Questions about Hefeweizen

[beer4ever]

Hello. I’ve got a batch in the fermenter and looking good. I’ve never made Hefe before so I’m looking for some tips. I plan to leave it in the fermenter for about a month to get rid of the yeasties. I know Hefe is naturally cloudy so do I not bother with cold crashing it? Can it stay in the fermenter that long without refrigeration? I have a 5 gallon batch by the way. I was wanting to boost the alcohol a little and add some sugar or honey. When is a good time for that and also wanting to prime with honey for a little sweetness. Lastly when my fermenters are free I want to try a Blue Moon extract kit with the grains/hops. Anyone have a favorite? Thanks all. Bottoms up!

 

[RPh_Guy]

Bottle it as soon as you reach a stable FG. Hefe is cloudy because of the yeast ("hefe" literally means "yeast"). In fact, it's best to rouse the yeast from the bottom of the bottle when pouring because the yeast add a lot of flavor.

Priming with honey isn't the easiest due to viscosity and the sugar content varies from one honey to another.
Just add however much honey you want to the fermenter ASAP. Prime with your normal sugar (corn sugar vs table sugar).

You really shouldn't need honey to add sweetness. Beer is naturally sweet, the amount of hops can be adjusted to make it taste more sweet or bitter. Hefe should be about 10 IBU, putting it on the sweet side.

I've oversimplified some things but those are the basics
Hope this helps, cheers!

 

[Sadu]

I plan to leave it in the fermenter for about a month to get rid of the yeasties.

The hefe gets it's flavour from the yeast esters and phenols, and it's beautiful cloudy appearance from suspended yeast. They are also a style that tastes better when fresh, much like IPAs.

So what you want to do is bottle it when it's ready and drink it when it's ready. A longer primary fermentation might help clear the beer, but that is not what you usually want with this style.

You really can't go too far wrong with 2 weeks in primary, no crash cool or finings, then bottle condition for 3 weeks (or whatever is needed to carbonate), then refrigerate until you drink it.

When you serve, as the poster above says, it's common to give the bottle a bit of a swirl to get the yeast back into suspension and pour that into your glass. This is called 'mit hefe' and I recommend it.

 

[beer4ever]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I don’t know about shaking it up and getting the yeast swimming? I will get it in bottles. I have activity in the airlock still so I have a little time to get bottles ready. Let ya know how it turns out.

 

[beer4ever]

I did, indeed, bottle my Hefeweizen right about two weeks in the fermenter. I’m looking into a small keg setup because bottling is too much work and mess. I will probably, in the future, wanna put a few in bottles for a rainy day. The Hefeweizen is outstanding! Carbed up just right and no bombs. I try to do 2 batches a month and will for sure be brewing something this weekend. Cheers...