Wheat Beer Fermentation...

General brewing information, questions and discussion. Topics that do not seem to fit elsewhere.

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Framnk
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2002 12:35 pm

Wheat Beer Fermentation...

Post by Framnk »

Hi all...

Just a quick question, I am brewing one of my first wheat beers using dry wheat extract and I hope it is going well. It was a pretty high gravity dopplebock recipe (1.077 OG) and I created a yeast starter using some Hefeweizen (sp?) yeast from the brew store. Nothing particulary wrong has happened, however it is taking it's good old time to ferment! MUCH longer than previous beers that I've made. There's plenty of activity, it's not stuck or anything, I'm just wondering if this is normal for wheat beer, and if so, why?
jayhawk
Strong Ale
Strong Ale
Posts: 472
Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2001 12:05 am
Location: Vancouver, BC, CA

Yeast maybe

Post by jayhawk »

Please be more specific on your yeast source. Did you reculture the yeast from a bottle of Hefe? If so, the yeast could still be shaking off the after affects of being dormant for so long. A while back I used a Wyeast german ale pack that had been in my fridge for 6 months. I did the whole starter deal, but the first batch with that yeast was sloooooooooooow! I suspect the yeast was sluggish after being in storage for so long. Subsequent batches that I repitched the yeast to went twice as fast.

Also, don't forget you are brewing a higher grav beer, so it will take longer to attain FG.
Chris
fitz
Strong Ale
Strong Ale
Posts: 442
Joined: Thu Dec 19, 2002 8:36 am

Agree on both points

Post by fitz »

I agree with Chris on both points. Also, aeration of the wort and a difference in all yeasts could be the culprit. Temp plays a lot too. You may want to take a couple readings with a hydrometer too. I have been told there are batches that continue to bubble after all the fermentables are gone. I have never experienced that though.
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