot. If it's still okay to just bottle from the primary I may do that, but if not straining would cause me to get hops/sludge in my bottles I'll rack it to my secondary first.

 

[mrk305]

You should rack to a bottling bucket at bottling time. I have bottled directly from my primary, but I don't recomend it.

 

[BeerJorge]

I would leave it in the primary for 3 weeks and bottle.... hefeweizens are better if you drink them young...

I'm assuming your first brew wasn't a hefeweizen?

Just because one thing is good for one style of beer it doesn't mean it's good for all styles...

 

[ThirdGen]

Thanks, I will just bottle after about 3 weeks then (after checking for a consistent gravity 3 days in a row). I don't have a bottling bucket per se, but I will just rack into my secondary carboy and bottle immediately from there. I don't have one yet because I use Cooper's carbonation tabs for the bottles. Thanks!

 

[shawnbou]

Thanks, I will just bottle after about 3 weeks then (after checking for a consistent gravity 3 days in a row). I don't have a bottling bucket per se, but I will just rack into my secondary carboy and bottle immediately from there. I don't have one yet because I use Cooper's carbonation tabs for the bottles. Thanks!

This is a shot in the dark, but since you are using Cooper's carbonation tabs, I just figured I'd ask. Are you using a Cooper's fermenter for your primary?

If so, you can bottle straight from that because it has a slotted insert in the spigot that keeps some of the thickest, gunkiest trub out. However, the closer you get to the bottom, the more gunk you'll get. I bottled straight from a Cooper's primary with carb tabs for my first 5-6 batches and most of my bottles were fine. Just don't try to get those last 3 liters of thick, murky beer out of the vessel ... they won't be worth it. :fro:

 

[ThirdGen]

This is a shot in the dark, but since you are using Cooper's carbonation tabs, I just figured I'd ask. Are you using a Cooper's fermenter for your primary?

If so, you can bottle straight from that because it has a slotted insert in the spigot that keeps some of the thickest, gunkiest trub out. However, the closer you get to the bottom, the more gunk you'll get. I bottled straight from a Cooper's primary with carb tabs for my first 5-6 batches and most of my bottles were fine. Just don't try to get those last 3 liters of thick, murky beer out of the vessel ... they won't be worth it. :fro:

Actually no, I just use an 8 gallon food grade plastic bucket. Nothing fancy to it, but it would be nice to eventually make a bottling bucket with a spigot.

 

[shawnbou]

Actually no, I just use an 8 gallon food grade plastic bucket. Nothing fancy to it, but it would be nice to eventually make a bottling bucket with a spigot.

Got it ... never mind me then. With your setup, you probably would do better to rack to the carboy and bottle immediately. Good luck!