Hefeweizen in Primary: Quick Question about Yeast

[LarsonLE]

Hello fellow beer brewers, I just brewed a Hefeweizen lastnight (made a yeast starter with Wyeast's Propagator smack pack), and can't wait for this beer to finish as Hefeweizen's were the first beer I was able to legally drink and what got me hooked to beer (studied abroad in Bavaria). I had a quick question about the yeast once it is done fermenting and when I am siphoning the beer out of the primary and into the bottling bucket. In order to get that typical cloudy appearance with Hefeweizen's, do I need to suck up some of the yeast with my auto siphon when racking? If so, how do I know how much to transfer over into the bottling bucket?

On a side note: Lastnight when I was boiling the wort, I was unable to get my stove to have a strong rapid boil for the full 60 minutes. The temperature was around 208-210 F, but of course there was a fair amount of motion going on in the kettle and some small bubbles here and there. Now if I recall, not being able to get a strong boil going will result in the hops not getting their full potential. Do you guys think I will be able to taste the lack of hop utilization, or not really because Hefeweizen's arn't even that big on the hops.

And I have heard various opinions on whether or not to put Hefeweizen's in secondary or to just leave them in the primary for a couple weeks. What do you guys believe is best? I would guess that if I want the cloudy appearance that I should just leave it in the primary.

Thanks a bunch,
LarsonLE

 

[MalFet]

Nope. There's still plenty of yeast in there to keep it cloudy. If you add more, it will be more like paint.

"Secondaries" aren't really properly called secondary fermentors unless you are adding more sugar via fruit, etc. What most people refer to as secondary would more properly be called a brightening tank. You definitely don't want to brighten a hefeweizen.

I doubt you'll notice the hops difference.

 

[LarsonLE]

Nope. There's still plenty of yeast in there to keep it cloudy. If you add more, it will be more like paint.

"Secondaries" aren't really properly called secondary fermentors unless you are adding more sugar via fruit, etc. What most people refer to as secondary would more properly be called a brightening tank. You definitely don't want to brighten a hefeweizen.

I doubt you'll notice the hops difference.

Thank you for your advice. Makes me relax a little bit more.

 

[JBmadtown]

I've done a couple of weiss beers with wy3068 and bottled after 3 weeks in primary without any issues.

If you have it sitting longer some people talk about scaping the bottom of your fermenter with the siphon when you transfer.

 

[LarsonLE]

I've done a couple of weiss beers with wy3068 and bottled after 3 weeks in primary without any issues.

If you have it sitting longer some people talk about scaping the bottom of your fermenter with the siphon when you transfer.

Sweet, I'll most likely follow your footsteps and have mine stay in there for 3 weeks.

 

[lumpher]

for hefes, leave them in the primary for 2 weeks, then bottle/keg. cloudiness is preferable

 

[LarsonLE]

for hefes, leave them in the primary for 2 weeks, then bottle/keg. cloudiness is preferable

Yeah, I've heard that it is good to keep hefes young. Is this true?

 

[MalFet]

Yeah, I've heard that it is good to keep hefes young. Is this true?

Generally, yeah. But don't get over eager and bottle before complete attenuation.

 

[MalFet]

Yeah, I've heard that it is good to keep hefes young. Is this true?

...unless you don't have good temperature control, in which case a bit of time can take the edge off of the banana and bubblegum.

 

[LarsonLE]

So I just had to get a blow off tube set up (which i figured had to be done sooner or later after reading about the aggressiveness of this yeast). I came home from class late today with my fingers crossed that my airlock and lid would not be on the floor. Well the situation was fine (kind of), because there was krausen coming out of the top of my airlock, so I decided to set up a blow off tube. The beer is in my closet and I can hear those bubbles rumblin' every few seconds. Pretty funny stuff.

 

[LarsonLE]

Here's a video of what I have set up now:

 

[LarsonLE]

Hey guys, I had a question about a hydrometer reading I got lastnight. So my Hefeweizen has been in the primary for 7 days, and lastnight I got an FG of around 1.002 and my OG was 1.042. Is something wrong here? I sampled a little and it did taste a little watery, but still quite pleasant. It had the banana and clove taste to it and also was somewhat carbonated.

 

[rycov]

what kind of yeast did you use? i just did a wheat beer and had a really active fermentation. can't remember what yeast i used though.

 

[rack04]

Hey guys, I had a question about a hydrometer reading I got lastnight. So my Hefeweizen has been in the primary for 7 days, and lastnight I got an FG of around 1.002 and my OG was 1.042. Is something wrong here? I sampled a little and it did taste a little watery, but still quite pleasant. It had the banana and clove taste to it and also was somewhat carbonated.

1.002 seems really low. For reference, my Bavarian Hefeweizen started at 1.052 and finished 15 days later at 1.012. This is a 76% apparent attenuation which is within the limits of WLP300.

 

[LarsonLE]

what kind of yeast did you use? i just did a wheat beer and had a really active fermentation. can't remember what yeast i used though.

I used Wyeast's 3068 and did a starter, but I only let the starter go for about 8 hours because I figured if I was doing a starter then that was definitely good enough (it smelled extremely strong when I poured my starter into the wort). The first couple days there was a lot of activity and there was a sulfur smell (as expected), but since then it was been relatively quiet, and now there is no airlock activity at all.

 

[LarsonLE]

Also, because my FG is so low, would it be safe to bottle? My SG readings really can't get much lower.

 

[MalFet]

Also, because my FG is so low, would it be safe to bottle? My SG readings really can't get much lower.

Something's fishy...I've had that yeast go to 85% attenuation before when it got too warm, but 97% is pretty extreme. How's it taste? If you've got a bug in there, it could keep dropping even below 1.000.

 

[LarsonLE]

Something's fishy...I've had that yeast go to 85% attenuation before when it got too warm, but 97% is pretty extreme. How's it taste? If you've got a bug in there, it could keep dropping even below 1.000.

It actually tastes fine in my opinion, but I'm not a very experienced beer taster, soooo. What do you mean exactly by having a "bug in there"?

 

[MalFet]

It actually tastes fine in my opinion, but I'm not a very experienced beer taster, soooo. What do you mean exactly by having a "bug in there"?

Yeast typically won't ferment so low. A 1.042 hefe should normally ferment to about 1.012 or so. There's a lot of wiggle room in there, but one would expect the yeast to go dormant around that gravity due to the alcohol concentration. Certain bacterial or wild yeast infections, however, will ferment lower. If it tastes good, though, you're fine! I suspect your gravity reading was somehow wrong. Give it a few days and take another reading. If it is steady, bottle it up.

 

[LarsonLE]

Yeast typically won't ferment so low. A 1.042 hefe should normally ferment to about 1.012 or so. There's a lot of wiggle room in there, but one would expect the yeast to go dormant around that gravity due to the alcohol concentration. Certain bacterial or wild yeast infections, however, will ferment lower. If it tastes good, though, you're fine! I suspect your gravity reading was somehow wrong. Give it a few days and take another reading. If it is steady, bottle it up.

I'm really hoping I read it wrong. I will take a picture of the hydrometer and maybe you guys can help me. Also, I bought a thief and this is how I retrieve samples and take readings, but I always seem to run into a little trouble when taking readings. Whenever I spin and drop the hydrometer into the theif, I seem to always get some foam at the top where I'm trying to read the specific gravity, which results in an inaccurate reading, so I usually just have to take my best guess. How do you guys deal with this?

 

[MalFet]

I'm really hoping I read it wrong. I will take a picture of the hydrometer and maybe you guys can help me. Also, I bought a thief and this is how I retrieve samples and take readings, but I always seem to run into a little trouble when taking readings. Whenever I spin and drop the hydrometer into the theif, I seem to always get some foam at the top where I'm trying to read the specific gravity, which results in an inaccurate reading, so I usually just have to take my best guess. How do you guys deal with this?

If it tastes good, you're fine. That's the most important thing. Hydrometers get easier with experience. I used to have the same problems you describe, but now they're familiar. Take a sample into your test jar and let it sit for as long as it needs to degas and settle.

 

[LarsonLE]

If it tastes good, you're fine. That's the most important thing. Hydrometers get easier with experience. I used to have the same problems you describe, but now they're familiar. Take a sample into your test jar and let it sit for as long as it needs to degas and settle.

Yeah, that's kind of the mentality I have right now . It does taste good. I'm at my girlfriends doing homework at the moment, but when I get home later, I am definitely going to take another reading because I am very curious now. I'm pretty certain I didn't read it wrong, but we shall see. I will update on the readings later.

 

[LarsonLE]

Got some good news. I took another hydrometer reading tonight and it turns out I have an SG of 1.010!!! The expected FG for this beer is 1.010-1.012. Would it be advantageous to let this beer ferment for a couple more days to see if the FG goes down even more, or should I bottle this baby? I'm guessing I should just let it sit for a little bit longer just in case.

 

[Flomaster]

yeah I just kegged my hefe tonight and it finished at .085/.090 fg was .010-.014

-=Jason=-

 

[MalFet]

Got some good news. I took another hydrometer reading tonight and it turns out I have an SG of 1.010!!! The expected FG for this beer is 1.010-1.012. Would it be advantageous to let this beer ferment for a couple more days to see if the FG goes down even more, or should I bottle this baby? I'm guessing I should just let it sit for a little bit longer just in case.

Great. How long has it been on yeast? Typically you want to leave it there for at least three weeks.

 

[Jakeman]

you may want to check your hydrometer to see if the paper inside sliped up or down that happed to me once , so i asked a freind for him hydrometer and found out mine was broken

 

[LarsonLE]

yeah I just kegged my hefe tonight and it finished at .085/.090 fg was .010-.014

-=Jason=-

Good to hear Jason. When you keg a beer, how long does it take to carbonate it?

Great. How long has it been on yeast? Typically you want to leave it there for at least three weeks.

It's only been on yeast for 8-9 days, I will definitely wait another 10 days or so (this will give me and my friends time to drink the beer from my first batch to get my bottles back, ).

you may want to check your hydrometer to see if the paper inside sliped up or down that happed to me once , so i asked a freind for him hydrometer and found out mine was broken

I was actually worried that this might have happened to mine, but I think I'm okay now. Are there any nicer hydrometers out there without this piece of paper? It seems kind of silly to me, and some sort of a design flaw.

 

[MalFet]

I was actually worried that this might have happened to mine, but I think I'm okay now. Are there any nicer hydrometers out there without this piece of paper? It seems kind of silly to me, and some sort of a design flaw.

If you want a really nice set of hydrometers, you would typically want to look at getting a set: one for, say, .990 to 1.030, another for 1.020 to 1.070, and a third for 1.060 to 1.120. The narrower range gives you more precision.

High end hydrometers run around $40 a piece. They tend to be sturdier than the cheap-os we get at our HBS, but they're still tubes of glass. I had a nice set at one point, but now I just use a cheap-o. I end up replacing one or two of them a year (after breaking, slipping paper, etc.), but that's just kind of the way it runs.

 

[LarsonLE]

If you want a really nice set of hydrometers, you would typically want to look at getting a set: one for, say, .990 to 1.030, another for 1.020 to 1.070, and a third for 1.060 to 1.120. The narrower range gives you more precision.

High end hydrometers run around $40 a piece. They tend to be sturdier than the cheap-os we get at our HBS, but they're still tubes of glass. I had a nice set at one point, but now I just use a cheap-o. I end up replacing one or two of them a year (after breaking, slipping paper, etc.), but that's just kind of the way it runs.

Cool, yeah if I really get into it I might end up getting those nicer hydrometers, but I can see myself using the cheap-o ones as well in case I accidentally break them.

 

[Layne]

You should probably put the bottle with the starsan on the ground.
If the tube fills up, it could siphon all that blow off back into the fermenter when the fermenting pressure stops. Probably wouldn't, but just in case.

 

[Flomaster]

Good to hear Jason. When you keg a beer, how long does it take to carbonate it?

well my Hefe was in primary for 15 days. it should take 8-10 days at 12 PSI at 40F° to carbonate. both of my Hydro Samples were amazing even though they were warm and flat.

-=Jason=-

 

[LarsonLE]

both of my Hydro Samples were amazing even though they were warm and flat.

-=Jason=-

I have to say, so is mine. At the beginning of my fermentation I had temps around 70 degrees, and then I let it get down to around 63 for the rest of the time including as of now, and let me tell you, there is such a great balance of banana and cloves. I absolutely love Hefeweizens. If only it were summer right now! Can't wait to get this in bottles and carbonated.

 

[Jakeman]

i have to agree i love hefe weizens i lived in germany for 10 years so thats what i had every day

 

[LarsonLE]

i have to agree i love hefe weizens i lived in germany for 10 years so thats what i had every day

Oh really? Where exactly did you live in Germany?

 

[tnbrewer371]

Swmbo never finds that funny at my house when she's trying to sleep.......

 

[Jakeman]

I lived in siegen germany in the middle of Frankfurt and Koln, It is a little city, they also have many little brewer's there one of my favorite is Krombacher, which is in the city of Krombach, they make great beer, Siegen has a big brewer called Erzqulle they make good beer as well.

 

[LarsonLE]

I lived in siegen germany in the middle of Frankfurt and Koln, It is a little city, they also have many little brewer's there one of my favorite is Krombacher, which is in the city of Krombach, they make great beer, Siegen has a big brewer called Erzqulle they make good beer as well.

If you lived around Koeln I bet they make/drink a lot of Kolsch beers there, haha (which is actually going to be my next home brew).

When I studied abroad in Germany, I was in a small town called Ingolstadt (which is actually where the main plant for Audi is). I drank Hefeweizen's so frequently, mainly because I was in Bavaria.

 

[Jakeman]

Ingolstadt makes a great hefe wiezen the Herrnbrau

 

[g-star]

I just brewed a Hefeweizen lastnight (made a yeast starter with Wyeast's Propagator smack pack)

Just an FYI, smacking the smack pack is not the same as making a starter. When you make a starter, the goal is to substatially increase the cell count of the yeast by making a "mini-beer" first with DME. Whacking the smack pack a few hours before brewing only ensures the yeast is viable, but it does not substantially increase the cell count.

Pitching one pack straight into a 1.040 beer is probably fine in terms of pitching rates. But if you make a bigger beer down the road, it is advisable to make a real starter if using liquid yeast, or to use the correct amount of dry yeast. Mr. Malty can help you with this.

Hope your hefe turns out well.

 

[MalFet]

Just an FYI, smacking the smack pack is not the same as making a starter. When you make a starter, the goal is to substatially increase the cell count of the yeast by making a "mini-beer" first with DME. Whacking the smack pack a few hours before brewing only ensures the yeast is viable, but it does not substantially increase the cell count.

Pitching one pack straight into a 1.040 beer is probably fine in terms of pitching rates. But if you make a bigger beer down the road, it is advisable to make a real starter if using liquid yeast, or to use the correct amount of dry yeast. Mr. Malty can help you with this.

Hope your hefe turns out well.

I don't get the sense that he was conflating smacking the smackpack and building a starter, just that he made a starter from a smackpack.

But, just to clarify, pitching one Propagator pack is definitely _not_ sufficient. One Activator pack might be borderline, but a Propagator has 25% of the cell count.