Hefeweizen Fermenting

[KStick]

I’m fermenting my first hefe. I noticed that it started bubbling about 36 hours after putting in the fermenter (could have started up to 12 hours earlier than that), and after 14 days there’s still a large amount of bubbly Krausen at the top and a lot of movement inside the carboy.

Typically i see the krausen settle after about 7-10days on my other beers. Is it normal for it to still be fermenting, or is this normal for a hefe to retain a top floating krausen? And do I need to wait for the top to clear before bottling?

Additional information:
WLP300 yeast
67-70 degree fermentation
Open fermentation tank until today (day 14)
I didn’t take gravity readings as it was from a kit

 

[RM-MN]

Your hydrometer reading is the only tool to tell if your fermentation is over. It doesn't matter whether it is a kit or not nor does the OG matter at this point. What matters is that you take 2 hydrometer readings at least a day apart, preferably 2 or 3 days apart and check to see if they match. If they don't match, you wait and take another reading.

 

[ncbrewer]

I generally agree that hydrometer readings are the way to judge fermentation being finished, but the movement inside the carboy leads me to believe it's still fermenting. Unless you have a way to prevent air from entering the fermenter when taking a sample, it might be best to wait until it looks like it's finished before sampling.

 

[thehaze]

Unless it's a 10-12% beer, after 14 days it would have been finished fermenting for at least 6-7 days. Weihenstephan is a fast and agressive fermenter and fermentation is finished in 4-5 days. Then it needs a temp. raise/diacetyl/clean after itself and should be ready for packaging at day 10-12. No need to wait for the krausen to fall, although it can if you soft crash the beer.

Check gravity to know if it has finished. Two checks would do, at about 3-4 days apart to really make sure it has finished. Moreover, it is always a good idea to raise the temperature for any beer towards the end of fermentation for a few days. This will force / encourage the yeast to finish and clean after itself, especially useful with yeast strains that produce sulphur, which some hefe and belgian strains can.

 

[KStick]

Thank you all for the responses, I was out of town a couple days and the top krausen mostly cleared off since last Friday. Gravity readings were the same, and I’m looking forward to drinking this soon!

 

[KStick]

Update: popped a bottle to see progress. It’s been carbonating 6 days. It’s about as carbonated as champagne and has a slightly sour taste. Did I get some wild yeast in there or is there a possibility it’ll mellow out in the next week and is just “green”?

I used 5oz corn sugar and netted 50 bottles and two 22oz growler. It’s also a little watered down tasting :-/

Edit: I also tasted it prior to carbonation and it was good. Mid Amount of clove boldness, very slight banana finish and not watered down tasting, and not sour at all.

 

[rburrelli]

Update: popped a bottle to see progress. It’s been carbonating 6 days. It’s about as carbonated as champagne and has a slightly sour taste. Did I get some wild yeast in there or is there a possibility it’ll mellow out in the next week and is just “green”?

I used 5oz corn sugar and netted 50 bottles and two 22oz growler. It’s also a little watered down tasting :-/

Edit: I also tasted it prior to carbonation and it was good. Mid Amount of clove boldness, very slight banana finish and not watered down tasting, and not sour at all.

Should not be a sourness to a Hefeweizen. Banana, clove, bubblegum hint in the finish. I fear an infection of some sort.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Wild yeast don't start working (noticeably) in 6 days.
Hefeweizens are supposed to be tart, is that what you're calling sour?
Carbonation should be high in a hefe, but they still don't tend to gush. What volume of CO2 were you targeting?
The 'watered down' taste is a common issue with homebrewed (and many commercial) hefeweizens - it's a challenge to get the balance just right. I find Schofferhoefer quite watery, especially compared with a Weihenstephan hefe (which I think is about as good as they get). Try some crystal/caramel malt next time, or brew a higher gravity version. Weihenstephan is 5.4%ABV.

 

[KStick]

Wild yeast don't start working (noticeably) in 6 days.
Hefeweizens are supposed to be tart, is that what you're calling sour?
Carbonation should be high in a hefe, but they still don't tend to gush. What volume of CO2 were you targeting?
The 'watered down' taste is a common issue with homebrewed (and many commercial) hefeweizens - it's a challenge to get the balance just right. I find Schofferhoefer quite watery, especially compared with a Weihenstephan hefe (which I think is about as good as they get). Try some crystal/caramel malt next time, or brew a higher gravity version. Weihenstephan is 5.4%ABV.

I don’t know that my palate knows the difference between tart and sour. It might be tart. It’s not undrinkable, but reminds me of some sours that I’ve had. If wild yeast won’t take over in 6 days then it has to be something in the sugar or it came out as intended and I’ve never had a real hefe before... only commercialized ones.

I was targeting a higher carbonation. Like 2.8-3. But this is my 6th homebrew so I was basing that off recommendations not prior experience.

 

[Lefou]

You may need 2-3 weeks of bottle conditioning to allow the yeast to clear any fermentation byproducts. The sour you may be sensing might be acetaldehyde that hasn't been fully metabolized by the yeast. The flavor perception should change with time and so should the bubbles in your beer. A few days of refrigeration after bottle conditioning diffuses the CO2 into solution and may give you a finer bubble carbonation you expect.
WLP300 is a fine yeast to learn on. In my opinion it's the best German hefe strain White Labs carries.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

I don’t know that my palate knows the difference between tart and sour.

Try a German hefeweizen or Belgian witbier next to a Berliner Weisse (a real German one or locally made). The hefe and wit are tart (pH might be around 4.0 or a bit below), Berliner weisses are typically 3.5 or lower (sour) - there's a big difference and you will taste it. Technically I think all beer would class as sour (as it's acidic) but as you get further below 4.0, it gets more noticeably so. The pH scale is logarithmic so a pH of 3.5 is more than 3 times as acidic as a pH of 4.0.