Wheat beer - losing flavour, too long in primary?

[Tob]

Hi all,

I recently brewed a small test batch for a new recipe using a can of wheat malt extract (the extract is 50% wheat 50% barley). It is lightly hopped using magnum for bittering and a mix of cascade and willamette for 20 and 5 minute additions. I also added ginger and honey at 5 minutes. Yeast was s-04.

I usually leave the beer in primary for about 21 days. After around 5 days in primary I sampled the beer. The wheat flavour was distinct but in good balance, with nice subtle honey and ginger hints mixed in. The flavours all blended nicely into one and none stood out. I was very pleased! After around 10 days, the impression was much the same.

I've just sampled it at around 15 days. The wheat flavour is now very subtle and the ginger is becoming quite dominant. My question is what has caused the wheat flavour to subside so much in the past week? Will leaving a wheat beer on the yeast this long start to reduce its flavour?

Thanks for reading!

 

[GroosBrewz]

Hi all,

I recently brewed a small test batch for a new recipe using a can of wheat malt extract (the extract is 50% wheat 50% barley). It is lightly hopped using magnum for bittering and a mix of cascade and willamette for 20 and 5 minute additions. I also added ginger and honey at 5 minutes. Yeast was s-04.

I usually leave the beer in primary for about 21 days. After around 5 days in primary I sampled the beer. The wheat flavour was distinct but in good balance, with nice subtle honey and ginger hints mixed in. The flavours all blended nicely into one and none stood out. I was very pleased! After around 10 days, the impression was much the same.

I've just sampled it at around 15 days. The wheat flavour is now very subtle and the ginger is becoming quite dominant. My question is what has caused the wheat flavour to subside so much in the past week? Will leaving a wheat beer on the yeast this long start to reduce its flavour?

Thanks for reading!

Rule #1.. Never judge a beer by tasting from the primary..

I wouldn't worry at all. Flavors in the primary have a way of changing quickly and from day to day as the fermentation processes take place.. Worry only if you taste weird stuff three weeks or so after bottling.. There is nothing wrong with leaving a wheat beer on the yeast that long. I am sure all is well.. Just out of curiosity, how big was the batch and how much ginger did you add? was it fresh ground ginger? Ginger is one of those spices that can take over quickly if over-done. I once dumped a 10 gallon batch of holiday beer because I added too much fresh ginger.

 

[Tob]

Rule #1.. Never judge a beer by tasting from the primary..

I wouldn't worry at all. Flavors in the primary have a way of changing quickly and from day to day as the fermentation processes take place.. Worry only if you taste weird stuff three weeks or so after bottling.. There is nothing wrong with leaving a wheat beer on the yeast that long. I am sure all is well.. Just out of curiosity, how big was the batch and how much ginger did you add? was it fresh ground ginger? Ginger is one of those spices that can take over quickly if over-done. I once dumped a 10 gallon batch of holiday beer because I added too much fresh ginger.

Thanks for your reply! Yeah, you're probably right. I used about 20g from memory in a 13L batch (which is a little under 3 gallon I think).