AG Hefeweizen Question

[USAF_CAVEMAN]

Just brewed a Hefe...Fermented out in 10 days transferred to keg for a few days and it has already started to clear. I tasted it prior to kegging and it tasted great it also had yeast im assuming in suspension. Now that it is carbonated and some what cleared it doesn't have the same taste. Advice?

 

[LLBeanJ]

Shake the keg to re-suspend the yeast, so you can enjoy it the way it was meant to be enjoyed. I find I have to do this frequently with my kegged hefeweizens and Belgian witbiers.

 

[USAF_CAVEMAN]

Thanks buddy

 

[Rev2010]

Shake the keg to re-suspend the yeast, so you can enjoy it the way it was meant to be enjoyed. I find I have to do this frequently with my kegged hefeweizens and Belgian witbiers.

This has always been a curiosity of mine and in most searches online I've done most say not to shake the keg, they say you can overcarbonate the beer, which would make sense no? - since the fastest method of force carbing involved shaking the keg? I was always thinking about bars and how I know for sure they're not running down and shaking up the hefe and wit kegs and never have any problem with all the yeast being sucked out of the beer too early on. So, I'm still curious about this myself. I'm just about to start kegging and just figured I'd leave the kegs be and not do anything different.


Rev.

 

[LLBeanJ]

If you serve and carbonate at the same pressure, which for most of us is going to be around 12 PSI, then shaking at that pressure setting cannot possibly lead to overcarbonation. Where people run into trouble with that is setting at a much higher pressure, typically around 30 PSI and shaking. That can, and often does result in overcarbonation. This comes down to people who are new to kegging not really understanding the physics that are involved with forcing gas into liquid. Those who understand what is happening and know what they are doing can make this work successfully, but the novice is asking for trouble.

All kegs will eventually clear over time. Kegs in commercial settings will often be consumed before the yeast and wheat flour has had time to clear. On the homebrew level, I've seen where some people will add a tablespoon of flour to the beer prior to kegging to help maintain the cloudy appearance. Of course, this won't give the same flavor as yeast, but it will at least look like it has yeast suspended and will maintain that appearance quite a bit longer.

 

[TopherM]

Weizens are one style where you should try to transfer a bit of the trub into the final beer. I typically just stick my autosiphon right down into the trub and hold it in that spot so it transfers some trub (about 5-10% of the overall trub).

Traditionally, the germans actually deliver kegs of Hefeweizens upside down, with the idea that the retailer should turn it rightside up when it's time to serve to suspend the wheat proteins and yeast in the beer. Also, Hefeweizens are traditionally bottle conditioned, and the Germans will pour half of the bottle, swirl the remainder to suspend the bottle's wheat proteins and yeast, then pour the reminder from like 6-8" above the glass to mix it all up.

Point being, DO NOT be afraid of the the wheat proteins and yeast in any wheat beer. That stuff should be in the beer and adds to the flavor. Don't trust a clear weizen!

Good luck!

 

[yogensha]

I like my hefeweizen young too. The best way I've found to keep the flavor through the whole keg is to drink it really fast

 

[user 141939]

What about kristallweizen. Those are filtered and don't they have the same flavor? It's been a while since I've had one. I think i'll go pick up one of each from weihenstephaner and compare.

I read another thread about a guy who cold crashed his hefe and said it lost all flavor. It just made me wonder about the kristallweizen.


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[LLBeanJ]

Not entirely the same flavor. Both styles should have the familiar clove and banana, and maybe even some bubblegum, but only the hefe will have that yeasty complexity that the suspended yeast provides.

 

[user 141939]

That's what I would have thought. And after much searching I found the older thread I was reading.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/gelatin-hefeweizen-too-clean-67809/

He says after adding gelatin the banana and clove were mostly gone. The suggestion was the yeast must contain those flavors. This I found hard to believe but perhaps the gelatin pulls something out that filtering doesn't. I will most definitely need to get one of each and put them both into my belly for knowledges sake.




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[Redracer1205]

The best way to test how much flavour is in the yeast of a hefe is to pour half the beer out of a bottle that has settled yeast on the bottom and then taste it. I've found it is very tart/sour. Then swirl the bottle to suspend the yeast and add it to the glass. The addition of the suspended yeast rounds the beer out so much more.
But some people prefer the Kristal style and look for that tartness, but I much prefer the yeast in suspension.

 

[brewman42]

Hey guys I saw your discussion on carbonation and wanted to ask a question.
I'm new to AG beer brewing. Recently, I have brewed a hefeweizen and I'm hoping to bottle this weekend.
My first question is how much priming sugar to how much water should I use for this style beer? My local supply guy said 7/8 cup corn sugar in 1 cup water boil for 2 mins and add to bottling bucket. My final volume will be at or just under 5 gal.

Secondly, I'm going to be bottling into 12 & 22 oz bottles. As long as I mix the priming sugar solution into the full volume prior to bottling I shouldn't have to adjust the amount of priming sugar for each bottle size right?

Thanks in advance!

 

[LLBeanJ]

The BJCP guidelines for Weizen/Weissbier call for carbonation at 2.5-2.9 vols. Use a carbonation calculator, such as this one to figure out how much sugar to use. Incidentally, that calculator I linked to is suggesting 3.6 vols for a Hefe. That's too high and will likely give you bottle bombs, as I believe I read somewhere that typical beer bottles are good up to about 3 vols. Shoot for about 2.8 and you'll be good. You need just enough water to cover the sugar. I believe the norm is about 1 cup of water. Add the cooled sugar water to the bottling bucket first and rack your beer over the top, which will help to stir it in. After racking, you can very carefully stir it all up a bit more with a sanitized spoon, but just make sure you go slow so that you don't introduce oxygen into the beer.

I haven't done much bottling with priming sugar, but when I have I've always bottled both 12 & 22 ouncers in the same batch without making any adjustments to the priming sugar and have not noticed any differences in carbonation between the two bottle sizes.

 

[Rev2010]

When bottling I use 5.8 - 6 ounces of priming sugar for my hefe's. Comes out perfect. Amount of water isn't as much of an issue, but yeah a cup of water or so.


Rev.

 

[brewman42]

Thanks guys.. Hoping to bottle tomorrow. I appreciate the advice.

I'm super excited to taste my first all grain effort! ... I tasted it when I racked to my secondary and it tastes great. Hope to get the carbonation right.

 

[Rev2010]

Thanks guys.. Hoping to bottle tomorrow. I appreciate the advice.

I'm super excited to taste my first all grain effort! ... I tasted it when I racked to my secondary and it tastes great. Hope to get the carbonation right.

Bottle it, forget about it for three weeks, then put it in the fridge for a week before tasting. Get antsy and taste it too soon you may get worried, but just give it the time it needs ad it will come out great.


Rev.