Hefeweizen - Almost Done?

[Eskimo Spy]

Okay, I searched for this answer and found a ton of thread hijacking, but no clear answer. I have a Hefe that has been in the bottle for about 6 days. On average, after bottling, when is a wheat beer ready to drink? My understanding is that wheat beers are ready to drink younger than other styles, but how young? thanks!

 

[Parker36]

Wait three weeks until you open your first one. When it is ready, take a six pack and hide it from yourself for a year to convince yourself that your beer is better aged (repear for every brew you make)

 

[user 4295]

Hefe's are best when young, but since you are bottle carbing you will need to wait a few weeks to make sure that they carbonate properly. I don't bottle anymore, only keg. I just brewed a hefe, had it in the primary for 10 days and it went straight into the keg and put on the gas. After about a week on the gas I tapped it. It's terrific! Hefe's are the only beers that I brew that are good to go in less than 3 weeks.

 

[Kai]

The way to get your hefe's young is to cut down the time between brew and bottle; it still needs 3 weeks or close to it to bottle condition properly.

That said, I think the sweet spot for drinking hefe's is 6-10 weeks after brew day, so you really don't want it that young. I had a three month old pull of hefe off a keg (that I thought I'd blown) that was wonderful.

 

[Eskimo Spy]

I have a keg setup, but I rarely use it. The keg setup isn't portable! I may go back to cornies at some point, but for now, the bottles are easier to give to friends...

And what do you mean by:

The way to get your hefe's young is to cut down the time between brew and bottle

I kept my hefe in the primary for 14 days, the bottled it. Are you saying that you can bottle a hefe sooner? If so, how much sooner?