Weissbier Bee Cave Brewery Bavarian Hefeweizen

[CidahMastah]

How fast from grain to glass?

it is definitely drinkable at 2 weeks with some oranges (we killed a keg quickly using orange slices in a pitcher on memorial day). I am wondering if by week 4-6 it will be peaking.

That was my experience with it anyway

 

[bergman1118]

My personal experience - fermented 10 days, bottled, cracked one open after 1 week and it was definitely drinkable. However, I think it peaked around 3-4 weeks in the bottle. YMMV.

 

[mxwrench]

CidahMastah, I have been having the same problem with my all grain Hefe's, there is just something "off" with the flavor. I dont have the problem with any of my other all grain batches or when using Extract for my hefe's but just havent quite hit the nail on the head with this one. I also am fermenting at 66-68 for the duration and using same ingredients, mash schedule etc.. One thing that has got me wondering is that I usually pitch at about 74 degrees, maybe with 3068 this is too high to pitch at even though I drop ferment temp down shortly after.. Any thoughts?

 

[CidahMastah]

CidahMastah, I have been having the same problem with my all grain Hefe's, there is just something "off" with the flavor. I dont have the problem with any of my other all grain batches or when using Extract for my hefe's but just havent quite hit the nail on the head with this one. I also am fermenting at 66-68 for the duration and using same ingredients, mash schedule etc.. One thing that has got me wondering is that I usually pitch at about 74 degrees, maybe with 3068 this is too high to pitch at even though I drop ferment temp down shortly after.. Any thoughts?

After digging in and reading a lot of stuff on hefe's there is a couple key changes that will happen next time around for me (hopefully this weekend).
1. FERMENT TEMP
2. Yeast pitch size: Will use 20-25g yeast or a 3 liter starter for a 10g batch (previously used 1.5L as per recc. amount from various people)

I am going to do my darndest to ferment at 62-64F with the correct amount of yeast pitched. It seems that everyone who really has had unreal results is using the lower temp with great success.

I plan on making those two changes and redoing the blood orange hefe this weekend (I preferred this recipe over the regular bavarian hefe).

 

[Ceedubya]

My homebrew club held an officially unofficial hefe competition at our last meeting. 12 entries, I took 3rd with this recipe.

Fermented for 11 days, and was in the bottle for 5 weeks.

 

[CidahMastah]

My homebrew club held an officially unofficial hefe competition at our last meeting. 12 entries, I took 3rd with this recipe.

Fermented for 11 days, and was in the bottle for 5 weeks.

You did 68F ferment as noted in the recipe?

 

[lemy]

So I tried this recipe this past Sunday. I have never done a wheat before, but thought nothing of it, until I mashed...

I ended up with 60% efficiency, which is really really really bad. I ended up putting in a half pound DME and a half pound Dextrose in order to get my OG up to 1.052.

My PH was between 5-6 I typically mash around 75%. I use the grain mill at a local brewery that I have suspected of not crushing as it should. I have seen too many unbroken kernels as compared to the results of other mills I have used.

what are the other things I should be looking at?

 

[bergman1118]

This is a discussion for another thread, but here ya go anyway..

Your crush is definitely one, but here are some things that I have messed with and have gone from low 60's in efficiency to a consistent 82-85 %:

- Are you using a false bottom in your MLT? Manifold? S/S braid? I was originally using a 20" stainless steel braid in a 10 gallon gatorade cooler. I had it configured in a loop initially, thinking that this would help lautering for some reason.. After doing a HUGE mash many months ago, I noticed my braid was developing some large holes, so I cut it down to 12" and installed it in a straight line (like in FlyGuy's build). I immediately noticed an increase from low 60's in eff up to mid 70's. So, no matter your setup, my personal opinion is to look at how you are lautering.

- Do mash-outs. The effect that mash-outs have on eff is debatable, but when I started hitting mash-out temperatures (during my sparge, just heat your first batch up to ~195, add, stir, sit 10 mins, sparge), I saw another jump up in eff to around 80%.

- If you're batch sparging, try splitting your sparge into 2 equal batches. This final change saw my efficiency jump into the low to mid 80's.

YMMV. You're setup likely differs a lot from mine, and I think more than anything else time and experience in using it helped bump up my efficiency. And as always, make sure you hit mash temperatures, give it adequate time to convert, do an iodine test, etc. I used the above methods and hit about 83% efficiency with the exact recipe mentioned. My crush is good from my LHBS, which does make a big difference.

 

[lemy]

You are right, I should have posted to a different thread, but thanks for your response.

I don't get the braided line circle configuration issue, did the holes cause channels in the grain bed?

I use a silicone strainer in an igloo cooler for a false bottom.

 

[bergman1118]

It was the loop configuration itself that I think contributed to channeling, as I never had good eff with that setup even when the braid was free of larger holes.

 

[lemy]

It was the loop configuration itself that I think contributed to channeling, as I never had good eff with that setup even when the braid was free of larger holes.

So you believe channeling is what was causing the low efficiency? I can see if there were large holes, but I don't get why a loop would cause that.

I have been in denial about my mash equipment I guess, but my poor efficiency is making me realize I need to make a change.

Thanks again for your input.

 

[bergman1118]

Ok, this is my last hijacking of this thread! :cross:

I can't say for sure whether the loop configuration caused channeling or what - all I know is that it was not conducive to my efficiency! I can only speculate as to why this is, but in any case it indicates that anyone looking to improve efficiency should look at their lautering method.

 

[Ceedubya]

You did 68F ferment as noted in the recipe?

Yep, right at 68, had exactly what I was looking for!

 

[Diesel48]

I used white wheat instead of german wheat for this recipe. I pull my first pint off the keg. I fermented for 10 days and it has been carbing for 5. My beer is pretty white, is that normal being this fresh? Or does it have to do with the type of wheat I used? It still tasted pretty good. Maybe it is from all of the yeast still in suspension.

 

[ugaant]

Brewed this today. Thanks for the heads up on the blowoff tube. That yeast is a monster.

 

[lemy]

Brewed this today. Thanks for the heads up on the blowoff tube. That yeast is a monster.

I am 7 days into primary at 65F and I'm still bubbling. BeerSmith says the yeast has a max of 68.5% attenuation. At day 7 I am down from 1.052 to 1.016, which is 68.1%. I'm hoping to get at least 2 more points.

 

[mcbethenstein]

Sorry, slightly off topic- but...Anyone have the problem of losing flavor superfast with this beer? I am wondering if that's just normal, or if there is something I can fix. My brew day was text-book. I did a multistep mash with protein rest, and the boiling and chilling went as expected. I did get a "low" efficiency at 69%. I had planned to ferment in the basement at 60 deg after it took off. So my plastic bucket fermenter was in 75+ ambient temp for ~ a day, then down to 60. Fermentation really slowed, so after 3 or 4 days I brought it back upstairs and it took off again. I left the beer in primary for almost 3 weeks before bottling. After 5 days carbing, this was the BEST beer I've made yet. Huge banana flavor, nice clove finish. And now 2 weeks later it is losing flavor fast, almost a bit of sulphur taste. What could be my problem. I know there are a few things I might be able to fix... One of them being the odd shaped bottles I used. They were hard to cap properly, cause the necks were not standard. I will try regular bottles and O2 absorbing caps next time. What else? Was my fermentation temp swings too much? Did I leave on the trub/yeast too long? Help! My beer is not bad by any means, it's just not as good as it was.

 

[CidahMastah]

mistercameron and Rack04 - do you guys have any info to report back on your batches?

Rack04
"am fermenting a very similar recipe right now at 62. I pitched at hybrid rates using mr malty calculator."

mistercameron
"but the carboy temp has help pretty consistently at 72° for the last 5 days."

 

[mistercameron]

mistercameron
"but the carboy temp has help pretty consistently at 72° for the last 5 days."

I bottled on Monday... samples from the FG reading was pretty tasty. The WLP300 gave me decent banana but not overpowering. There's a good amount of clove aroma as well. It's a well-balanced Hef for my tastes.

 

[CidahMastah]

Crap - those pics are of my blood orange hefe and not the bavarian!

Sorry guys, wrong thread

 

[ChiechiBrouw]

Not only is this one of the best beers that I have ever brewed, it is one of the best beers that I have ever tasted. It was six days from bottle to glass too, which is a first for me.

Thanks for sharing the recipe!

...and it's pretty too.

 

[rack04]

I brewed this recipe on Saturday. The remaining pieces for my kegging setup should be here sometime this week. Any thoughts on if this batch will be ready to keg on Monday, i.e 9 days in primary? That will give me a day to chill the keg to 40 degrees f and 4 days to carb for Saturday serving.

 

[mistercameron]

I bottled on Monday... samples from the FG reading was pretty tasty. The WLP300 gave me decent banana but not overpowering. There's a good amount of clove aroma as well. It's a well-balanced Hef for my tastes.

I just cracked open my first bottle (brewed on June 4). WOW. This is great! It reminds me of all the great hefs I've had both here in the states and in Bavaria. It's a well-balanced beer. I carbed it to about 4volumes, depending on the formula you're using - perfect.

Gret recipe, Ed!

 

[rack04]

Checked my gravity today. Down to 1.010 in 6 days. I'll probably test out my new kegging system tomorrow.

 

[EdWort]

Found this bottle in the beer fridge in the garage. Just over a year old. Built up a one liter starter and it took off, then split it into two 1 liter starters for 2 five gallon batches. Amazing stuff.

 

[surfnturf]

Just brewed this today. I was a bit low on the sg, 1.052 but I'm thinking its acceptable. Also am using a vial of wlp380 as my lbhs was out of 3068. I'm going to ferment low (63) and am hoping for the best.

 

[EdWort]

Just brewed this today. I was a bit low on the sg, 1.052 but I'm thinking its acceptable. Also am using a vial of wlp380 as my lbhs was out of 3068. I'm going to ferment low (63) and am hoping for the best.

You'll be fine. It will ferment down to 1.009 and give you a very nice beer at 5.7% abv. I've made bigger Hefe's but this level adds to the quaffability in Summer.

 

[mcbethenstein]

Ed, since you are on here right now do you have any insights for me, it was fantastic for 2 weeks and now pretty skunky. Is that just the way wheats are?

Sorry, slightly off topic- but...Anyone have the problem of losing flavor superfast with this beer? I am wondering if that's just normal, or if there is something I can fix. My brew day was text-book. I did a multistep mash with protein rest, and the boiling and chilling went as expected. I did get a "low" efficiency at 69%. I had planned to ferment in the basement at 60 deg after it took off. So my plastic bucket fermenter was in 75+ ambient temp for ~ a day, then down to 60. Fermentation really slowed, so after 3 or 4 days I brought it back upstairs and it took off again. I left the beer in primary for almost 3 weeks before bottling. After 5 days carbing, this was the BEST beer I've made yet. Huge banana flavor, nice clove finish. And now 2 weeks later it is losing flavor fast, almost a bit of sulphur taste. What could be my problem. I know there are a few things I might be able to fix... One of them being the odd shaped bottles I used. They were hard to cap properly, cause the necks were not standard. I will try regular bottles and O2 absorbing caps next time. What else? Was my fermentation temp swings too much? Did I leave on the trub/yeast too long? Help! My beer is not bad by any means, it's just not as good as it was.

 

[BullFrog]

I am out of 2 row and am looking to brew with what I have, which happens to be a bunch of pils and wheat malts. Problem is that i do not have any German wheat yeasts on hand. How do you think this would turn out if i throw in some s-05? Hypothetically that would just make it an American wheat... right?

 

[EdWort]

Ed, since you are on here right now do you have any insights for me, it was fantastic for 2 weeks and now pretty skunky. Is that just the way wheats are?

3 weeks is pretty long for a hefe. It's on the high end of time for a Primary ferment. I don't go past 10 days myself. I keg mine and it does taste best when fresh, but it still can taste great for a few months later if kept chilled and on gas.

Are all of your bottles in the fridge after carbing?