First brew in 15 yrs....weizenbeir....going a little slow

[rilo0407]

This is a weizenbeir kit from Brewers Best. Been in the fermenter for 11 days. Didnt show visible signs of fermentation until 4 days after yeast was pitched. The OG was 1.048. After 5 days the gravity was 1.044. The airlock is still bubbling approx every 7-8 seconds. Out of curiousity I took a gravity tonight(11 days) and it was 1.030. I have been drinking hefes lately and all have a nice golden color. I happened to have a Fat Tire amber ale in the fridge and poured it up next to the hefe and my brew. Mine is more the color of the Fat Tire. I know the cloudiness will clear in time and I followed the brewing instructions to a tee. Wonder why my beer is darker? And should I be concerned about the progress of my fermentation? BTW I did a taste test compared to the hefe and Fat Tire and mine of course is sweeter due to the fermentation but is definately more on the citrusy side than the banana/clove. The temp of my wort is approx 68. Should I warm it up a bit to get a more banana/clove flavor??

 

[WCD]

Interesting. I did a similar style for my first time after 15 years of not brewing. Anyway, It took about 3 days to really start bubbling. Then it went for about 10 days. Did you use a liquid slap pack for yeast? if so did you leave it a room temp for a while and shake it up? The banana clove flavor is from the yeast. 68 is in the target temp range so I think that is fine. As for the color did you have to steep the grains? Did you force any excess water out of the steeping bag? if you used one. That may cause the darker water? Hard to say without knowing the recipe ingredients.

Hope this steers you in some direction.

 

[rilo0407]

This kit was all LME with a dry yeast packet. I followed the directions. I dont think that I scorched the wort but I guess there is no way to tell. The darker color may add a different flavor. Could be good I guess....I think part of the problem with the slow start is that I didnt aerate enough before I pitched yeast and the wort temp was a little low(65 degrees) when I pitched. It is fermenting nicely now......should I rack to a secondary when the gravity reaches around 1.020 or should I leave it in the primary and bottle from there?

 

[WCD]

I usually go to secondary although Hefe's like Franziskaner are kind of cloudy. Which single stage would have. Depends, its hard to wait on your first batch. If you want it clearer goto secondary. I never did a brewers best kit. Do the make a recomendation or is it your choice?

BTW - Aeration after you pitch also would help kick start the fermentation. So far your tracking the same as my first batch. Mine was fine as Im sure yours will be fine as well.

 

[rilo0407]

The kit does recommend secondary. Not sure what I will do yet. I will get another gravity when the bubbling slows down more and I will base my decision on that. How long was your hefe in the primary?

 

[WCD]

I did about 8 days in primary then went to secondary for 10-11 days before bottling. The 10 days was due to a biz trip not because I thought I needed it. It was a dunkelweison so I think you would notice clearing more in a lighter color beer. Mine was pretty clear looking but hefe's tend to be on the cloudy side at least German style ones Ive had.