First Ag - A Hefeweizen

[andreic]

Hi,

did my first AG brew on Saturday. In recent months I have been trying and enjoying a few different commercial hefeweizens so this was my target style for AG number 1. I've been reading with interest all the threads on weizens but buggered if I was going to try a multi-rest mash or decoction for AG number 1! So, in the interests of simplicity, here is the recipe and calculations I planned to use (I used brewsta to calculate values).

2.5kg Pilsener malt
2.5kg Wheat Malt
22g Hallertauer pellets 4.5% 60 minutes (13 IBU)
Whitelabs Hefeweizen Yeast starter

Estimated efficiency at 65%
28L at start of boil, estimated 24 at end
Mash at 66C at 3L/kg for 60
Add 7L boiling water for mashout, drain mashtun, then batch sparge with 15l at 80C

I have added some photos of my brewery equipment and the brew day in a gallery on AHB. My brewery is basically a 60l pot, HP wok burner, esky mashtun with SS braid manifold and a spare fermenter to collect runnings.

Used the "no chill" method of course! When racking to no chill jerry I took about 300ml of my "fresh wort" for my Hefeweizen yeast starter. This fermented out in a day and a half so I pitched last night and now have 20l of hefeweizen fermenting away (OG was 1.045). I usually wait at least 2 weeks to taste my first bottle of the batch but I'll probably be "testing" the first bottle after a few days for this one - can't wait!


Here's what I think I can improve for next time.

1. I had trouble hitting the right temperatures. I added the water in, then the grain and mixed hard for a few minutes. My thermometer showed different temperatures in every part of the esky! I just kept mixing until the temperatures were within 1C of each other. I assume this is normal...

2. My esky mashtun lost 3C over an hour mash (went from 66C to 63C)! I was a little disappointed with this. I will try putting polysterene foam on top of the mash to provide further insulation next time, or maybe adding some hot water in at 30 minutes.

3. I definitely need to get a tap in my HLT/boiler ASAP. Was using a siphon which worked OK, but was a bit of a hassle to get going, and a pain when the siphon breaks early.

4. My boil went from 28L to 21L over 75 minutes! This seems like a lot to me but is probably due to my 60l pot having a large surface area for 28L. I will adjust to start with 32-34L at the start of the boil next time to try and get 25L at the end of the boil. I actually added an extra 1.5l of water into my fermenter to make up for some of the unexpected loss.

5. I need to add a decent dipstick which I can leave in place in my pot during a brew. Its difficult to add water in / siphon water out whilst also holding a spoon with the disptick markings for water level!

6. My efficiency into the boiler came in at 67%, so 65% was a pretty good guess! Will see how this is traveling after a few more brews...

7. Started early (6:30am) so as not to use up too much of the day and stretch the patience of my lovely wife too far. Was finished cleaning up by around 11:30am. I think I can improve here also.


I will embark on a series of fairly simple recipes for my first brews to get to know my equipment and the ingredients. Next cab off the rank will be a Pale Ale "in the style of" Coopers Pale Ale... might even have an opening to do it this Friday!

cheers

Andrei

 

[Sammus]

I'm hardly an AG expert myself having only done 1 as well, but it sounds good to me One thing I was thinking though, regarding the esky losing the temp. Since eskys are designed to be cold theyre only usually insulated on the walls and base (except for those multi hundred dollar iceboxes...). polystyrene on top would help, but had I kept my esky as a MT (upgraded to flase bottom in an insulated 50L SS vessel of sorts...) I would have drilled a few holes in the lid and filled it with expandafoam - apparently that works well and would keep polystyrene bits away from your brew too. To be honest, I just didnt want to put poly in the wort I'm sure itd be ok though...

 

[randyrob]

Heya,

how is the hefeweizen going?

Rob.

 

[pint of lager]

Andriec, just read your post.

1. Take good notes of your air temp, mash in temp and settle temp. Everyone's gear is different and these readings are unique to your system. Then you can fine tune to your system. What you did is correct, stir stir stir till it settles.

2. 3 deg is a bit high, improve your thermal efficiency by using more insulation, blankets, towels etc. Most conversion happens in th first 30 mins.

3.Yes, hot syphons are3 a hassles.

4. What you did was right. Next time turn the heat down a bit. 10-15% volume loss per hour is about standard.

Hope the end result tastes great.

 

[andreic]

Hi all,

thanks for the replies. Haven't got around to doing AG #2 yet, but hopefully within the next week or 2 (didn't buy the grain before Christmas so I'll have to wait a while for my order to be delivered).

I had my first taste on Christmas day. It was only 4 days in the bottle and was well and truly undercarbonated - hardly even raised a head. It had a nice bubblegum/banana? aroma and flavour, but was perhaps a little too bitter for the style... I'm not entirely sure. It tasted good but really needs more time to be fully carbonated before a better taste test can be performed. I will try one in a few more days to see if I should pop some in the fridge for New Year's Eve. I hope they are ready!

I had a look at my mashtun esky and it has foam inside the lid already so there's no easy fix there. The wall of the esky around the tap outlet is very thin so I will try and add insulation around there and maybe try one or 2 other things to see if I can improve the heat loss.

cheers,

Andrei

 

[Screwtop]

Hi all,

thanks for the replies. Haven't got around to doing AG #2 yet, but hopefully within the next week or 2 (didn't buy the grain before Christmas so I'll have to wait a while for my order to be delivered).

I had my first taste on Christmas day. It was only 4 days in the bottle and was well and truly undercarbonated - hardly even raised a head. It had a nice bubblegum/banana? aroma and flavour, but was perhaps a little too bitter for the style... I'm not entirely sure. It tasted good but really needs more time to be fully carbonated before a better taste test can be performed. I will try one in a few more days to see if I should pop some in the fridge for New Year's Eve. I hope they are ready!

I had a look at my mashtun esky and it has foam inside the lid already so there's no easy fix there. The wall of the esky around the tap outlet is very thin so I will try and add insulation around there and maybe try one or 2 other things to see if I can improve the heat loss.

cheers,

Andrei

Andrei, my previous MLT was a round KeepCold Cooler, used to wrap it up with a sleeping bag for the sacc rest during cooler weather, only lost 1 degree that way. It was the type with the full zipper so it can be unzipped and used as a blanket. A really good size it could be wrapped around and folded over the top, used to put a weight on the top to keep it in place for the rest. Worked very well!

 

[yardy]

Hi,


2. My esky mashtun lost 3C over an hour mash (went from 66C to 63C)! I was a little disappointed with this. I will try putting polysterene foam on top of the mash to provide further insulation next time, or maybe adding some hot water in at 30 minutes.




Andrei

Would pre-heating the Tun improve this ?

yard

 

[randyrob]

Heya,

thanks for the update mate, i would definately pre warm your mash turn prior to using it,
i did a test run with a cheap and nasty esky and lost about 3 degrees over an hour.
i prewarmed the esky and only lost 1 degree over 1 1/2 hours so it does appear to make
a differance.

as for the bitterness, perhaps you could add your first hop addition at 45mins?

i plan on doing a simular recipe for my third AG thats why i've been following this post.

Rob.

 

[andreic]

Hi,

getting impatient... had another taste test today (8 days in the bottle). A little more carbonated but still well and truly underdone. It tastes nice but I really think it needs to be properly carbonated for a decent taste test. I think when its ready it will be an easy drinking hefe, which is what I was aiming for. Its fairly light in body, and has a very light colour (but cloudy with the yeast in). I don't think its too bitter (which I suggested after first tasting). It definitely has a good bubblegum/banana aroma (and taste) which I am liking.

I bulk primed with dme to reach 2.8 volumes which is just below the high end of the range for the style (according to beersmith). This is the first time I've bulk primed with dme . What a stupid time to try something new at this end of the beer making process, but I ran out of dex. Its also been a little "cool" for this time of year in Sydney (its all relative I guess). I guess I still really need another week or 2 before It is ready. Damn!

Will report back on this thread after next taste test in a week or so.

cheers,

Andrei

 

[Screwtop]

My 2CW, it's gonna be 6 weeks in the bottle at 2.8 V/l at current ambient temps.

 

[andreic]

My 2CW, it's gonna be 6 weeks in the bottle at 2.8 V/l at current ambient temps.

aaaarrrrggghhhh crap!

 

[Weizguy]

Maybe the bottles would do well with a day on a heat pad? Worth a try. Have done this, in an emergency.

That would help the carbonation. You may need to disturb the yeast a little too.

This has been a "carbonate your weizen quickly using DME" tip, from one weizen brewer to another.

Seth out

 

[Bizarre]

aaaarrrrggghhhh crap!

Hi Andreic,

I still bottle - and have done for 5 -6 years due to lack of space for kegs and a fridge etc - personally I find that my beers are well carbonated and taste good after 6 - 8 weeks in the bottle. Anything before that and I find they are a bit flat and also cloudy. Try to do batch after batch - it wont help you with the first couple of brews, but if you get about 3-4 on the go and brew a new one as soon as you finish an old one (or there abouts) you should always have maturer more carbonated beer.

Just my 2 cents worth

Above all - enjoy the hobby and experiment! Good luck mate :beer:

Bloomin' typos!!

 

[andreic]

Maybe the bottles would do well with a day on a heat pad? Worth a try. Have done this, in an emergency.

That would help the carbonation. You may need to disturb the yeast a little too.

This has been a "carbonate your weizen quickly using DME" tip, from one weizen brewer to another.

Seth out

Does this mean dme takes a little longer than dex? I guess this is the case based on previous experience bulk priming with dex. I don't have a heat pad. I might pick a bottle or 2 to rouse every day or so (whenever I remember) and see if this helps. Oh well... better get onto AG 2 and then 3 soon so I can fill the empty bottles...

damn! damn! I want it to be ready NOW!!!

cheers,

Andrei

 

[Weizguy]

Yep, DME takes longer, but seems to provide a better bead (if nothing else).

Seth

 

[andreic]

Thought I might add an update....

I have just relocated from Sydney to Melbourne (no fun at all). This brew was my first AG and the last one I did before moving. I think it will be a few more weeks before I can get the brewery back in action for AG#2 which is a bummer, but anyway...

The full bottles all made it down to Melbourne without any drama, and I tried another couple on the weekend (now around 6 weeks in the bottle). I am very happy with the results. It has a beautiful bubblegum / banana aroma and tastes great. To my uneducated taste buds it is a good first attempt at the style - its definitely a hefeweizen!

Probably the only letdown is the head. When I pour it in the glass it creates a reasonable head (but not as big as you would expect for a hefe), and by halfway through the glass it is basically gone! It is reasonably carbonated, but maybe just not quite enough. I used beersmith to calculate priming with dme to 2.8 volumes (or whatever the units are called - beersmith suggested 2.5-2.9 for the style). I will try and restrain myself from drinking them all in the next 2 weeks and see if this improves...

cheers,

Andrei

 

[randyrob]

I will try and restrain myself from drinking them all in the next 2 weeks and see if this improves...

Hey Andreic,

its been 2 more weeks.... how is it going?

Rob.

 

[andreic]

Hey Andreic,

its been 2 more weeks.... how is it going?

Rob.

Hi,

It is tasting fantastic. It really has a strong banana / bubblegum aroma and flavour with a kind of slightly tart aftertaste. The head is still no good - I was expecting like most hefeweizens it would be difficult to pour without a big head - but it has a medium head which doesn't last. I'm a little perplexed as to why this hasn't worked out. Anyway, it tastes great and I am very much enjoying drinking it.

I still haven't brewed AG #2. I moved the whole family from Sydney to Melbourne for a new job I have started down here and the stress of the move means I haven't been able to get back into it. There are still a few things I need to do at home before I get back into it or I will have hell to pay from the Mrs... oh well... another week or 2 and I can start repleneshing the rapidly diminishing beer stocks...

cheers,

Andrei

 

[randyrob]

Hi,

It is tasting fantastic. It really has a strong banana / bubblegum aroma and flavour with a kind of slightly tart aftertaste. The head is still no good - I was expecting like most hefeweizens it would be difficult to pour without a big head - but it has a medium head which doesn't last. I'm a little perplexed as to why this hasn't worked out. Anyway, it tastes great and I am very much enjoying drinking it.

I still haven't brewed AG #2. I moved the whole family from Sydney to Melbourne for a new job I have started down here and the stress of the move means I haven't been able to get back into it. There are still a few things I need to do at home before I get back into it or I will have hell to pay from the Mrs... oh well... another week or 2 and I can start repleneshing the rapidly diminishing beer stocks...

cheers,

Andrei

Heya Andrei,

cheers for the update, i just mashed your recipe on the first post but with a slightly higher ibu
i only just put it in the fermenter and its developed a thick white krausen already.

what temp did you ferment at? and how many days did it take?

thanks again, glad it turned out really well thats exactly what i want the whole

strong banana / bubblegum aroma and flavour with a kind of slightly tart aftertaste

Rob.

 

[andreic]

Heya Andrei,

cheers for the update, i just mashed your recipe on the first post but with a slightly higher ibu
i only just put it in the fermenter and its developed a thick white krausen already.

what temp did you ferment at? and how many days did it take?

thanks again, glad it turned out really well thats exactly what i want the whole
Rob.

Hi,

fermented for 10 days at around 19-21C for first 7 days and then just left it for another 3 days (got up to 23C). Hope it works out for you.

Andrei