Weissbier Bee Cave Brewery Bavarian Hefeweizen

[ShinyBuddha]

I did a 1ltr. starter.

 

[mgortel]

I did a 1ltr. starter.

Ditto to that for me too.

 

[fatboy34]

On the topic of rotten egg odor. I brewed my second attempt at this 10 days ago. Days 3-7 it had the same rotten egg as before.

But this morning I am excited to report no bad odors at all, its gone! Last time it never went away in the keg.

Differences: I used WL300 instead of wyeast 3068, I did BIAB instead of normal all grain. I used a blow off tube instead of not and last time the airlock got clogged up. I used a starter instead of not.

 

[oasisbliss]

Can't wait to brew this one ! couple of questions.

1. Why do you do a 90min mash instead of the standard 60min? (curious )
2. Is there enough pilsner in this to justify a 90 min boil ?
3. Should I mix all the grain including the rice hulls together? I am gonna use 1lb of hulls just to be safe (don't want a stuck mash)

Also,

My ferm chamber in my basement is riding at about 63-64 throughout the day. Then in the night it goes down to about 60f My question is will I be ok to let the barv hefe ride at this temp? I know the temp will go up during fermentation so about 5 degrees of that would put me at the 68f that is recommended. I don't want to go above the 68f.... Will it be ok when the bulk of the ferm is done and it goes back down to the 60-64 for the rest of the primary time?

thanks in advance will be brewing this Friday in 3 days.

 

[oasisbliss]

If anyone could help me on this I would appreciate it. I am brewing in 1 day.
ultimate concern is my fermenting area is about 63 in the day and about 60 at night.... will this be ok?

thanks

 

[cublue]

If anyone could help me on this I would appreciate it. I am brewing in 1 day.
ultimate concern is my fermenting area is about 63 in the day and about 60 at night.... will this be ok?

thanks

I think it will be clovier, and take longer. Just try and pitch at the right temp and do what you can to keep it mid 60s at first 48 to 72 hrs. Also I would do a big starter or overpitch or else you could strain the yeasties and end up sulphery. I had similar issues and those are the changes I decided on if I were to brew this again.
Hope that helps.

 

[oasisbliss]

thanks I appreciate it. Anyone know about how many specific degrees the fermentation will go up when using this recipe?
That would help as to where to put my fermenter bucket....

thanks again

M

 

[mgortel]

I pitched my yeast in 62F wort.

Had my fermenter in a 62F chamber.

24 hours later my Fermentation temp actually peaked at 69F-70F (little higher than I wanted).

I did a 1 litre starter.....

 

[oasisbliss]

Perfect - thanks mgortel that is the info I needed.
so it looks like about 8 degrees......

 

[mgortel]

Yep...but keep an eye on it because I had to start increasing my fermentation chamber temp at about the 48 hr mark (after pitch) to keep the temp from dropping to much after fermentation started to slow down of course....

 

[oasisbliss]

Ok will do.. I have the johnson a419 so I will have to switch out the ceramic heater and the freezer....Should have got the Ranco for this...oh well.
wish me luck - looking so forward to this one -- Franiskaner is my fav beer and this sounds like it is very close !

 

[surtur]

i did this one it has been in the primary for 16 days the first few days i had crazy sulfur smell my temps were a little low 60-63 so i bumped them up and the smell went away after about a day..
took a reading after 10 days and a sample and yuck... smelled and tasted like sour sulfur farts.. reading was 1.014 didn't smell or taste like beer.
I used a 1L started and use two jars of harvested 3068 from a previous batch that was good.
could my yeast have been contaminated? or my beer or is this just one of those funky fermentation's that just isn't done yet.?

also i have bumped the temp up over the last week to the low 70's to try and help the yeast along ... its has dropped down to 1.012 and has mellowed a little but man it still doesn't taste right.
i will give it a week or two more then i will bottle it and see what happens.

 

[mgortel]

I had mine in primary for 3 weeks exactly....and was worried about having the sulpher issue because of some other posts....but it was fine after the 3 weeks.

I did a 1-litre starter.....and my max ferm temp hit 70F for a couple hours at peak of fermentation (little higher than I wanted obviously)......beer fermented at 67F to 68F

 

[oasisbliss]

Ok so I finally brewed this. Couple of questions:
1. Is it normal for the krausen to go up into the airlock and bubble out a bit?
anyway to avoid this in a 6.5 gallon bucket?

2. My temps have been basically at 68 maybe once or twice in a 24 hour period it hit 70 a couple of times - should this be ok ?

3. I am getting a sulfur smell - I know others have reported this - is it normal ? anyway to avoid it ?

4. I was hoping for a nice banana note but am smelling any of that will this come in the end?

5. My starter I did in my kitchen which is about 70f - the starter got pretty bubbly and active, I am assuming the temp rose on the starter to maybe 74-75ish I had it sit overnight - is this ok ? I know I get fusel alcohol esters if I ferment this high on the actual hefe......will a high 70's temp starter cause off flavors?

thanks in advance

 

[SFGiantsFan925]

Just brewed this today. Hit numbers pretty much right on. 1.056 OG. Just about to pitch my yeast. Using a 1.5L starter. The starter went CRAZY! Woke up to find it spewing all over the place. Aerating right now and I hope I dont get the sulphur issues. Made a Belgian Wit using a different yeast and its almost undrinkable after a month in primary with such a bad sulphur smell. Fingers are crossed for this one!

 

[mgortel]

I bottle my beer.....and normally for other brew types I leave the sediment behind in the bottle when I pour to glass.....but in this case, since you want the yeast flavors, etc...in the beer....is it best to pour the entire bottle contents into glass (i.e. sediment and all)????

 

[oasisbliss]

For those of you who have successfully brewed this , is the sulfur rotten egg smell to be expected or is it not the norm? I am getting the sulfur smell and want to perfect this awesome recipe as German hefe is my fav!

 

[golphur]

I've brewed this twice. Sulfur smell during fermentation both times. It goes away. I've never had sulfur in the final product. I usually keg after 3-4 weeks in primary

 

[SFGiantsFan925]

I kegged after about 3 1/2 weeks in primary. It had a serious smell. But just tasted it again tonight, and it seemed to be mostly gone. Maybe a hint of it still there, but not bad at all. Its drinkiable, just not as much of the "Belgian" flavor I was expecting. Not the beers fault, Im sure it was my fault during the brew. Has a very strong wheat flavor to it. Going to keep trying to drink it and see how it conditions.

 

[JMass]

I bottle my beer.....and normally for other brew types I leave the sediment behind in the bottle when I pour to glass.....but in this case, since you want the yeast flavors, etc...in the beer....is it best to pour the entire bottle contents into glass (i.e. sediment and all)????

Some people roll the bottle sideways before pouring. I usually pour about 2/3 and swirl the rest and pour it out. Short answer, yes.

 

[fatboy34]

So it seems like the rotten egg/sulfur questions are coming up a lot lately.

Any experts on here that can chime in on how/if that can be controlled? Is it due to high ferm temps, low temps, changing temps, etc? Is it just always going to occur with this yeast and its just a matter of waiting till it goes away before racking?

My second attempt turned out pretty awesome, and smell went away. I left it in primary longer and used WL300 instead of 3068 but not sure what ultimately makes the difference.

 

[brewinchef_fairfax]

After reading almost the entire thread I had to brew a batch - however, I'm not set up for AG batches yet so I went with the following...

6.6lbs LME (Briess CBW Bavarian Wheat)
Yeast: Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan
Yeast Started 3 hours
Batch Size (Gallons): 5
Original Gravity: 1.051 (Temp Adjusted for 60F Hydrometer)
Boiling Time (Minutes): 75
(After adding the malt it took 15 minute to return to boil - at which point I started the clock for 60 - maybe someone tell me if that's not the right way to do it.)
.75 Hallertau @ 50
.25 Hallertau @ 15
WORT chilled to 73F in 33 minutes with water bath.
Transferred to 6.5 gallon (bucket) primary and yeast pitched at 71F as of 3:20 EST today.

I guess I'll have to wait and see. It's my first Hefe. The sulfur issue has me a touch paranoid - as does not having a blow out hose attached. We shall see.

My intention is to primary for 10 days and then go right the the bottle with 5oz priming sugar - then condition for 4 weeks.

Just wanted to say thanks to all on the board who so openly share the knowledge.

 

[mike_in_ak]

I haven't brewed this but have been following thread.

I think you're going to want more time before bottling so any sulfur whatever can age out.

Some people have posted that the sulfur does not age out in kegs.

10 days is pretty short regardless.

 

[mgortel]

I had mine in primary for 21 days......no issue with sulphur when I bottled it..........but there was some sulphur smell from the airlock about mid way through fermentation....so I suggest you let it ferment in primary 3 weeks like i did......

 

[oasisbliss]

Ok great. Sounds like it is pretty normal......I will let it ferment for 3 weeks

thanks

M

 

[surtur]

honestly i though i was gonna toss this batch... tasted like sour sulfur farts even when i bottled it... nothing like the first batch i did.. had no hint of even being a beer.
but i popped one open after about a week and man it is better then my first batch. no sulfur and the banana is coming out nice..

 

[brewinchef_fairfax]

My LHBS recommended the 10 days in primary - so I thought I might follow that. There are a few other posts in this thread leaning toward less time in primary... I guess all of this really depends on whether or not there IS a sulfur component to it. After all - it's not guaranteed that it will end up like that - is it?

 

[brewinchef_fairfax]

So it started fermenting at 1:00am this morning and by 10 or 11am was venting a nice banana smell - but very light. Now at 5:30 the whole house smells like a flatulent egg... Oh well. Part of the process I guess.

*** As of the next day all the sulfur smell in the house was gone... Who knows if it will return?

 

[SFGiantsFan925]

Checked mine today after 10 days. Mind you, my house has been around 60 degrees, and I know the beer has been fermenting around ther, and maybe a little higher. I tried using a heater to get it up to around 68 to ferment, but hard to control. I went from 1.056 --> 1.014 in 10 days. I am going to give it probably another 10 days in the fermenter then transfer to keg. A little sulphur smell when opening the carboy, but not much at all in tasting the hydro sample. I hope it drops to about 1.010 or lower. Tasting pretty darn good right now after 10 days. Nice recipe and thanks again!!

 

[mgortel]

So my latest taste of this after 4 weeks in bottle at room temp and 1 week in fridge is a bit disapointing.......doesnt have the classical hefeweizen taste....actually tastes a bit like dishwater......I hate to say......maybe it is green....maybe I screwed up on brew process....but I thought I did everthing per recipe and hit all marks......

Perhaps I need to let condition in bottle more? Just does not have that hefeweizen flavor you would expect.....