1st Brew Ever - Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier

[Zixxer10R]

OK, brewed my first beer last Saturday. Supposedly this is one of the easiest types to brew and if sure seemed that way.

6lbs DME
(cant remember how much) 1.5 or 2.5oz Hallertau hops

Boiled for 60 mins, cooled 20 mins, dropped yeast in, strained to primary fermenter and has been sitting ever since.

My question is this, i've heard of priming but the instruction I received from Dr. Jekyll in Pantego said not to really worry about that; do i need to prime in a couple of days or should i be good? Priming for this is 1.5cup DME in water for 15 mins, then mix in...

I just want to make sure my first experience is a good one.

 

[unionrdr]

did you get the wort topped off to the right total amount in the fermenter? Did you take an OG with a hydrometer before pitching the yeast? And you don't prime the beer till you are ready to bottle it.

 

[GodsStepBrother]

It seems you have the 1st part of brewing down right, but that is only half. You have to let the yeast do their job. I usually leave my wheat beers in the primary 2 weeks minimum, then PRIME and bottle. Your yeast in all actuality are most likely done eating. But we do not know that for sure, and you do not want to take the risk of bottling before you know fermentation is done. If you bottled before that you will most likely get bottle bombs.

Do you have a hydrometer, if not I would wait till this Saturday to bottle, and yes prime when you bottle. You can bottle before fermentation is done but you have to be sure your beer is almost done fermenting and will only carb up. For your first beer I would not attempt that. Read this free book online it is a great reference.

http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

Patience is your friend! Congrats on your first brew!

 

[Zixxer10R]

did you get the wort topped off to the right total amount in the fermenter? Did you take an OG with a hydrometer before pitching the yeast? And you don't prime the beer till you are ready to bottle it.

I didn't take any measurements because i planned on following the directions explicitly, so the stated measurements are going to be very very close.

What do you mean by getting the wort topped off to the right total amount?

 

[Zixxer10R]

It seems you have the 1st part of brewing down right, but that is only half. You have to let the yeast do their job. I usually leave my wheat beers in the primary 2 weeks minimum, then PRIME and bottle. Your yeast in all actuality are most likely done eating. But we do not know that for sure, and you do not want to take the risk of bottling before you know fermentation is done. If you bottled before that you will most likely get bottle bombs.

Do you have a hydrometer, if not I would wait till this Saturday to bottle, and yes prime when you bottle. You can bottle before fermentation is done but you have to be sure your beer is almost done fermenting and will only carb up. For your first beer I would not attempt that. Read this free book online it is a great reference.

http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

Patience is your friend! Congrats on your first brew!

So if you bottle straight after fermentation then what would be the purpose of my carboy at this point? Also, is it just personal preference to keep the beer in your primary for 2 weeks, or a specific reason that makes a difference?

 

[Begin2Brew]

What do you mean by getting the wort topped off to the right total amount?

Typically extract batches are a partial boil, meaning the recipe is for 5 gallons but you only boil 2.5 gallons. Then add enough water after the boil to bring the total to 5 gallons.

 

[unionrdr]

In other words,if you used a kit that makes 5 gallons,you need to have 5G of wort in the fermenter. Or,if it's a cooper's kit,23L,or 6.072 gallons. And hydrometer measurements are the only real way to know the beer is done fermenting. Not to mention,taking an OG before pitching the yeast so that your FG reading with that,can tell you your ABV%.

 

[GodsStepBrother]

So if you bottle straight after fermentation then what would be the purpose of my carboy at this point? Also, is it just personal preference to keep the beer in your primary for 2 weeks, or a specific reason that makes a difference?

Well the Carboy can be used to secondary in, a lot of use on this forum no longer secondary. Some people especially like to secondary when they are adding other ingredients or dry hopping. I use carboys as my primary fermentors.

For a wheat beer like yours, you do not necessarily want it clear, so there is no need to keep the beer for longer than two weeks, especially because wheat beers like yours are better young, and a lot of the flavor comes from suspended yeast in the beer. I leave it 2 weeks to make sure fermentation is absolutely done, and I run no risk of bottle bombs, as well as let the yeast pick up some of the unwanted byproducts from fermentation. With regular ales I leave them in primary for 3 to 4 weeks.

Regardless your beer will clear with a long primary about 3 to four weeks, or if you want to secondary you can put it in the carboy after fermentation is done (usually after a week or two for most styles). The choice is yours research it!

 

[Zixxer10R]

Typically extract batches are a partial boil, meaning the recipe is for 5 gallons but you only boil 2.5 gallons. Then add enough water after the boil to bring the total to 5 gallons.

Ah, yes. That's exactly what i did.

 

[Zixxer10R]

In other words,if you used a kit that makes 5 gallons,you need to have 5G of wort in the fermenter. Or,if it's a cooper's kit,23L,or 6.072 gallons. And hydrometer measurements are the only real way to know the beer is done fermenting. Not to mention,taking an OG before pitching the yeast so that your FG reading with that,can tell you your ABV%.

I supposed at some point i might care what ABV my brews are at, but i'm not too concerned with this at the moment because i'll be following recipes for the most part. When i start in with the mad scientist experimentation i will have need for a hydrometer.

 

[Zixxer10R]

Well the Carboy can be used to secondary in, a lot of use on this forum no longer secondary. Some people especially like to secondary when they are adding other ingredients or dry hopping. I use carboys as my primary fermentors.

For a wheat beer like yours, you do not necessarily want it clear, so there is no need to keep the beer for longer than two weeks, especially because wheat beers like yours are better young, and a lot of the flavor comes from suspended yeast in the beer. I leave it 2 weeks to make sure fermentation is absolutely done, and I run no risk of bottle bombs, as well as let the yeast pick up some of the unwanted byproducts from fermentation. With regular ales I leave them in primary for 3 to 4 weeks.

Regardless your beer will clear with a long primary about 3 to four weeks, or if you want to secondary you can put it in the carboy after fermentation is done (usually after a week or two for most styles). The choice is yours research it!

So in my case if i wanted to start another beer then after the primary fermentation, i could siphon the wheat to the carboy and sanitize the primary to begin another batch...

 

[unionrdr]

I supposed at some point i might care what ABV my brews are at, but i'm not too concerned with this at the moment because i'll be following recipes for the most part. When i start in with the mad scientist experimentation i will have need for a hydrometer.

...& flasks,& tubing,valves,big kettles,sacks, bags, pouches,pinches,bottles,coolers...hahahehehoho-to the brewery! Where life is beautiful all the time! And I'll be happy to see those nice young men with their clean shiny kettles,& they're coming to take me away HAHAAAA! To the bottling room! with brushes & scrubbers & shiny bottles...You thought it was a faze,& so youlaughed&laughed&laughed & now you know that I AM utterly mad...&...&...

 

[GodsStepBrother]

So in my case if i wanted to start another beer then after the primary fermentation, i could siphon the wheat to the carboy and sanitize the primary to begin another batch...

In your case primary fermentation is technically done, so you can transfer to secondary if you wanted, but being that Saturday is so close. Just wait it out and bottle Saturday, and start a new one that day or Sunday. Then you can start the cycle you are suggesting, keep yours beers in primary until you know fermentation is done rack to secondary and you can CLEAN then Sanitize primary for another batch.

When i first started i would use the 1,2,3 method. One week in primary, two weeks secondary and 3 weeks bottled. However the one week is usually not sufficient for most primaries; use your hydrometer to tell you when to move to secondary instead.

It is up to you.

 

[Zixxer10R]

In your case primary fermentation is technically done, so you can transfer to secondary if you wanted, but being that Saturday is so close. Just wait it out and bottle Saturday, and start a new one that day or Sunday. Then you can start the cycle you are suggesting, keep yours beers in primary until you know fermentation is done rack to secondary and you can CLEAN then Sanitize primary for another batch.

When i first started i would use the 1,2,3 method. One week in primary, two weeks secondary and 3 weeks bottled. However the one week is usually not sufficient for most primaries; use your hydrometer to tell you when to move to secondary instead.

It is up to you.

Again, new to this...the hydrometer will tell me when fermentation is done how? I don't have one right now, would you guys say it's essential to move forward with this hobby?

 

[Tom_c]

would you guys say it's essential to move forward with this hobby?

First post, YAY...

Not at all. I am on my 3rd batch, and other than a premium starter kit with an additional carboy besides the primary and bottling bucket, I'll probably not upgrade to anything else for a while. It does seem to be the trend that once you get started, you want to upgrade until you have facilities like a major brewery, but I am so busy that keeping it simple and doing the extract brewing thing is what will work best for me for a while. The hydrometer came in my kit, and it is useful, but not really necessary, if you have the patience to let your primary sit for several weeks.

Although I will admit, that after I get another 10 batches or so done, the whole kegging/kegerator thing is pretty interesting, and I'll probably end up doing that. All grain seems like way too much of a PITA to me at the moment.

Good luck!

 

[GodsStepBrother]

The hydrometer tells you the specific gravity of a fluid. To put it simply it is a little glass instrument that floats in water (or wort), with a scale on the side. When a fluid has sugar in it, it affects how it floats. Once the fluid is void of a lot of sugar the hydrometer sinks more. So you need to see how much sugar is in your original wort and see how much sugar the yeast have eaten to make sure there is no more sugar for them to eat, this way you avoid bottle bombs. Having too much sugar left in solution will allow to much pressure to build up inside of the bottles and make them explode or have to much carbonation. You also don’t want to move the beer to secondary if the yeast are not done eating.

Some people no longer use a hydrometer, but they know there system well and have faith that the yeast have done there job. The majority also leave there beer on the yeast cake for 3 to 4 weeks (again I talk about common ales like reds, stouts etc… ). If this is your first time, I wouldn’t fly blindly. Especially if someone told you to bottle after a week, that can be dangerous without a hydrometer. But you should be fine if you wait the two weeks before bottling.

Really read the first chapter of “how to brew,” he will answer a lot of question you have.
http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

 

[Zixxer10R]

First post, YAY...

Not at all. I am on my 3rd batch, and other than a premium starter kit with an additional carboy besides the primary and bottling bucket, I'll probably not upgrade to anything else for a while. It does seem to be the trend that once you get started, you want to upgrade until you have facilities like a major brewery, but I am so busy that keeping it simple and doing the extract brewing thing is what will work best for me for a while. The hydrometer came in my kit, and it is useful, but not really necessary, if you have the patience to let your primary sit for several weeks.

Although I will admit, that after I get another 10 batches or so done, the whole kegging/kegerator thing is pretty interesting, and I'll probably end up doing that. All grain seems like way too much of a PITA to me at the moment.

Good luck!

Got a buddy providing a keg or two so i will end up going that route at some point as well. That was something i was initially super interested in because i have a fridge that is devoted exclusively to beer and deer (fridge/freezer respectively) so i could just let the wort ferment and then after the correct amount of time drink it...nothing else really needed.

As for the hydrometer issue regarding this batch i'm on now, Dr Jekyll sells this recipe so much he knows exactly how it will perform at given intervals already. I do not think i would venture into an uncommon recipe without a hydrometer just for the sake of bottle bombs not sounding very exciting, especially when i'm handling them without gloves having forgotten about explosions.

 

[unionrdr]

He can tell you generally how it goes in an ideal situation. But every batch is a lil bit different. Your OG reading may be a little higher or lower than he lists. It may go down to an FG that's a little higher or lower than stated. So your ABV% will differ. It may take longer to fully attenuate & settle out than he says. Brewing beer is never exactly the same every single time. So yes,a hydrometer takes the guesswork out of the equation. They say that time is the fire in which we burn. Beer is no different.

 

[Burgs]

First post, YAY...

Not at all. I am on my 3rd batch, and other than a premium starter kit with an additional carboy besides the primary and bottling bucket, I'll probably not upgrade to anything else for a while. It does seem to be the trend that once you get started, you want to upgrade until you have facilities like a major brewery, but I am so busy that keeping it simple and doing the extract brewing thing is what will work best for me for a while. The hydrometer came in my kit, and it is useful, but not really necessary, if you have the patience to let your primary sit for several weeks.

Although I will admit, that after I get another 10 batches or so done, the whole kegging/kegerator thing is pretty interesting, and I'll probably end up doing that. All grain seems like way too much of a PITA to me at the moment.

Good luck!

I'm not trying to be a dick but come on. This is your first post, 3rd batch. It seems kind of foolish to immediately arrive at the conclusion that a hydrometer is "not at all" important to progressing with this hobby.

I disagree entirely. Just get one - they're inexpensive.

 

[Malintent]

Again, new to this...the hydrometer will tell me when fermentation is done how? I don't have one right now, would you guys say it's essential to move forward with this hobby?

It is no more essential than having a fuel gauge in your car.

When you THINK fermentation is nearly done, you take a hydrometer reading. It does not matter what your recipe instructions say. The yeast cannot read. You wait two days and take another reading. If the two readings are identical, then PRIMARY fermentation is done. Your beer is still not "done", but at least you know you can rack off of primary to free up the vessel for your next batch. The small amount of yeast that has not fallen out of suspension (flocculation) will follow the beer into the next vessel (whether that be your bottling bucket, a keg, or another (secondary) fermentation vessel). That yeast will "clean up" after the primary fermentation and bring your beer to "doneness" (conditioned) for many weeks to follow.

 

[Burgs]

it is no more essential than having a fuel gauge in your car.

When you think fermentation is nearly done, you take a hydrometer reading. It does not matter what your recipe instructions say. The yeast cannot read. You wait two days and take another reading. If the two readings are identical, then primary fermentation is done. Your beer is still not "done", but at least you know you can rack off of primary to free up the vessel for your next batch. The small amount of yeast that has not fallen out of suspension (flocculation) will follow the beer into the next vessel (whether that be your bottling bucket, a keg, or another (secondary) fermentation vessel). That yeast will "clean up" after the primary fermentation and bring your beer to "doneness" (conditioned) for many weeks to follow.

+1

 

[Shaneoco1981]

i'm not trying to be a dick but come on. This is your first post, 3rd batch. It seems kind of foolish to immediately arrive at the conclusion that a hydrometer is "not at all" important to progressing with this hobby.

I disagree entirely. Just get one - they're inexpensive.

+1

 

[Tom_c]

I'm not trying to be a dick but come on. This is your first post, 3rd batch. It seems kind of foolish to immediately arrive at the conclusion that a hydrometer is "not at all" important to progressing with this hobby.

I disagree entirely. Just get one - they're inexpensive.

honestly, you kind of come across that way... I never said that they were not at all important, just that if you don't have one at the beginning it's not the end of the world. First post, third batch, researching and learning for the last 8 months or so....

I have one, and use it, BUT, not having one wouldn't change the way I have done things, and seen things done, which is to let my batches sit on the primary for about 3 weeks. If you can let it sit for 3 weeks, and don't care to know the ABV, do you REALLY need one??? (again, for the steeped grain LME beginner crowd, not the all grain guys that do the hard stuff)

The fuel gauge analogy is a very good one. I don't use the one in my Ferrari due to inaccuracies in the shape of the tank causing inconsistant readings at the low end of the scale. I rely on the miles I've driven, so no, I don't really need a fuel gauge. Is it helpful? Of course. Would I not drive the car with the gauge removed? Of course not... RDWHAHB

 

[Burgs]

I guess I just think it's better to encourage good habits early on in the brewing and learning process - using hydrometers, thermometers, taking brew day notes, making yeast starters, etc. etc.

If you make those part of your routine early on and let them become second nature, I think it helps in the long run. Just my opinion.

 

[Malintent]

True, Burgs. But there is much to be said about learning from one's own mistakes... some people need to feel the skin scorched off their hand before they truly understand the point of not grabbing at the hot stove.

If it takes a disappointing batch of beer to follow established protocols, then so be it.

 

[Zixxer10R]

True, Burgs. But there is much to be said about learning from one's own mistakes... some people need to feel the skin scorched off their hand before they truly understand the point of not grabbing at the hot stove.

If it takes a disappointing batch of beer to follow established protocols, then so be it.

+1. If i ruin this batch i will have learned a great deal of things to apply to my third batch. I couldn't wait to start my second batch so the third is where my first lesson learned will be applied.

Now on to my current concern (and yes, i've searched this thread for the answer, and no, i didn't find exactly what i was looking for. while there is a wealth of information out there, it is simply not feasible to read through years of posts just to find the one answer.).

I bottled last night per the recipe directions. It says to allow 3-4 weeks for carbonation but here's the problem. Somehow i overlooked the part where i boil the 1.5 cups of DME in water for the priming solution. Long story short, i just added the DME directly into the fermenter. I then racked the beer to the secondary so i could start a #9 clone after cleaning/sanitization.

Question: have i completely ruined the chances of carbonating my beer or will it really take 3-4 weeks to carbonate? What's a good yardstick measurement of visible signs of carbonation? I also shook the bottles after i capped them because of my paranoia. The heads have receded a bit but the bubbles are not totally gone. Also, before i bottled, the carboy DID need a blowoff tube because it was "carbonating". At least so i thought. I cannot see bubbles rising from the bottom of the bottles currently. Ease my fears?

 

[Tom_c]

And now I'M the one whose going to sound like a dick, but honestly, you might want to do some more research and learning before trying more.

Sorry, but it seems like you decided to make cookies without knowing what an oven is...

Best of luck, sorry I'm no more help.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

...& flasks,& tubing,valves,big kettles,sacks, bags, pouches,pinches,bottles,coolers...hahahehehoho-to the brewery! Where life is beautiful all the time! And I'll be happy to see those nice young men with their clean shiny kettles,& they're coming to take me away HAHAAAA! To the bottling room! with brushes & scrubbers & shiny bottles...You thought it was a faze,& so youlaughed&laughed&laughed & now you know that I AM utterly mad...&...&...

I thought I was the only person that remembers Paul Revere and the Raiders

 

[william_shakes_beer]

Having a hydrometer provides valuable objective information to include in your posts when you ask questions on the forum. Would you call you doctor and tell him/her that you have a temperature, or would you get a thermometer and report a number?

 

[HoboBrewery]

My favorite yeast to make my favorite hef. Congrats man. No need to secondary unless you really need it- dry hopping, lagers, tons of sediment.