hefe

[BrokeCollegeStudent]

sorry, i didnt search for this question on here, but i thought anyone could answer it.
Got a hefe in the primary, been there for a while longer than i thought(14 days), school kinda gets me caught up and i forget about things.

Anyway, i was kind of told not to put it in a secondary, because its a hefe.

Any thoughts about if i should put in the secondary?

And if i didnt put it in the secondary, could i bottle it now or leave it in the primary for another week then bottle? like the 1-2-3.

 

[DeathBrewer]

it's probably good to go. no need to go to secondary. take a reading and see, but if she's ready, bottle and let 'er sit for 3!

 

[BierMuncher]

Well...taking just one reading won't tell you much. Ya need to take a reading every couple of days and once those readings are unchanged for three days...then you're ready to rack to a bottiling bucket.

If you have a secondary, I'd rack to it anyway (even though it's a hefe) and let it sit for a week. For sure, your beer will brighten up a bit, even though it won't clear (wheats aren't supposed to). A brighter wheat is more "acceptable" to the non homebrew drinking public.

Just a thought.

 

[Beerrific]

I just finished a hefe. It took 8 days to finish fermentation. I racked to a secondary for a week and a relatively good amount of stuff fell out in the secondary, if it had not there it would be in the bottles. . .Might as well right?

 

[BrokeCollegeStudent]

cool thanx guys, dont really know what im going to do right now, college has got me all tied up. anyway, thanx a bunch,

happy brewin.

 

[user 4295]

Hefe's are best served young and cloudy. No need to secondary. The character of a hefe fades quickly with age, from my experience. I always have a Hefe on tap because we go through it quick! Ten days (max) in the primary and then it's kegged, chilled and served. I say bottle it now and enjoy in three weeks.

 

[New Brew]

My first brew was a hefe, Paulaner clone; spent 14 days in primary and went right into bottles. 2 weeks later it was great, 3 even better.

They really do go off quickly though. Commercial Paulaner Hefe-Weizen tastes flat and lifeless compared to my homebrew, which I attribute to it being months old, commpared to my fresh homebrew. I probably never would've noticed this if I hadn't brewed my own, but in a side-by-side tasting the difference in freshness is really obvious.

 

[CollinsBrew]

When taking your gravity readings during fermentation, what is an "ideal" gravity for bottling a hefe?

 

[homebrewer_99]

Depends on the attenuation of the yeast.

Check you packet/vial. It should be listed there with the optimum temps.

Say you OG is 1.040, or 40, and your FG was 10. That's 75% attenuation.
Many brews are 75 so I just use that as a guideline...it's done fermenting.

So your answer is when it's done fermenting and the gravity is within the range for the style.

 

[CollinsBrew]

Cool! I didn't think to look on the yeast packet....I'm using a Wyeast Activator smack pack but I can't recall the exact number right now(I'm at work)....and on HBT haha!