Slightly grainy brew after 8 days

[GypsyQueen]

Hi gang!

This is my 2nd batch of beer. The first one went great and it is aging in the bottles now. My 2nd batch (Brewer's Best Weizenbier) has done something crazy. My starting specific gravity on 1/21 was 1.054. Today 1/29 it is 1.020. I know that it is not done yet, but I noticed that the liquid left a film on my hydrometer which felt slightly muddy or like a fine grain. Is this normal at this point? Should this settle out? It definitely still looks cloudy, but it did stop bubbling as of 1/27.

I've been making homebrew wine for a year now and have had fabulous results. I'm excited about taking the voyage into beer as well, but don't know what to expect from beer brewing versus wine brewing.

Thanks,

Gypsy Queen
Grapevine, TX

 

[z987k]

that's probably krausen and perfectly normal. Let it finish up. What yeast did you use? If you used a wheat beer yeast like wlp300 or 400 it probably will never clear as the yeast isn't really meant to.

 

[Chriso]

+1 that. I would give it another 7 days to allow the krausen to drop at its own leisure. Weizens don't usually drop completely clear, but it should clear up past where you're describing it at.

 

[GypsyQueen]

Thank you for the suggestion. I am letting it sit for a bit longer. I don't know specifically which yeast was included in the Brewer's Best kit. It still smells good, so it doesn't seem like it is going off from sitting too long in the primary.

Would you suggest a secondary stage for this brew? Would that make for less settlement in bottling for this type?

Gypsy Queen

PS. Batch one of Brewer's Best "Red Ale" is delicious and carbonated nicely with just the expected small amount of settlement in the bottles. Looks like the SuperBowl is brightening up....even without the Cowboys in it.

 

[TexLaw]

Yep, that's yeast on your flask. You can expect that with this beer.

Don't put it in the secondary. When it's done fermenting in the primary, bottle 'er up.


TL

 

[Chriso]

It still smells good, so it doesn't seem like it is going off from sitting too long in the primary.

Almost all beers/yeasts are fine for more than 3 weeks in the primary. Autolysis dangers are usually well past a month because they just drop dormant, they don't instantly start cannibalizing themselves.

Many people have found that they see marked improvement in their beer by doing a 3-0-3 schedule instead of a 1-2-3 schedule, in which they Primary for 3 weeks, bottle (or keg) directly after primary, and then condition for 3 weeks.

 

[HarvardSquareHomey]

Did the the 3-0-3 thing on my first brew, an IPA from Brewer's Best, and it went great. I actually did this because I just didn't have any carboys yet. I was thinking of getting them after the first week in the primary, but read on here that it was fine to leave it in the primary for 3 weeks. I was so grateful when the beer turned out pretty good. Weird thing about that brew was that the bottles tasted differently from one to the next. Might not have mixed the sugar well in the end?