anyone know anything about wheat beers?

[jester22151]

Here's the story. I am a relativly new brewer. My first two batches were pretty much, just throw stuff in and see what happens. On my third batch, I was actually trying to accomplisg something si I bought the books and a calculated the mash bill and the IBUs and everything.

According to my calculation the original gravity should have been, 1.055. My actual original gravity was 1.056. So far so good right? Thats what I figured.

The problem that I am having is that on my first two batches I used wyest 1056 and the fedrmentation was pretty impressive. On my third one I used Wyest 3056 which is supposed to be a german wheat beer/hefe yeast. According to the books I have read the yeast should be fine between 68-72 degrees so that sould be no problem. Another thing I noted is when I started the yeast in the slap pack it did inflate the bag, but not as much as the 1056 did.

On my first two batches I had a good 3-4 inches of kraussen(I have no idea if I spelled that right). On this batch I have maybe two centemeters.

I am aware that different yeasts have different properties in terms of flocculation and attenuation and things lie that, but My question is, is the response usually so much less impressive on a wheat beer or is this just normal for the yeast?

Does this sound normal to everyone or does it sound like I'm going to run in to a problem

 

[bikegeek]

If the bag inflated, the yeasties are alive. What's happening in the fermenter now? How long ago did you pitch?

 

[jester22151]

I pitched on tuesday evening and I checked it last night, but I won't be able to check it again until aroung 9:00 pm tonight.

 

[niquejim]

First: learn to make starters

Second: wheat beers uaually have very strong fermentations so

Third: learn to make starters and use them everytime.

 

[bikegeek]

I pitched on tuesday evening and I checked it last night, but I won't be able to check it again until aroung 9:00 pm tonight.

If you're fermenting in a bucket, did you actually look inside or just check the airlock? A lot of times the bucket lids aren't air-tight so you won't see any bubbling in the airlock.

 

[jester22151]

I'm not doubting your advice, but I though that was the whole point of a slap pack. It's supposed to have the starter in there.

worst case scenario, I suppose I ca go buy another pack of yeast and try again.

 

[jester22151]

If you're fermenting in a bucket, did you actually look inside or just check the airlock? A lot of times the bucket lids aren't air-tight so you won't see any bubbling in the airlock.

I'm using a glass carboy and the air lock is bubbling. I was just expecting a bigger reaction like I had with my previous two batches.

 

[bikegeek]

I'm not doubting your advice, but I though that was the whole point of a slap pack. It's supposed to have the starter in there.

Yes and no. I've pitched them directly and usually see activity within 24 hours. If the pack was past the "Best by" date or your beer is of a higher gravity than average then you usually need a starter.

 

[bikegeek]

I'm using a glass carboy and the air lock is bubbling. I was just expecting a bigger reaction like I had with my previous two batches.

Gotcha. Well, if it's bubbling then something is going on in there. Pitching another pack isn't going to hurt it. I usually see pretty good activity in my wheats, but I also use a starter.

 

[niquejim]

I'm not doubting your advice, but I though that was the whole point of a slap pack. It's supposed to have the starter in there.

worst case scenario, I suppose I ca go buy another pack of yeast and try again.

Key line............................................... "It's supposed to have the starter in there"

It's always better to be absolutely sure and you really need more yeast than a slap pack contains to do a great job, not just a good one

 

[Skunkyhops]

I just brewed up a wheat beer using a packet of nottingham dry ale yeast (re hydrated), and i had a huge fermentation with a pretty big krausen 4-5 inches. Temps started getting a little hot, with the active ferm. so i had to put the carboy in the bath tub with cold water to keep it down at 66-68.

 

[Junebug]

I always make a starter these days, just to be sure. Also, make sure that you're fermenting at a temp that's friendly to the type of yeast you're using.

 

[j3cub56]

yep, i think i'm gonna have to learn to make a starter from now on. pitched a vial of wlp300 into a hefe last sunday, took about 24 hours to see any activity. i tried cooling the wort to 70, then topped off, so pitched at about 68- which from what i had read i thought was fine, was it too low to pitch? it has held steady at 68-maybe 67 or 66 some, and has now slowed down a little on the airlock as of today. i wanted to see if i could get more clove flavor out of the yeast, so i purposely am trying to ferment at slightly lower temp than usual (70-72). had used smack packs til now, LHBS said just pitch the vial, which i did. just took too long for my liking on a wheat for it to really start. had the yeast for about a month, best by date was Mar 11- so I know it had lost a little of it's potency.

best foolproof way to make a starter? how do you get yeast from a bottle of hefe and culture it to use?

 

[niquejim]

yep, i think i'm gonna have to learn to make a starter from now on. pitched a vial of wlp300 into a hefe last sunday, took about 24 hours to see any activity. i tried cooling the wort to 70, then topped off, so pitched at about 68- which from what i had read i thought was fine, was it too low to pitch? it has held steady at 68-maybe 67 or 66 some, and has now slowed down a little on the airlock as of today. i wanted to see if i could get more clove flavor out of the yeast, so i purposely am trying to ferment at slightly lower temp than usual (70-72). had used smack packs til now, LHBS said just pitch the vial, which i did. just took too long for my liking on a wheat for it to really start. had the yeast for about a month, best by date was Mar 11- so I know it had lost a little of it's potency.

best foolproof way to make a starter? how do you get yeast from a bottle of hefe and culture it to use?

The only one I know of that uses the hefe strain in the bottle is Scheinder and you start small and make many increases

 

[j3cub56]

Schneider is what I want to clone- have yet to find anyone with an actual Schneider clone recipe. Found some that say it's close, and am just starting to really experiment and see what i can do.