Honeyweizen Fermenting

[jdavisdpt22]

I brewed up a Honeyweizen on Saturday 5/27 and have had it fermenting in a spare bathroom in the basement. There was some activity in the airlock the 2nd day and the stick on thermometer read 72 degrees, there has been little to no activity the past 2 days and the temp is down to 68. I'm planning on leaving it alone for 10-14 days. Do I leave it be and check then or do I need to do something else?

 

[Pawtucket]

Just leave it alone.
I leave all mine in primary for 14 days then keg or bottle. Fermentation is usually done in the first 3-4 days with mine.

 

[jdavisdpt22]

Thank u. Does that temperature sound ok? The only way I have of controlling temps is with the AC.

 

[RM-MN]

Thank u. Does that temperature sound ok? The only way I have of controlling temps is with the AC.

Nope and nope. The temperature you mention is pretty high for most ale yeasts and they will give off some undesirable flavors at that temperature. You can avoid this by setting the fermenter in a tub of water and add frozen water bottles to keep it cooler. I prefer my ales to ferment in the low 60's.

if you have a few extra dollars and the space for it, you can make a fermentation chamber that can easily keep your beer at approximately the right temp. http://www.ihomebrewsolutions.com/son-of-fermentation-chiller/

 

[jdavisdpt22]

What type of flavors could this cause? This is my first homebrew batch.

 

[RM-MN]

What type of flavors could this cause? This is my first homebrew batch.

The flavors would be described as "fruity" with banana being mentioned most often. You can also get a "hot alcohol" from fusel alcohols if the temperature was high enough.

 

[jdavisdpt22]

The flavors would be described as "fruity" with banana being mentioned most often. You can also get a "hot alcohol" from fusel alcohols if the temperature was high enough.

So I have tried it and it doesn't really have a hot alcohol taste, but it definitely tastes like it has more alcohol in it than expected. I didn't do may hydrometer readings. Definitely still drinkable

 

[Tx6686]

I had my hefe last month go crazy within the first 14 hours with white labs yeast and that was at 70 and even got up to to 73 degrees my hefe came out awesome . Like others have said in other posts air lock isn't the only way to determine if fermentation is kicking. Check gravity readings in a few days

 

[jdavisdpt22]

I had my hefe last month go crazy within the first 14 hours with white labs yeast and that was at 70 and even got up to to 73 degrees my hefe came out awesome . Like others have said in other posts air lock isn't the only way to determine if fermentation is kicking. Check gravity readings in a few days

Actually I have bottled it and it's been in the bottles for 3 weeks now. Carbed up very nicely.