Ok so did my first all grain batch of Hefe last night. The mash went stellar. I was incredibly happy with it. Hit all the temperatures for the time durations. I sparged and collected approximately ~7ish gallons and ended up at 26 efficiency which I thought wasn't bad for a first timer!
I mostly followed the Three Weisse Guys recipe from How To Brew:
6lbs 2-row
3lbs Flaked Wheat
.75 Rice Hulls
110°F - 15 minutes
125°F - 15 minutes
152°F - 60 minutes
Hop / Adjunct
Sterling 60 mins .5oz
Liberty 30 mins .75oz
Coriander 1oz and Sweet Orange Peel 2oz 15 mins
Liberty 1oz
Boil went well and at the end I was left with about 5.5 gallons in the kettle. Cooled it to below 80F. It was getting late and I wasn't thinking so I just siphoned off the top 4.5 gallons but didn't want the trubb layer. Instead of filtering it like I should have, I just topped off the Primary with .5 gallon of boiled water then did the pour back and forth to aerate. This brought my OG to about 1.033 where it should've been 1.049. Ugghh. I had rehydrated the Nottingham (yes that is what the recipe called for) and pitched.
So woke up this morning and went into panic mode due to the following questions:
- Given the OG was low, I calculate I will hit about 3.94% ABV. Shocktop is 5.2 ABV, so I am thinking about adding some Dextrose to bring the OG up. Thoughts? Good bad idea? If good, any idea on how much Dextrose I would want to add to bring it up from 1.033 to 1.049?
- Given the dilution of the wort by 0.5 gallon, will my bear taste "weak"? If it is weak, would adding the add 1.75L Simply Limeade after the 10 days from the lemon-lime Hefe recipe help give it some character? I don't mind if this ends up being a light beer with strong citrus flavor since it is for summer drinking. Thoughts appreciated!
- The Nottingham yeast in retrospect, although part of the recipe, I am questioning. Two reasons: #1 I will miss out on the Hefe yeast taste characteristics, #2 I don't have controlled refrigeration and expect to ferment closer to 70F then 65F. This is right at the high end of the Nottingham range. I am going to wet towel it constantly to keep it as cool as possible. As a side note, 8 hours later I have a bubble per second in the airlock.
So my question is: Is it worth considering pitching a second yeast with a slightly higher tolerance for temperature or is that a bad idea? If it is a good idea, any recommendations on what type of yeast? I would prefer a 75F tolerance at the high end since I know I can keep it under that.
Sorry for the ton of questions! All thoughts and or suggestions appreciated!
I mostly followed the Three Weisse Guys recipe from How To Brew:
6lbs 2-row
3lbs Flaked Wheat
.75 Rice Hulls
110°F - 15 minutes
125°F - 15 minutes
152°F - 60 minutes
Hop / Adjunct
Sterling 60 mins .5oz
Liberty 30 mins .75oz
Coriander 1oz and Sweet Orange Peel 2oz 15 mins
Liberty 1oz
Boil went well and at the end I was left with about 5.5 gallons in the kettle. Cooled it to below 80F. It was getting late and I wasn't thinking so I just siphoned off the top 4.5 gallons but didn't want the trubb layer. Instead of filtering it like I should have, I just topped off the Primary with .5 gallon of boiled water then did the pour back and forth to aerate. This brought my OG to about 1.033 where it should've been 1.049. Ugghh. I had rehydrated the Nottingham (yes that is what the recipe called for) and pitched.
So woke up this morning and went into panic mode due to the following questions:
- Given the OG was low, I calculate I will hit about 3.94% ABV. Shocktop is 5.2 ABV, so I am thinking about adding some Dextrose to bring the OG up. Thoughts? Good bad idea? If good, any idea on how much Dextrose I would want to add to bring it up from 1.033 to 1.049?
- Given the dilution of the wort by 0.5 gallon, will my bear taste "weak"? If it is weak, would adding the add 1.75L Simply Limeade after the 10 days from the lemon-lime Hefe recipe help give it some character? I don't mind if this ends up being a light beer with strong citrus flavor since it is for summer drinking. Thoughts appreciated!
- The Nottingham yeast in retrospect, although part of the recipe, I am questioning. Two reasons: #1 I will miss out on the Hefe yeast taste characteristics, #2 I don't have controlled refrigeration and expect to ferment closer to 70F then 65F. This is right at the high end of the Nottingham range. I am going to wet towel it constantly to keep it as cool as possible. As a side note, 8 hours later I have a bubble per second in the airlock.
So my question is: Is it worth considering pitching a second yeast with a slightly higher tolerance for temperature or is that a bad idea? If it is a good idea, any recommendations on what type of yeast? I would prefer a 75F tolerance at the high end since I know I can keep it under that.
Sorry for the ton of questions! All thoughts and or suggestions appreciated!