Hefe secondary question

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Eskimo Spy

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I've had my first hefe in the primary for 10 days now. If my gravity readings indicate it's done fermenting, should it go to the bottle now, should it stay in the primary longer, or is there any reason for a wheat to go into a secondary? I assume there is no need for a secondary for hefes...

Second question; for a hefe, if I'm going to prime it with corn sugar for bottling, should I use 3/4 of a cup, or reduce it? Thanks everyone!
 
I've had my first hefe in the primary for 10 days now. If my gravity readings indicate it's done fermenting, should it go to the bottle now, should it stay in the primary longer, or is there any reason for a wheat to go into a secondary? I assume there is no need for a secondary for hefes...

Second question; for a hefe, if I'm going to prime it with corn sugar for bottling, should I use 3/4 of a cup, or reduce it? Thanks everyone!
I think the main purpose of a secondary is really to clarify which is essentially undesirable in a hefe. I think the lack of a need for a secondary is the main reason hefe's can be drank so early compared to other ales.
 
I bottled my Summer Citrus Wheat at 12 days...after steady hydrometer readings for 3 consecutive days. I thought perhaps the yeast would need to clean up after itself...but after sampling it was surprisingly clean tasting. I think 10 days should be sufficient as long as hydrometer readings have been the same for 3 days.

As for the corn sugar, I used 3/4 cup and it turned out perfect. If you want a really high carbonation, up this by using a "heaping" 3/4 cup. Don't forget to enjoy the hefe fresh...mine was best between 3-8 weeks. After that it started to lose some of it's fruity/clove taste...but on the plus side that made the wheat malt really stand out.
 
No need for secondary, bottle 'er up (if it's done of course). I would stick with 3/4 cup. Hefes actually usually have a bit more carbonation than average, but if you aren't careful, you can go overboard very easily (trust me). 3/4 cup works for most beers.
 
I'm going to bottle my Hefe today or tomorrow, and I busted out beersmith. They suggested 2.9 volumes as the upper end of the style for carbonation. At 70 degrees, I'm coming in just under that with 2.8, and I'm using 5 & 1/4 ounces of corn sugar.

I love the carbonation calculator.
 
Ditto on no need for the secondary. I find hefe's to be best drunk in the summer which is another good reason to bypass the secondary.

As for the sugar, I bottled a hefe batch a few weeks ago with 3/4 cup corn sugar and it came out a little too carbonated. If I had to do it again, I would go with a little less.

Enjoy
 
Ditto on no need for the secondary. I find hefe's to be best drunk in the summer which is another good reason to bypass the secondary.

As for the sugar, I bottled a hefe batch a few weeks ago with 3/4 cup corn sugar and it came out a little too carbonated. If I had to do it again, I would go with a little less.

Enjoy

What's the style average carbonation range for Hefeweizens? Beersmith says a max of 2.9 volumes, while I've read in places some hefe beers have up to 4 volumes of CO2 in them, which seems extreme.

I carbed with 2.8 as my goal. I like a very effervescent hefe, it adds to the aroma and makes things very happy.

As a side note, I no longer go by measuring cup with my corn sugar. I go strictly by weight now, as I see that corn sugar can compact like flour. I also have a *lot* more control over my carbonation styles.
 
So, using a scale, how much dextrose should I use?

It depends.

Don't hate me! It really does. It depends on the style, the amount of carbonation you want to have in the beer, the size of the batch, what kind of sugar you're using to bottle condition (DME, corn sugar, or table sugar) and what temperature you're bottle conditioning at. Beersmith calculates all of this for you and is awesome.

http://www.brewblogger.net/index.php?page=tools&section=sugar

This link is to a free and fairly simple sugar calculator for carbing. I like that it gives results for honey, molassas, and other non-standard carbing sugars.

For my hefe I bottled today, the calculator said around 5.8 ounces of corn sugar, which is in line with other beers I've made. Sadly, I think that beersmith was wrong on the weizen carb volumes and my beer will be slightly undercarbed.
 
I'm evaluating Beersmith now, and I'm working my way up to AG! Thanks, I knew it depended on a number of factors, I'll plug my recipe into Beersmith and see what it tells me.
 
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