Mozart
Well-Known Member
I have a couple of questions regarding hefeweizens. First, I think I read they're better young, but how young? Second, some of the style guidelines I've read suggest carbonation volumes around 4.0 (give or take) and the few batches I've brewed have had much less carbonation. Being a new brewer I have a healthy respect for bottle bombs, so my question is, do I need to be concerned with them at all at this carbonation level? Probably not, I think, as long as I'm sure my initial fermentation is complete, I batch prime evenly, etc., etc., right?
A little background.
The friend who got me into homebrewing less than two short months ago wants to enter a homebrew competition, and I plan on entering as well. Drop-off for the entries should happen about the first week of September, but I'm trying to plan ahead a bit, decide what style I want to compete in, develop a recipe, and perhaps give that recipe a trial run before brewing the final entry.
In terms of process, at this point I'm an extract brewer who sometimes also uses steeping grains. I plan on entering an extract brew in the competition. Yes, I know mini-mash isn't terribly much more difficult and I've already read Revvy's thread, but I'm not looking to take Best of Show here (though I wouldn't turn it down!). What I am most interested in is the feedback from the judges given my current methods. My hope is that this feedback will help me to build a good, solid foundation with my extract brews before I move on to mini-mashes.
Of course you may have guessed by now that I'm thinking of entering a brew in the 15A Weizen/Weissbier category. I chose this category, frankly, because I thoroughly enjoy German wheat beers.
I even have a possible recipe, based on a different one I found on the web. It was all grain, but I've made what I think are decent adjustments to have it be a reasonable extract replication -- or at least as close as I might be able to get given my current process and equipment.
More on the recipe later (unless anyone's dying to see it), but ultimately, should I be at all concerned with bottle bombs given the 4.0 volumes? And if I brew a German wheat for a competition with a Sept. 7th dropoff and a Sept. 21st. judging, when should I brew it?
Enough time to allow for 3 weeks of aging before the 21st? Four? Six?
Also, one other question while I think of it, my current brew pot is a 20 quart, so I usually have a boil volume of about 2.5 gallons and top off from there. Would it be a better idea to scale down the recipe by half and do a full volume boil in my 20 quart for the competition? On the one hand, I loathe having less of it to drink, but on the other, I want to brew the best extract beer I'm currently capable of given my current experience and equipment. If I can pull that off, I'll consider it a success.
Any feedback will be greatly appreciated!
Cheers!
A little background.
The friend who got me into homebrewing less than two short months ago wants to enter a homebrew competition, and I plan on entering as well. Drop-off for the entries should happen about the first week of September, but I'm trying to plan ahead a bit, decide what style I want to compete in, develop a recipe, and perhaps give that recipe a trial run before brewing the final entry.
In terms of process, at this point I'm an extract brewer who sometimes also uses steeping grains. I plan on entering an extract brew in the competition. Yes, I know mini-mash isn't terribly much more difficult and I've already read Revvy's thread, but I'm not looking to take Best of Show here (though I wouldn't turn it down!). What I am most interested in is the feedback from the judges given my current methods. My hope is that this feedback will help me to build a good, solid foundation with my extract brews before I move on to mini-mashes.
Of course you may have guessed by now that I'm thinking of entering a brew in the 15A Weizen/Weissbier category. I chose this category, frankly, because I thoroughly enjoy German wheat beers.
I even have a possible recipe, based on a different one I found on the web. It was all grain, but I've made what I think are decent adjustments to have it be a reasonable extract replication -- or at least as close as I might be able to get given my current process and equipment.
More on the recipe later (unless anyone's dying to see it), but ultimately, should I be at all concerned with bottle bombs given the 4.0 volumes? And if I brew a German wheat for a competition with a Sept. 7th dropoff and a Sept. 21st. judging, when should I brew it?
Enough time to allow for 3 weeks of aging before the 21st? Four? Six?
Also, one other question while I think of it, my current brew pot is a 20 quart, so I usually have a boil volume of about 2.5 gallons and top off from there. Would it be a better idea to scale down the recipe by half and do a full volume boil in my 20 quart for the competition? On the one hand, I loathe having less of it to drink, but on the other, I want to brew the best extract beer I'm currently capable of given my current experience and equipment. If I can pull that off, I'll consider it a success.
Any feedback will be greatly appreciated!
Cheers!