i made my first all grain hefeweizen which is also going to be my first kegged beer. i was thinking of heating it to 180 to boil off the alcohol. i have two questions, first, being yeast driven beer would this kill the yeast and thus ruin the beer? second how long should i heat it to boil off the alcohol? and dont tell me im stealing the beers soul, for a few weeks i am only allowed one beer a day so i figured a bunch of N/A or really low abv beer would be better.
N/A hefeweinzen
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If you wanted a low abv brew, you should have brewed it to be one. I feel that you need to just set this one aside and do up a mild. Don't destroy a good hefe.
Professor Frink
Well-Known Member
grrtt78 said:
Consider yourself the budding expert.
I'd like to do an N/A beer at some point. Let us know.
grrtt78 said:
See, I think you're right to be nervous. With a regular hefe, the yeast is in suspension, dormant but not dead. You kill it, seems like the yeast is then going to break down and you could end up with autolysis (sp?).
If you could filter......... I bet you could heat up the beer to drive off the alcohol, filter out the now-dead yeast, then re-introduce a slurry of fresh hefe yeast. It wouldn't re-start fermentation if there aren't any fermentables left. Not sure how much you'd have to re-pitch. But, I'm worried about having yeast in there that's dead, not dormant.
OTOH, if you drink it pretty quickly, it should be fine; it'll still take a while, I would think, for the yeast cells to break down.
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landhoney
Well-Known Member
Or if you kill them they should eventually clear to the bottom and you could rack off the beer leaving most behind. Just an option if filtering is not. I like the_bird's idea, but just wanted to add that clearing/racking might work if you can't filter.
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OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!!!! 
Professor Frink
Well-Known Member
One problem that may come up is that once the yeast die, you might get off flavors similar to autolysis if they're allowed to stay in the beer, and since Heffe yeast is pretty low floculating, I think filtering may be the way to go.
landhoney said:
Not sure, though, if dead hefe yeast flocs any better than dormant hefe yeast. Might be a while in cold storage before you can rack...
landhoney
Well-Known Member
the_bird said:
Come on, I can't believe you don't know that?
If you don't have the ability to filter out the dead yeast, any beer where the yeast flavor isn't a dominant component of the flavor and where you can use a highly floculant strain would be better. Stout should be fine.
Again, I may be overstating the "danger" in the yeast remaining in the beer after it being heated, that's just where my concern would lie. I haven't read the article that was linked, maybe they address this issue
Again, I may be overstating the "danger" in the yeast remaining in the beer after it being heated, that's just where my concern would lie. I haven't read the article that was linked, maybe they address this issue
Beerthoven
Well-Known Member
Flocculation is a behavior exhibited by live yeast. Dead yeast don't flocculate, they just drift around and may eventually sediment on the bottom if they are heavy enough.
Cold affects the flocculation behavior of live yeast, but it may or may not speed up sedimentation of dead yeast cells, I don't know.
Anyway, why not just buy a case or three of NA beer at the supermarket and be done with it?
Cold affects the flocculation behavior of live yeast, but it may or may not speed up sedimentation of dead yeast cells, I don't know.
Anyway, why not just buy a case or three of NA beer at the supermarket and be done with it?
Don't listen to these guys. The N/A project beers are just as important as the gluten-free project.
thanks man, if this works out i wouldnt mind making more as i am sort of a health nut and beer is my vice. the link never mentioned anything about autolysis or really the yeast so im not sure if that would be an issue. is autolysis from yeast breaking down or eatin one another?
Eating one another.
I wouldn't worry about that.
People are acting like this is yeast sushi.
There will be a flavor differences because of the loss of alcohol and the character of the yeast may change because of the cooking of the yeast (@180) but that's the downside of N/A beers. You already know the upside.
Do it.
I wouldn't worry about that.
People are acting like this is yeast sushi.
There will be a flavor differences because of the loss of alcohol and the character of the yeast may change because of the cooking of the yeast (@180) but that's the downside of N/A beers. You already know the upside.
Do it.
Beerthoven
Well-Known Member
grrtt78 said:
John Palmer in How To Brew said:
Autolysis seems to be an issue only with respect to leaving the beer for a long time on the yeast cake from a primary fermentation. There may not be enough yeast in suspension in finished beer for it to be a problem.
If you can't filter the beer, try using gelatin on the de-alcoholized beer to sediment out the dead yeast, then rack to your keg. Or don't worry about the yeast and just do it.
Beerthoven
Well-Known Member
grrtt78 said:
Moderate consumption of alcohol, 1 to 2 drinks a day, is associated with decreased risk for heart disease and stroke. This is a real health benefit, not mumbo-jumbo.
Nostrildamus
Well-Known Member
Though I respect the fact that you're a health nut and that beer is your vice but there are probably far many more destructive things you are presently putting into your body than the alcohol from the odd home brew and in this belief I offer the following ramble as a matter of perspective:
I am a competitive runner and was an amatuer football (soccer to the majority of you lot) player. At no time have I ever considered one beer to be detrimental to my performance so long as it wasn't the night before a race or match.
I instead guide those wanting a higher level of health through diet towards moderation in all things and the elimination of heavily processed and fake foods which are consumed on a daily basis and so, so common in the U.S. and Canada especially when compared to the rest of the world.
As far as weight gain and the like from alcoholized beer, well, you're going to get it from the N/A beer as well, as it still contains the carbohydrates. As far as the dehydration, you're going to get that from any caffeinated beverage or others with what are today considered herbal stimulants (guarana and mate though to a lesser extent etc.) and I see many of my health conscious friends consuming these en masse thinking they are better off than the coffee and tea drinkers.
Moderation is sustainable and more of a lifestyle than a difficult hard line "diet" approach which so often ends in failure. Give it some thought. Maybe beer and food and drink in general should be enjoyed in it's most natural state less often or in a lesser quantity rather than in an adapted version which would allow one to consume it at will.
In the end it is your choice. As for myself, I'll exercise self control and drink a real (and proper tasting) beer and just do it in less volume, less often.
I am a competitive runner and was an amatuer football (soccer to the majority of you lot) player. At no time have I ever considered one beer to be detrimental to my performance so long as it wasn't the night before a race or match.
I instead guide those wanting a higher level of health through diet towards moderation in all things and the elimination of heavily processed and fake foods which are consumed on a daily basis and so, so common in the U.S. and Canada especially when compared to the rest of the world.
As far as weight gain and the like from alcoholized beer, well, you're going to get it from the N/A beer as well, as it still contains the carbohydrates. As far as the dehydration, you're going to get that from any caffeinated beverage or others with what are today considered herbal stimulants (guarana and mate though to a lesser extent etc.) and I see many of my health conscious friends consuming these en masse thinking they are better off than the coffee and tea drinkers.
Moderation is sustainable and more of a lifestyle than a difficult hard line "diet" approach which so often ends in failure. Give it some thought. Maybe beer and food and drink in general should be enjoyed in it's most natural state less often or in a lesser quantity rather than in an adapted version which would allow one to consume it at will.
In the end it is your choice. As for myself, I'll exercise self control and drink a real (and proper tasting) beer and just do it in less volume, less often.
Some people cannot digest/process alcohol.
Some people should not drink alcohol at commerical levels.
Drop it.
OP has expressed his desire to brew an NA batch.
He shouldn't have to go into that any further.
The N/A project beers are just as important as the gluten-free project.
Some people should not drink alcohol at commerical levels.
Drop it.
OP has expressed his desire to brew an NA batch.
He shouldn't have to go into that any further.
The N/A project beers are just as important as the gluten-free project.
Nostrildamus
Well-Known Member
The OP did not express his desire to brew a N/A batch exclusively:
i am only allowed one beer a day so i figured a bunch of N/A or really low abv beer would be better.
The OP alluded to this desire being rooted in the fact that he is a health conscious individual and a beer drinker such as myself:
if this works out i wouldnt mind making more as i am sort of a health nut and beer is my vice
I was simply trying to give him some perspective on moderating his intake rather than going to the trouble of altering something which he had already brewed. Next time I'll keep it to simple one word answers and hope that he or she gets what they came for and nothing more.
i am only allowed one beer a day so i figured a bunch of N/A or really low abv beer would be better.
The OP alluded to this desire being rooted in the fact that he is a health conscious individual and a beer drinker such as myself:
if this works out i wouldnt mind making more as i am sort of a health nut and beer is my vice
I was simply trying to give him some perspective on moderating his intake rather than going to the trouble of altering something which he had already brewed. Next time I'll keep it to simple one word answers and hope that he or she gets what they came for and nothing more.
^^^^^^^^^^grrtt78 said:
Professor Frink
Well-Known Member
I'm not trying to keep stirring this pot, but if he wants to make an N/A beer, I say go for it. I've read, and posted in, threads where people are worried about their ABV not being high enough, but it's taste, and the type of beer you are aiming for, that is important. And also, the greatest part of making beer is the experimentation in making the beverage you want to drink. So if you want to make a N/A beer, I think it would be fun to step up to the challenge.
Way to go.grrtt78 said:
You've inspired me. I've been trying to figure out how to N/A a haus ale for a while now and it never occured to me to be as simple as boiling off the alcohol.
I do light ABV (4%) brews anyway and I drink a TON of beer. So a nice NA would be great. My beers are simple recipes too.
Let's face it, there are times when I want something (or 3 or 4 somethings) to drink, but I'm about to drive the family to...let's say...CHURCH or something.
I brew beer because I love beer. 90% of the time, I like the alcohol that comes with beer. Now I can satisfy that other 10% of the time.
Professor Frink
Well-Known Member
Well done. I think I might have to try it out of pure curiosity. I'm thinking making half a batch N/A and comparing it to the other half.
See, now if you carefully boiled off the alcohol in a still.... you could have the best of both worlds!
i brewed another batch, an apa and it really suffered from the heating. all of the hops were driven away from reheating it. i then put it in a fermenter and dry hopped and it had a great aroma but still no hop taste. if anyone can make a hoppy tasting NA i would love to hear how!
Chris_B
Active Member
grrtt78 said:
Hmmm. Just reading about Berliner Weisse - which some Germans used to brew without boiling the malt. They would boil the hops separately, then mash with the hop-tea.
So my guess would be to boil your malt with just the bittering hops. Then when you boil off the alcohol, do a separate small boil (1 gal?) with any flavoring and aroma hops. The add the hop tea to the NA beer.
You would have to calculate your hops using the small boil volume and no-gravity numbers. And also be sure to boil a smaller, higher-gravity wort so that the numbers come out correctly when they are mixed.
My $.02
Chris
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