Will my hefe weizen survive??

[San Jose State University]

I've been fermenting at 74 deg F so far and it's been day three. The airlock doesn't smell good, but not like juicy fruit gum. I mention the gum because there are threads on this board that talk about hefe's getting this way at too high fermentation temps.

Do you think mine will share the fate of the others and taste like juicy fruit???

 

[McKBrew]

At day three, your probably still smelling alot of the sulphur and other great smells associated with a hefe. Don't sweat it. 74 deg is just slightly above the high end temp for a hefe depending on yeast. I'd do a search on cooling methods and try to get your temp down just a bit.

 

[San Jose State University]

At day three, your probably still smelling alot of the sulphur and other great smells associated with a hefe. Don't sweat it. 74 deg is just slightly above the high end temp for a hefe depending on yeast. I'd do a search on cooling methods and try to get your temp down just a bit.

So maybe just a wet t-shirt or something?

 

[Nyxator]

Hehe, 74 isn't that bad. I live in Arizona, and before I had a chest freezer to do my fermentations, I fermented at 80 degrees (the lowest I'm willing to cool my house in the summer). I made a hefe at that temp once. It was pretty estery and phenolic, but I actually like those qualities.

As usual, the advice is relax.

 

[homebrewer_99]

74F is not a bad thing...

 

[DeathBrewer]

as long as you really like banana i ferment mine at 65 or lower, but i prefer the esters and fruity/banana flavors to be more subtle.

most brews you will want at 70 or lower, however, so you should look into cooling your brew in the future.

 

[McKBrew]

I recommend some sort of heavy box/cooler with ice as a cheap way to keep temperatures down. You might be able to use a container slightly larger than your primary, fill with ice and water and set the fermenter in it.

 

[Soulive]

Whats your liquid in the airlock? Whatever it is, don't forget there is also CO2 coming out of there. It could make for some funky smells. You won't know for sure until you pour a carbonated bottle of it into a glass. Which is about 14-21 days from now

 

[Iordz]

I live in AZ but ferment my hefes at 60F, I like the sublte balance of esters.

 

[malkore]

yeah, a tub of water and t-shirt or towel wrapped around will make a swamp cooler and can easily drop a few degrees off there.

but 74F isn't that terrible. its the poor guys at 84F that end up making 5 gallons bubble gum beer.

 

[MikeRLynch]

if yours does end up tasting like bubblegum, wait it out a little. If you're kegging just put it in there and forget about it a couple weeks. If bottling, store in a dark cool spot and wait even longer. The bubblegum banana esters will subside with time, but remember that this is part of the yeast profile, your beer should taste a little weird! When it hits the right balance of banana and clove, throw a party and drink all of it. As much as it changed during those few weeks of waiting, it will continue to change if you wait a few weeks more. I don't know what it ends up like after a while, ours is almost always gone before it's really ready

btw, a pedophile friend said that we should bottle the bubblegum hefe and sell it as a liquid panty remover... actually my fiance thought it was tasty...hmmm

mike

 

[San Jose State University]

btw, a pedophile friend said that we should bottle the bubblegum hefe and sell it as a liquid panty remover... actually my fiance thought it was tasty...hmmm

mike

Hahahaha. That's funny last long as it's not a real pedophile.

Thanks for the advice. I decided to finally just use the wet t-shirt. I transferred it to the secondary and oh boy did it smell/taste weird!!

I'm using the white labs bavarian hefe yeast, so I think I know what it is: a uber-strong clove/spice taste that will subside with time. I guess that means I'm in the clear of bubble-gum ale!!

 

[ohiobrewtus]

No, it will not survive. Send it to me immediately and I will dispose of it for you.