First AG Wheat Beer - Secondary Krauzening

[EdWort]

I picked up ingredients for my first AG German Hefe Weizen to be brewed this weekend. I'm stoked. German Red Wheat, German Pilsener, Hallertau Hops, and Weihenstephan Weizen yeast.

I wonder if anyone has purchased some Weihnstaphan Weissbier and decanted the yeast to toss into the fermenter for the secondary at 50 degrees? It's a lager yeast that the germans use to provide natural carbonation, plus I'm guessing it results in a drier beer.

Erdinger Weissbier is kreuzened, bottled, and then lagered for 6 weeks at 50 degrees before it ships.

I'm also going to make a starter for this Wyeast 3068 and step it up a few times so I can same some for later batches. At $6.49 I'd like to get a few more out of it. Still, for $24.48, it's very cheap for 5 gallons of all German Weissbier.

I'll be using the Yuri'n Stir'n Machine for the first time. Man, I love gadgets.

 

[Chairman Cheyco]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=9685

This may be what you are looking for...

 

[EdWort]

That's an interesting post, but not what I'm looking for. Since I keg my beers, I'm mainly wondering what will adding some yeast from some bottled Weissbier will do to the flavor and body of my beer.

Weissbiers do use both an Ale and Lager yeast in their brew process, so I'm thinking that adding some yeast from a few Weihenstephan beers may make my Weissbier more authentic.

I'd don't think I'll try it on this batch, but I do think I'll toss some of the bottle yeast in my next batch when I rack to secondary after 7 days.

 

[ALPS]

Not really sure of your intentions, Ed. My understanding is that the lager yeast is added because it is highly flocculant and adds to the appearance more than anything. You'll have plenty of yeast still in suspention for carbonation even after months of aging. No need to pitch more.

As for a drier beer, once all the fermentable sugars are gone, what would a new yeast have left to "eat"??

 

[Biermann]

Yeah, I'm not real sure what the lager yeast will add as far as flavor. I always understood it that the lager yeast was used for bottling and conditioning, especially if it is going to be stored for awhile. My AG hefeweizen was bottled with wheat DME, and the yeast in suspension took care of the rest, and flocculated out nicely. My hefe was just as good (actually better than) any store bought hefeweizen.

BTW, I used the same yeast, pitched the smack pack as is, and it took off within about 12 hours.

Let us know how it turns out. BTW, did you get my Masskrug Edelweizen recipe that I emailed you awhile back??

 

[EdWort]

Let us know how it turns out. BTW, did you get my Masskrug Edelweizen recipe that I emailed you awhile back??

Yeah, sure did. I dropped you an email about it earlier. This is the tweaked recipe for my 5.5 gallon batch.

7# German Red Wheat
4# German Pilsener
.75 oz Hallertau 45 minutes
.25 oz. Hallertau 15 minutes (I have a 1/4 oz left, so I'll use it.)

Wyeast 3068

I'm hoping it turns out awsome! Thanks.

 

[Biermann]

The only problem I had with mine is a massively stuck sparge. It was a royal pain in the arse. You might want to throw some rice hulls in, or increase your pilsner slightly. wheat is reknowned for a stuck sparge. When I do this one again, I think I'll definately throw some rice hulls in. My "stuck" sparge took about 2+ hours to get done.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[EdWort]

That's what the guys at Austin Home Brew said. I picked up a pound of them just in case. I'll toss in half a bag now. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Biermann]

That'll definately help. I'm sure it'll turn out great! You know, since I brewed mine, I've received a lot of requests for it again. I think my next batch will be 10 gallons of the stuff.

 

[EdWort]

Someday I'll graduate to 10 gallon batches. I have the keggles ready to go, but no brew rig yet. I picked up a couple of those cheap turkey fryers for $18.77 so perhaps with a March pump and some silicone hose, I could move up, but then I still need the space. I'll have to wait till I get the brew hut built.

I've got just the spot for this puppy. It'll be 20'x14' not counting the porch.

 

[seyahmit]

This is just a guess, but they may be adding the lager yeast to ferment the krausen wort at 50 degrees to carbonate the beer. The Weizen yeast will probably go dormant at 50. I don't think the lager yeast will do anything to your beer unless you intend to add the unfermented wort.