Keeping a hefe a hefe.

[GPP33]

I keg all my beer. I'm about a half dozen pints into my latest hefeweizen and am already dreading about a week from today. About 1.5 to 2 weeks in it'll be crystal clear. My hefes start out perfectly cloudy but always end up a krystalweizen, not a hefeweizen. I've tried to swirl the keg but just end up with chunks of yeast. What do you do to keep em cloudy? I'm not sure if there's an actual flavor impact but there's certainly a mental impact.

 

[GoeHaarden]

HAHA...I like the term "krystalweizen," and I'm curious about this too. I make the the wheat beer varieties for my wife, I cannot stand them honestly. She has been working on a Witbier I bottled a little while ago, and as I've watched her drink them I have slowly noticed that they have evolved into a krystalwit...I read my notes and I guess I added a whirlfloc tab (out of habit), and thought this mistake was the reason it was clearing. Maybe there is another reason, but I don't know...curious as well!

 

[triethylborane]

Some info on what other do (the flour thing sounds like a no go IMHO)

http://forums.morebeer.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=34664

 

[The_Bishop]

Could always get a spare dip tube and put it in the gas side, so when you pull pints the incoming CO2 agitates the beer and keeps the yeast in suspension.

 

[Horseflesh]

Drink more and you won't have this problem.

 

[MHBT]

I dont make hefes all the time but when i do i make 1.5 gallon batches and bottle..the yeast at the bottom get swirled into suspention and you can leave the beer 2 months and never have a clear hefe

 

[corkybstewart]

I have used the flour addition and it works. Throw a little in the boil for a few minutes and you'll have hazy beer for a while.

 

[arnobg]

The flour addition doesn't help anything because you're missing out on half of the flavor without that yeast. Who cares what it looks like, the beer doesn't taste as good though. Agitate the keg or bottle.

 

[GPP33]

Thanks for the ideas. I'm not a fan of putting stuff in beer that shouldn't be in beer so the flour idea is out. I think I'm just going try to stay on top of swirling it so it never clumps up.

The long gas tube is an interesting idea but I think the yeast will just settle around it and not be affected by it, much like it settles around the pickup tube and doesn't get sucked in. I picture it creating a well around the end of the tube.

 

[Smellyglove]

I was an avid kegger. I kegged everything including my hefes. I only brew 12L at a time and love hefes so the keg was empty pretty fast, but I could see and taste a difference if it was left alone for a few days. I flipped the keg upside down and it was pretty fine. That's how at least Paulaner instructs the pubs serving their beers on tap. Stand the keg on its head for a few minutes before serving connecting it to the line.

But. Then I started to bottle them. Every bottle is the same, which is totally worth it for me. I set a side a part of the wort (speise), and keep it in the fridge until bottling day maybe a week later. Then just bottle straight from the fermentor and add the speise with a dosage syringe into each bottle. It's easy as hell when you first try it once. Give each bottle a shake with warm water after it's been emptied into your glass, and use a sanitation washer-pump thingy and that whole ordeal with cleaning and sanitizing bottles is easy and fast.

And why does your yeast clump up? what kind of yeast are you using? A Classic hefe-strain is supposed to be powdery, I've never seen a hefe strain flock.