AG#1 Pittsy's Hefeweizen

[NickW]

I love this hobby. Working on the recipe, and if it's not quite right, you've still got 40 pints of good beer to see you through until it is. Amazing.

Can't wait until I'm at that point

 

[chrig]

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.

I spent a lot of evenings, and beer money, trying to pinch one of those glasses as a student, never did manage it :nono:

I've not had the chance to try many wheat beers, just the common erdinger which i really enjoyed and hoegaarden which i couldn't make my mind up about. I had been thinking about trying one as my first AG beer, maybe i'll need to go for a bland one....

 

[NickW]

Found Franziskaner in sainsburys. 3 for a fiver so got myself a couple. A nice beer! Hopefully mine will turn out similar :thumb:

 

[pittsy]

just drinking my latest hefe ( 2nd bottle from batch) fermented that at 18c and it's quite close to a franziskaner , i had just over 3kg of wheat 100g of carawheat (will double to 200g next go) 200g of acid malt and the rest pilsner malt , nice . Used perle and hersbrucker .

 

[NickW]

I will start experimenting soon.. I love brewing, but it's one of the few hobbies you have to wait a month or more to reap the rewards!

Don't get me wrong, I love brewing and it's exciting to watch things develop, but that first taste always seems like a long way off..

 

[Baldbrewer]

Great post crE, welcome to the wheat side of the dark side :grin:
Pittsy really know his stuff when it comes to wheat beers and I can only second his recommendation for WLP380 yeast.

I'm afraid that once you drink you own weissbier, commercial brews just won't cut the mustard!

Well done for doing a weissbier as AG#1, once you gain more experience try the decoction methods that Pittsy mentions .

I brewed a Bavarian Hefe last weekend as my virgin brew in my new Speidel Braumeister.
Going to reduce temp in fermenting fridge to 10C today for a week then bottle it next week , I'll use 150g brewing sugar mixed in 120 mls of cooled boiled water. This will go in the bottling bucket and the Hefe mixed with it.

Weissbiers are best drunk young , well that's what I tell SWMBO :grin:

Happy brewing,

:

 

[NickW]

+1 for pittsy!

Just lifted the lid of my carboy as there is virtually No activity in the airlock. It's been a week now.

Is this Just residual foam from my vigorous initial ferment?

 

[pittsy]

perfectly normal and looks great , at this point i would skim off that layer as it can cause bitterness flavours if left to drop into the brew . no real worries if you don't though .

 

[NickW]

perfectly normal and looks great , at this point i would skim off that layer as it can cause bitterness flavours if left to drop into the brew . no real worries if you don't though .

Cheers pittsy :thumb:

How would be best to skim this off? How do you do it? :wha:

 

[NickW]

I think I'm going to have trouble skimming this off, as it's in a carboy and my arm only Just fits through the top :?

 

[NickW]

Well, just took a reading after 1 week. Looks around 1.011... nearly there! I'm bottling next Saturday / Sunday. Any advice on changing the temp?

 

[pittsy]

Books say drop temp to 10c for a week before bottling , however i've just done this for the first time and i'll only be doing it for around 2 days next brew as it does help yeast drop out but not needed . So if i was you i'b be bottling it by tuesday at latest and raise fridge to 22c and within 2 days get 1 and pop in freezer for an hour and try it (so by thursday you can be drinking some )

 

[NickW]

Books say drop temp to 10c for a week before bottling , however i've just done this for the first time and i'll only be doing it for around 2 days next brew as it does help yeast drop out but not needed . So if i was you i'b be bottling it by tuesday at latest and raise fridge to 22c and within 2 days get 1 and pop in freezer for an hour and try it (so by thursday you can be drinking some )

Problem is, I'm planning on doing my second hefe on that weekend and I want to syphon my wort onto the trub directly.

It won't do any harm leaving it an extra few days in the FV would it?

Just had a taste of the sample, my god, I made good beer!! It tastes very clean

 

[pittsy]

yes it will be fine then , i often leave mine longer than planned due to being hungover or not being arsed enough to bottle and no problems so far .

 

[NickW]

yes it will be fine then , i often leave mine longer than planned due to being hungover or not being arsed enough to bottle and no problems so far .

:thumb: Fantastic.

I'll wait 2 weeks after they've been in the bottle and bring you one up . I'll PM you for your address nearer the time?

 

[pittsy]

great , i've got 44 bottles left of my latest batch i hope i've some left by then lol ( don't seem to brew often enough , need to twice a month but only do once )

 

[NickW]

Put one aside, and try and forget about it :lol:

Well, I can bring one up in 2 weeks, so hopefully you'll have a few of your latest batch's bottles left , but you'll have to let mine condition before you drink it.

Perhaps if I'm not there in person when you drink it, you're more likely to give me honest critisicm :lol:

 

[NickW]

Pittsy, just took a second reading. At 1010 as predicted.

It tastes amazing. Honestly. I applaud you and thank you for your recipe! Haven't even bottled yet, due to do it Sunday when I put the second batch on.

It smells of ripe bananas, and also quite strongly of bubble gum... you know, the round coloured sugary ones you used to buy as kids. I'm not sure if that's normal, but it amazes me. Smells fantastic. Can't wait until its bottled conditioned!!

 

[calumscott]

Told you it was good! :)

Must get another one on.

I reckon this has to be up there with the other forum classics like Aleman's Effin Oatmeal Stout (just enjoying one), Big Kenny (must make one) and others...

 

[pittsy]

Glad to hear , yep all sounds normal . You get some of that with the other yeast (wlp300) but not all of it . My latest is wlp300 and i need to order more 380 . I get vanilla (hint) too in the aroma but not taste