Watery hefeweizen, why?

[guillaume]

So I used this recipe http://byo.com/malt/item/2265-german-hefeweizen-style-profile :

2kg wheat
2kg pilsner
1oz Halleraut @ 60min
Wyeast 3068

Used 4g to mash and did a mash rest at 113°F for 20mins and mashed at 153°F for 40mins.

Batch sparged with 2.5g and boiled down from 6g to 5g.

OG 1.40
FG 1.10

Fermented at around 68°F for 2 weeks. But I tasted before bottling... it seriously taste like diluted beer. Did the 0.4kg I forgot could really change the taste that much? Maybe I sparged with more\less water than I though, I had a graduated bucket but a friend borrowed it. I know I had 5g in the carboy in the end. Maybe I didn't boiled enough?

Will it improve in the bottle? I'm considering throwing it away (haven't bottled yet, bottles are cleaning in the dishwasher atm), wouldn't even use this to cook :S It's only my third brew, did an ok oatmeal stout, a good irish red ale and than this... thing loll

 

[JonM]

Definitely DO NOT dump it. Carbonation and conditioning add a lot of mouthfeel. Taste it again in about 3 weeks.

I make that exact recipe about 2X a year and it is one of my all time favorites. You're going to have an awesome beer on your hands.

 

[chickypad]

As Jon said carbonation will help a bit. But also realize you brought the recipe from a 1.049 4.8% beer to a 1.040 3.9% beer. Even with carbonation it's gonna be pretty light.

 

[guillaume]

As Jon said carbonation will help a bit. But also realize you brought the recipe from a 1.049 4.8% beer to a 1.040 3.9% beer. Even with carbonation it's gonna be pretty light.

Yeah, I'll see next time I brew this if I can reach the 1.049 with the full 4.4kg of grains. I might just drink this faster than my last batch of irish red and try again.

I know the beer changes alot in the bottle. My irish red almost taste like a scotch ale now (the caramel was pretty strong). I should check the gravity, might be over 6% alcool now from how I feel after a 750ml of it!

 

[JonM]

Drinking it fast shouldn't be a problem. I brewed this by request when we had some family visiting. It was gone in three weeks.

 

[Aristotelian]

I brewed an American Wheat recently and posted after bottling with this same problem. I swear the sample at bottling tasted like barely sweetened water. Three weeks in the bottle and it tasted great. Must be something to do with the wheat. Absolutely see this one through.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=492281&page=4

 

[guillaume]

So, just making an update. It's been in the bottles for 6 weeks now.

The color is pale... but taste is nice but kind of light. Not a good as the last Hefe my friend brewed, but I wish it was summer (would be perfect served cold with a 25°C).

It bubbles like there is no tomorrow when served at room temp. Even when cold, it tends to get a good inch of foam and it's still there when you finish drinking. Any idea why?

This one was room temp.