Suggest a yeast for a nice hefe...

[Slider46]

I got my ingredients for a simple hefe but I didn't get any yeast. My idea was to use the leftover yeast from a few Sierra Nevada Kellerweis bottles but after reading up on how to culture yeast, I don't think I have enough time. I want to brew the day before Thanksgiving.

Can anyone recommend a yeast that will make a decent hefe or recommend a simple way to get the SN yeast ready to use by this Wed? (Doing a 2.5 gallon batch)

This will be my first hefe too

 

[annasdadhockey]

WLP300 is decent. The weihenstehaner(sp?) yeast is very good. I just had a homebrew from a buddy last week who used this yeast, and it was phenomenal.

 

[iijakii]

If I make a hefe it absolutely requires a german noble hop + weihenstehpen whatever that number is. 1056?

 

[lsnadon]

With a hefe, a culture from the bottle is probably not the same yeast used to ferment it. A common practice for an ale like this is to bottle and use a typical Ale yeast for the bottle conditioning. Also be careful of the same thing with most of the belgian ales.

I just finished and have been drinking for a few weeks now a hefe with WLP300 - a nice yeast for a German Hefe. Yeast stays in suspension for a good while - jack the temp up to about 80 or so for a more pronounced banana profile while minimizing the clove profile. Just the opposite (cooler temp = more pronounced clove).

 

[passedpawn]

NOT 1056. Wyeast 3068 is the tops. Try to ferment under 70. You'll still get some banana.

 

[iijakii]

NOT 1056. Wyeast 3068 is the tops. Try to ferment under 70. You'll still get some banana.

Bingo!

 

[shamrockdoc]

Wyeast 3463 trust me it will blow your mind

 

[Slider46]

Hmm I have two concerns about the 3068:

Sulfur is commonly produced, but will dissipate with conditioning. This strain is very powdery and will remain in suspension for an extended amount of time following attenuation. This is true top cropping yeast and requires fermenter headspace of 33%.

1) How bad of a smell are we talking here? I ferment with a Mr. Beer fermenter (about 2.5 gallons). My fermenter is inside a Coleman 5-Day cooler modified into a fermentation chiller so it's not really open to the air in my apartment but then again, it's not airtight. Is this sulfur smell going to really be nasty? SWMBO may not appreciate the "smells of progress" lol

2) 33% headspace.... I may have that but I might also have to lower the batch size. Any ideas on how to hook up a blow-off tube for a Mr. Beer? :/

Thanks for the help so far!

As for this Wed. i'm going to do the Centennial Blonde Ale as I have everything for that.

 

[passedpawn]

Hmm I have two concerns about the 3068:



1) How bad of a smell are we talking here? I ferment with a Mr. Beer fermenter (about 2.5 gallons). My fermenter is inside a Coleman 5-Day cooler modified into a fermentation chiller so it's not really open to the air in my apartment but then again, it's not airtight. Is this sulfur smell going to really be nasty? SWMBO may not appreciate the "smells of progress" lol

2) 33% headspace.... I may have that but I might also have to lower the batch size. Any ideas on how to hook up a blow-off tube for a Mr. Beer? :/

Thanks for the help so far!

As for this Wed. i'm going to do the Centennial Blonde Ale as I have everything for that.

I've made many identical wheats with this yeast. I get zero sulfur after 3 weeks in the primary and 3 weeks in the bottle. I ferment at 65. I just won a 2nd place with this yeast in Florida's Sunshine Challenge (568 entries total). I highly recommend 3068 for German hefe.

Regarding headspace, the initial ferment can produce a significant krausen. You might consider 4.5g into a 6g carboy. It is fine to boil a little longer, ferment, let the krausen fall, then add more water to get to 5 or 5.5 or whatever the original target volume was. I do this all the time.

I don't recall what the fermenter smelled like during fermentation. Mine is outdoors in a chest freezer.