Hefe advice

[joel6615]

Brewed an all-grain hefe a week ago today. Didn't have enough room in boiling kettle so missed OG. Mine clocked in at a whopping 1.080, and a week later is stable at 1.030. Should I man up and bottle it, water down, let it sit in primary, or pitch more yeast? It does have an (ahem) noticeable alcohol "flavor." Not really too keen on diluting w/water. Anyone have any thoughts? Will the alcohol flavor mellow w/age?

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

Well for one, it's too young. Of course it tastes like alcohol.

What was your recipe that you ended up at 1.080 for a hefe?

Is that OG reading temperature-adjusted?

Did you cut out water in the kettle and not adjust to the proper batch size in the fermenter?

 

[homebrewer_99]

I've never brewed a HW that high before. Could be your OG is incorrect.

What's the recipe? It would help.

Anyway, using the OG and FG you gave, my advice is don't do anything. It's not done fermenting...and definitely don't bottle or add water to it.

Your FG should be about 25% of your OG so 80 / 4 = 20. Your FG should be 1.020. But that's quite high for a HW. They are more in the 1.010 - 1.012 range.

What is the fermenting temperture? If it fermented too warm/hot the alcohol flavor will be more like the bite of vodka. Not really a good thing.

Give us more info so we can help you. But in the meantime just let it sit.

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

That seems crazy to end up that high on a hefe. Where did you get the recipe? How much grain did you use?

I made an IPA today with 16 pounds of grain and only got to 1.071 in a 5 gallon batch...

 

[joel6615]

11lbs of grain. 6 wheat and 5 pils. I DID cut out water in the boil and didn't adjust in the fermenter. Live and learn, right. Fermented at about 70-71. The OG was not temp adjusted, but the temp was about 71 when I took the OG. I can definitely live with the flavor though. I dont have access the exact recipe right now. I step infused at about 111, 155, and then sparge to fill kettles @ about 165. I have my doubts that the wlp300 is going to take the gravity down much further (if any).