AG#1 Pittsy's Hefeweizen

[Asalpaws]

I can also field that one, I already asked him: http://http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=42587.

I went for 3 vol CO2 which I'm very pleased with.

 

[NickW]

Fantastic, I'll go for 3 vols too :thumb:

Now all I need to ask you guys is how to utilize the remaining yeast when I rack so I can utilize it on the next wheat beer!

 

[pittsy]

Hi , looking good :party: forgot to mention hefe yeast tend to explode it's a sure sign everything is good . I prime with water and sugar at 2.7 so for 20l prob around 140g (check it in beersmith in the fermentation section of your recipe .
According to books on the subject our little plastic fv is the same as an open vessel , as it's a large surface area with a flat bottom and even though you have a lid on it (leave it loose not sealed) it acts the same as your large open tank vessels like the type used in traditional german brewing .

 

[Asalpaws]

You could do that or you could top crop with a sterilized spoon: Grade a active yeasties!

Depends how soon you want to brew again. Either way it will go off like a rocket. T

 

[NickW]

How much would I need to scoop off? How would I store this?

I plan on doing my next AG hefe the weekend after this one is bottled.

My mash temp was a little low on this one. 65 dropping to 64 at the end of the mash. Then dropping to 62 at the end of sparging. What should the temp be when sparging? Was I quite a way off?

 

[Asalpaws]

If your brewing next weekend then I would just rack fresh wort onto the old yeast cake, less hassle. I use mason jar to store yeast that I crop in the fridge. Usually good for a few weeks that way, good practice to make a starter if the yeast has been kept for more than a couple of weeks.

Probably sparging a bit cold there, the temp of the grain bed should around 76 (varies). I often pull out 1/4 mash out and heat it to boiling on the hob, this helps get it up to a good sparging temp. However you seem to have got what you are after and everyone's technique varies.T

 

[pittsy]

Hi , to top crop you should remove the very top part of the foam and discard it ( hops and protein ) then you take the rest of it and store that in the fridge . You should use it sooner than later (within a few weeks really) I have read a little of the wort in the yeast container helps keep the yeast better . I would use around half a pints worth and make a starter , 100g with 1 liter and you should have plenty of healthy yeast without over doing it . It is better to over pitch than under pitch in general . A hefe does want less(150 billion cells) yeast than an ale (180 billion) but not as much as a lager needs (250 billion ish ) .

 

[pittsy]

P.s Decoction . If you do this method ( as mentioned above taking a part of the mash , often around 4 to 5 liters ) you must heat the decoction slowly ( raising temp 1c per minute) and rest it at 72c for 15 minutes making sure to stir it constantly so no grains are scorched . You need to rest it here so the grain doesn't release tannins when boiling. Then you heat slowly while stirring until it starts boiling and leave to boil for 15 mins or if a darker wheat is wanted up to 30 mins . Then return to main mash which will increase you overall mash temp . Beersmith can help out with this in the mash part .
Traditionally decoction was used to increase the step mash temps , but apart from a darker colour it will increase the malty flavour .

 

[NickW]

Thanks pittsy, I'll do just that :thumb:

Regarding the sparging, I had the sparge water pretty much maintained at 78c-80c. Yet the grain temp never increased, just lowered slowly to 62c

It may be my setup, or the way I'm sparging? Next time do you recommend I get the sparge water to 90c?

Am I sparging too slowly? I was keeping the sparge water around an inch over the top of the tin foil... :wha:

 

[pittsy]

your sparge should be around 40 mins to an hour so you need to time to get the flow rate right , never get the water/grain above 80c because you may release tannins . i would guess that your mash temp infact was lower than you thought , heat rises and it can be hard to mix it well as it's often about 4c cooler at bottom of mash . so pre heating your tun will help lots in this ( you mentioned you forgot )

 

[NickW]

Yes, I did forget to preheat my tun

But if I do heat the sparge water to 90c, surely it will lose a good amount of heat when it runs down the pipe and over my tinfoil?

I reckon my thermometer was half way down the grain.

But surely something was done right? It came out at 1.046 just as beersmith worked out...

Will having nice shiny things help with all this ambiguity in temperature? A HERMS setup perhaps?

 

[pittsy]

shiny is nice but not better , herms make it easier even more so if doing step temp mashes .
But ask yourself how much you've learned over the last few weeks and of course brew day , the 2nd brew will be easier and it gets easy after a few

 

[Asalpaws]

I must say I've found a lot of depends on your set up, everyone's kit behaves a bit differently. If you hit your volume and gravity targets, don't get too hung up about it. The KISS principle applies IMO.

Your first few brews help you get to know how the kit performs. For example, I know my kettle looses a ludicrous amount of volume to evaporation so every brew I'm ready to add water back before pitching the yeast. Last weekend I was doing a Belgian ale and the gravity was 1.120 before watering back to 1.084. I know that's what my kit does so I can be consistent.

AG definitely provides for making better beer but there's more to go wrong! I once made an ale that tasted smoky and astringent, looking back I'm fairly sure I sparged too hot. So it's good to keep an eye out for flaws and then appraise your methods. I've thrown out more than one AG batch for various reasons.

If you've got the yeast why not try a slightly different beer like a Dunkle or Weizenbock? I find I brew too much to drink : ) T

 

[NickW]

It's still going mad....

I'll stick with this setup AT LEAST until I fully understand it and can control the temperatures well.

 

[NickW]

Well, I bet you guys have it all the time, but it's my first time... after that vigorous explosion of a fermentation yesterday its instantly calmed down and I'm getting a blip or so every 30 seconds. Really quick relaxation of the yeast.

How much of the fermentation do you think is actually done?

I'm leaving it for 13 days anyway, just wondering! I'm very excited!!

Getting a well ripened banana smell from the FV

 

[pittsy]

yes it will finish first stage very quick if it goes off like yours , probably done in 4 to 5 days but will need longer to finish fully so do a hydro test after 6 days n 7 days if it's stopped and where you expect it to be then give it another 24hrs and drop your fridge to 10c until your 14 days is up then bottle

 

[NickW]

yes it will finish first stage very quick if it goes off like yours , probably done in 4 to 5 days but will need longer to finish fully so do a hydro test after 6 days n 7 days if it's stopped and where you expect it to be then give it another 24hrs and drop your fridge to 10c until your 14 days is up then bottle

Great advice pittsy :thumb: I owe you a great deal, and will bring you over a bottle for your criticism when it's done as promised.

I have a feeling it will be a bit drier than you're used to , if my temperature readings are accurate.I'll send you a PM :thumb:

Edit: I think I will be bottling and then immediately doing wheat beer AG 2 and putting the wort straight on the trub

 

[pittsy]

nice 1 , hey some of my batch's turn out **** for different reasons , but bottling a new batch today and it has been smelling great and although not carbed etc tastes good so i'll have a bottle for you too , do you like dunkelweizen ? i've got some of that ready too .

 

[NickW]

I'm not too offay with the wheatbeers to be fair. But whenever I've had one I've liked it, But it's hard to find them, went to sainsburys today and nothing, not any. I don't think I've tried that one pittsy

I'd love to sample a bottle of yours and to have a sneak peak at your brewing equipment

When you try mine, please be brutal and give me your honest opinion :lol:

 

[pittsy]

dunkel means dark , it's a festival beer . same as a pale wheat in taste but less banana with a hint of roast and a touch of sweetness but not much . mine has a tiny bit too much roasted flavour , i'm still working on the recipe .