hefe fermentation time?

[RadicalEd]

I put my hefe together a little over 2 weeks ago, it started with an explosive fermentation, and it's still bubbling at a rate of 3 bubbles/ minute. The brew was an extract kit from morebeer, and I'm using WLP320 yeast, fermenting at around 75*f (hey, it's warm here!).

So basically, when should I look to keg this thing? I could take a gravity reading, but the liquid level inside is low enough that I'll need my thief to do so, and I'd prefer not to waste the beer before it's ready (one reading, sure, but 3 days in a row...?). .

And once it's in keg, how long should I give it before serving? I'll be force-carbing it.

Thanks in advance!

 

[homebrewer_99]

As soon as the gravity has dropped 75% it's done. A couple of weeks maturing will help.

A lot of my HWs are ready in 28 days from brew day to tapping...

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

I've heard of drinking hefe's in less than three weeks. 10-14 days primary, 1week bottles/keg. That's what I"m gonna do on my next hefe. I keep hearing over and over, fresher the better with a hefe.

 

[RadicalEd]

Thanks for the feedback fellas. Seems like 2 weeks primary's on the done side, so I'll give it a reading soon and rack to keg if I can. I definitely like the idea that in less than 2 weeks I'll have tasty beer.

 

[EdWort]

I'm drinking a wonderful Bavarian Hefeweizen I brewed on 9/8 and kegged on 9/17. It's darn tasty right now and I wanted to give it a try before heading out of town for another week. This is proof that Hefe's can be ready and very drinkable in under 3 weeks.

 

[Two Dog's Brewing]

I have made EdWorts Bavarian Hefe Recipe scaled up to 10 gallons. 10 days ferment 4 or 5 in the keg and its perfect. FANTASTIC recipe and amazing beer.

 

[Dycokac]

I was going to let my Dunkel Hefe primary ferment 3 weeks, but after reading this, Maybe I'll wait 2 then bottle it as long as my gravity falls to where it needs to be. This one is my first partial mash and I did tweak the recipie I found and ended up with 1.048 OG (if memory serves, my notes arn't infront of me). Finally got myself an active fermentation after 4 batches and my vapor lock is nice and brown with some over flow on the lid of the fermenting bucket I played around with Centennial hops and some tettenang and used a british ale yeast from whitelabs.

 

[DeathBrewer]

a hefe usually only needs 2 weeks or less fermentation time but WILL BENEFIT from a longer time in the carboy. leaving it for a shorter time in the fermentation container will not make for a better beer.

seefresh, "the fresher the better" is more for bottling. 3 weeks in bottle is very drinkable, 6 weeks in bottle is perfect, after 2 months, hefes begin to decline.

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

a hefe usually only needs 2 weeks or less fermentation time but WILL BENEFIT from a longer time in the carboy. leaving it for a shorter time in the fermentation container will not make for a better beer.

seefresh, "the fresher the better" is more for bottling. 3 weeks in bottle is very drinkable, 6 weeks in bottle is perfect, after 2 months, hefes begin to decline.

I dunno if I agree. I actually like the full yeast flavor that comes through after less than 2 weeks in the bottle, after a while the beer is still great, but that full, punch you in the face, hefe flavor has begun to fade.

 

[RadicalEd]

My primary concern was since it's still off-gassing (ie I see little bubbles rising to the surface) and do plan to bottle some just so I can see what effect aging has, I wanted to avoid bottle bombs. Especially with my grolsh-style bottles . But most of it will be going into a keg where it won't be an issue.

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

My primary concern was since it's still off-gassing (ie I see little bubbles rising to the surface) and do plan to bottle some just so I can see what effect aging has, I wanted to avoid bottle bombs. Especially with my grolsh-style bottles . But most of it will be going into a keg where it won't be an issue.

yea, be carful with that.

 

[DeathBrewer]

I dunno if I agree. I actually like the full yeast flavor that comes through after less than 2 weeks in the bottle, after a while the beer is still great, but that full, punch you in the face, hefe flavor has begun to fade.

it could be just a matter of preference. i find the yeast a bit over-powering at first and prefer the spicy, fruity flavors that are more pronounced after a couple of weeks. i ferment at 65F or less so the banana isn't over-powering, too. i also despise the taste of corn sugar and hate it when i can still taste it in the beer.

whatever works for you, just giving my $0.02

 

[RadicalEd]

SO does the general "OG drops by .75" rule apply if bottling as well? Just want to be careful here, I like my hands unmutilated .

EDIT: ok so I broke down and checked my gravity: 1.015, with an OG of approximately 1.055. If my "safe" target is 1.013 (or .25*OG), it does makes sense that I'm still getting some action. But I'm really surprised how long my fermentation is taking; I mean it's been going for longer than most of you have described, and I've been fermenting at higher temps, too.

Should I just forgo bottling any of these, and just rack to keg in a couple days?

I have to admit, though, that the sample in the hydrometer jar was mighty tasty. I'm no connoisseur of beer, so I can hardly describe to you the clove to banana taste ratio, but I can definitely say it tastes better than a majority of beers I've ever had. A success in my book!

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

I would just follow the rule of bottling after the FG hasn't dropped for a couple or three days. My Hefeweizens usually finish in the 1.010-1.012 range. I'm also a fan of 1-2 weeks secondary conditioning but as others have pointed out it's not at all necessary if you're in a hurry.

 

[RadicalEd]

Sounds like pretty sound advice there, Baron. I guess I'll just "have" to keep sampling the stuff to find out, eh?

BTW, I love your title and avatar there, Baron. Reminds me of my high school days and my AP US history class .

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Sounds like pretty sound advice there, Baron. I guess I'll just "have" to keep sampling the stuff to find out, eh?

BTW, I love your title and avatar there, Baron. Reminds me of my high school days and my AP US history class .

I switched to this avatar from Calvin & Hobbes (I think) after reading River of Doubt, a great read about an ill-fated Amazonian exploration Roosevelt undertook after losing his reelection bid. Pretty harrowing stuff and well written.

 

[EdWort]

I switched to this avatar from Calvin & Hobbes (I think) after reading River of Doubt, a great read about an ill-fated Amazonian exploration Roosevelt undertook after losing his reelection bid. Pretty harrowing stuff and well written.

Great book so far! I'm a third of the way through.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Great book so far! I'm a third of the way through.

If you like that vein of reading you might also like Endurance, the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton's even more ill-fated trip to Antarctica. Probably the greatest survival story I've ever read. Maybe we need a thread in chit-chat for books. Maybe we have one.

 

[brett]

I'll chime in too. I'm right now enjoying a glass of my first hefe. I fermented for 2.5 weeks, it dropped to 1.011, and it's been in the bottle for only a week. And whooo boy, it's tasty. BTW, I'm sold on WYeast 3333 (german wheat) yeast. Try it out if you like a huge clove/bubblegum flavor.

I can't wait to experience how the beer matures over the next month or so. That is, if I can save some bottles!