Hefeweizen Kit Lacking Carbonation

[mddembo]

For my first homebrew I decided to stick with a Hefeweizen LME kit that I bought online for simplicity. I followed the instructions to a T, making sure to sanitize everything, and yes I made sure to add the yeast and priming sugar.

It rested in a primary fermenter for 4 days, a secondary fermenter for 3 days, and after bottling sat for 3 weeks until I tried it yesterday. It was not cloudy like a hefeweizen, much darker in color than expected, very sweet, and under-carbonated.

My friends suggested it may be the caps, as I used the metal swing tops for most of them and have yet to try the few bottles that I sealed with metal caps. However, based on that fact that it was very sweet I'm more inclined to think that either the kit did not provide enough/sufficient yeast, or that there was not enough aeration in the wort for the yeast to survive. I say this because the yeast is supposed to convert the sugar into ethanol and CO2, and seeing as there was excess sugar and not enough CO2 I believe the conversion was somehow stopped short. Also the OG and SG were in the expected range for this kit.

I was provided with 1 pack of Fermentis WB-06 Hefeweizen Yeast and 5 oz. of priming sugar (not sure what kind, only said priming sugar) in making this brew. There was definitely bubbling during the fermentation process, so I know that the yeast at least activated, I'm just not sure how long it lasted.

I will be trying the metal cap sealed version soon and leave another post with comparisons between the two...

 

[JBmadtown]

First, did you put the priming sugar in at the beginning of fermentation or at bottling time?

The darker color is a common problem with extract brewing. The extract tends to carmelize on the bottom of the pot. Search for late-extract addition on this site. This is a method to lighten the color.

For the cloudiness, did you swirl the bottle half way through pouring it. The yeast will settle to the bottom and needs to be mixed in.

If you give more details about the recipe you will get more help. You said you hit the FG for the kit so I am not sure why it ended up sweet. It may just be the recipe.

 

[niko]

7 days between primary and secondary is not enough time, you may be lucky you dont have bottle bombs. It is a hefe and yes they dont require as much time and should be drank early but 1 week is not enough.

 

[mddembo]

@JBmadtown: After fermentation I started a siphon to transfer the brew from the secondary into a food grade plastic bucket with a spigot on it for easier bottling. As the liquid was transferring into the bucket, I slowly poured in a sugar solution with the 5 oz. priming sugar dissolved in 1 cup of water. We did in fact swirl the bottle after pouring out about 1/2 of it into the glass and it didn't make much of a difference in terms of appearance or carbonation. I will be sure to look up the late-extract additions shortly.

As far as the recipe is concerned, it was quite simple and I thought foolproof:
2 cans Unhopped Wheat LME
1 oz Liberty hop pellets at 60 mins.
1 oz Liberty hop pellets at 30 mins
1 pack Fermentis WB-06 Hefeweizen Yeast

Directions had me boil water, add 1 can LME, 1 oz hops and wait 30 mins before repeating with the other can of LME and 1 oz. hops. It was only about 2 1/2 gallon boil that was diluted in the fermenter to 5 or 6 gallons.

@Niko: Like I said, I was just following the instructions that came with the kit that recommended the fermentation schedule I followed. These are no where near bottle bombs, and are in fact quite the opposite, as indicated by the title of this post. The airlocks showed no sign of activity and the FG remained unchanged when I began the bottling process 7 days after brew day so I was fairly confident that it was ready.

 

[JBmadtown]

Truthfully, you have me a little stumped.

The fact that you reached an appropriate FG means the yeast were viable and after only 7 days there should be some in the bottles.

Therefore, why don't the yeast metabolize the priming sugar to carb the bottles? I don't know. Do you have them at room temp or colder? Lower temps might prolong carbing times. Also, if there is a larger head space it can take a little longer to carb. So, give it 1 -2 more weeks and try again.

The cloudiness may be the style of the yeast. It may be more of an american wheat than a bavarian wheat.

 

[brn14me]

I just bottled my second batch but my first batch was a Bavarian Hefeweizen and I have carb issues as well. I, too, was a little suprised at the color and taste as it's different than any hefe I've had but understand the color is due to the liquid malt extract. The issue I have / had with the carbination was the priming sugar wasn't dispersed evenly in my beer when bottling. My first couple six packs had 4 out of 6 bottles barely carbed at all with 2 being overly carbed, almost alka-selzerish. That was 3 weeks in the bottle. 4 weeks in the bottle, still under-carbed. I had given up as a lost cause.

My thought was if I was ever laid off I'll have alcohol to drink!! But as I bottled my second batch yesterday I threw in a sixer (at the 6 week mark) and they're all carbinated much nicer and taste better. Everyone says it here and apparently it's true but patience is the key.

I also see many people talk about how great their beer is after X weeks and the flavor is this and that. I cannot wait till I get to that point. The fact that my first batch is tasty and honestly.....drinkable.....gives me great hope. I hope yours turns out so you are happy with it.

 

[Indian_villager]

Did you get new gaskets for the swing top bottles?

 

[mddembo]

The tops were brand new, never used before, but it turns out they were the problem! I tried one of the metal cap sealed bottles and lo and behold it was perfect. At least now I don't have to decide which caps to use in the future...

 

[Ludovico]

Hefeweizen's don't really require a secondary - that may be why it isn't as cloudy as you would have liked. Not sure if that would be an issue with extract brewing, but it would certainly affect the appearance on a partial or all grain recipe. 3 weeks is really the minimum for bottle conditioning, I'd wait another 2-3 before I judged the final product.