Wheat beer question for newbie

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moondog
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Wheat beer question for newbie

Post by moondog »

I am a newcomer to brewing and am on my 3rd batch (1st one at home) I brewed the first 2 at the LHBS they are high grav beers and are still fermenting out. Both of those are straight forward ales.

This one however is a weisen. I used WLP300 Hefeweizen Ale Yeast and it is going crazy just fermenting away at 69F my OG was 1.056. My question is with the wheat beers there are many things that are different than just brewing a normal beer. Such as the beer is better "young" there will be suspended yeast "haze" and that is good. Mine has been in the primary for 5 days now and I plan to leave it there to completion. Oh I used Muntons Wheat extract 6.6 lbs and .5 lbs of flaked wheat.

I am looking for tips from you experienced guys out there on what to expect, things to watch out for in a wheat beer.

How long should I leave in the primary before thinking about keggin? the normal, when the FG is stable?

Should I cold condition to get some amount of flocculation before keggin?

anything out of the ordinary I should be on the look out for with this type of beer?

I have read through almost all of the posts on this board and am impressed with the level and amount of advice you all provide to us newbies, I am sure we all appreciate it immmensely.

Thanks

Rex
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slothrob
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Wheat beer

Post by slothrob »

For a Hefe Weizen, let it ferment to completion, then keg it and drink it as soon as it is ready. If the esters are a bit too pronounced for your tast, let it sit for a little bit and it will mellow. Wait too long and it will gradually become rather bland and tasteless.

I mention the possible need to wait because of your 69
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moondog
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wheat for newbie

Post by moondog »

Thanks for the response slothrob.

Too long being 3-4 weeks? or are we talking about months.

As for the Temp the profile for that yeast states 68-72degres hence the 69 degree. Being my first brew at home by myself, I decided no to venture too far from the manufacturers suggestion.

With that being said it DOES have a Wicked bannana profile. If cooling it off a little will tame that a little, then I am going to try it.

Thanks
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Re: wheat for newbie

Post by slothrob »

moondog wrote:Too long being 3-4 weeks? or are we talking about months.
Where a typical ale usually peaks around 8 weeks, A Weizen is usually best young and starts to fade already by then. But we're talking months, so it will still be good for a while after that. I actually kind of like older Wheat beers as they make decent pseudo lagers, but they lose a lot of their character.
moondog wrote:As for the Temp the profile for that yeast states 68-72degres hence the 69 degree. Being my first brew at home by myself, I decided no to venture too far from the manufacturers suggestion.

With that being said it DOES have a Wicked bannana profile. If cooling it off a little will tame that a little, then I am going to try it.
Yeah, my experience is that those suggested temperatures aren't good for much more than a general guideline. They often aren't the temperatures that will make the best beer. I usually find the best beer comes from the lower end, or even just below, the recommended temperatures.
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moondog
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wheat beer

Post by moondog »

I'll remember that. I am taking notes on each beer that I make to reference later so all this great information will help.

I slid the primary closer to the sliding glass door in the living room. It's my temperature regulator. Need colder, slide it closer. It is sitting at 66-67 now. Hopefully that will tame it a little.

thanks for the help and suggestions.
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