Which temperature should I measure?

[Johnson1522]

Hi guys,

First time brewer here. I'm sure you've answered most of my questions to no end. I've found some really great information in the stickys but I still have a few pressing questions.

I'm brewing a Hefeweizen since I was told this is the easiest to start with and the hardest to screw up majorly.

I boiled 2.5 gallons of water before I removed the heat. Then I added half of my extract brought to a boil again and added my hops. After 45 minutes I removed the heat and added the rest of my extract. I finished boiling for an additional 15 minutes.

I pitched the yeast dry and set my fermenting tank in a closet at 66-67 degrees. Instructions call for 65-73 degrees. Is that the ambient temperature or the temperature of the wort?

After about 6 hours I started seeing a steady bubble in my airlock. Now, it seems to have died off quite a bit. Is this normal? Should I raise the ambient temperature? Is there any way to know if my yeast has stalled?

Also, I understand lower temperatures give a more clove like flavor while higher temperatures result in a banana taste. What's the happy medium? I wouldn't want either flavor to be overpowering.

Any and all tips are appreciated. If this doesn't work out I'll have to go back to Budweiser.

 

[cheesehed007]

Sounds like you did everything right so far. The temp range is of the wort. I try to stay at the low side of the temp range given for the yeast I use. The bubbles in the air lock only mean you have bubbles in the air lock. The beer is still fermenting, the only way to tell if it is stalled is by taking hydrometer reading over 3 days. Leave it sit 3-4 weeks then take your reading... Cheers!

 

[unionrdr]

It's the wort temp you are to be more concerned with. If you don't have a stick on temp strip on your fermenter,get one. That'll give you a wort temp to monitor. and as was said,you want to keep it at the lower end of the yeasts' range any way you can. An since it's only been fermenting a short time,what you saw when the airlock stops or slows down is the end of initial fermentation.
It'll then slowly,uneventfully creep down to FG. Then another 3-7 days to clean up fermentation by products & settle out clear or slightly misty.

 

[BridgewaterBrewer]

I could be wrong but I've never heard of off flavors from low temps, only high. I've had batches at 60 and other batches in low 70s. The ones at 60 were great and those at 70+ tasted like cloves or phenol.

 

[unionrdr]

I was speaking in general terms. And all fermentations produce chemicals that turn into off flavors if in high enough concentrations. Mostly due to high ferment temps,under or over pitching to name a couple. Giving the yeast the extra time to clean up & clear is always a good thing. Racking clear beer gives less trub/yeast settlings in the bottles or keg.
Which translates to have more patience,it'll be worth it.

 

[Johnson1522]

I could be wrong but I've never heard of off flavors from low temps, only high. I've had batches at 60 and other batches in low 70s. The ones at 60 were great and those at 70+ tasted like cloves or phenol.

Are you saying that no temperature is too low?

I rushed out to buy a stick on thermometer and it reads about the same as room temperature. Actually, it's a bit lower than room temp at 68.2 degrees.

 

[unionrdr]

Wort temp is effected by ambient temps,but not as much as you'd think. It takes a while for all that liquid to get warmer or colder by ambient air temps.

 

[Johnson1522]

Then I suppose my real concern should be the temperature of the wort. That leaves me with several numbers. I've heard 20 different temperatures from 10 different people in regards to the "perfect" hefeweizen temperature.

For somebody who is new and isn't really ready to jump in and experiment, should i strive for a temperature that reflects what people say or is the temperature that the yeast calls for more important? My yeast is Safbrew WB-06 Dry.

Also, which has the biggest impact?

 

[unionrdr]

Yeast temp range is the one you want to stay in the most. Wheat beer yeasts give that banana candy flavor at the high end,clove at the low end,generally speaking. Cooper's & other English style yeast give off fruity esters that get more pronounced as temps go up. Others are clean fermenting,like US-05 no matter the temp.

 

[Johnson1522]

Thanks unionrdr!