Hefeweizen Bottle Conditioning

[#brewlife]

I was freaking out a bit this morning.

My first Hefeweizen 1.049 OG was bottled on boxing day morning (48 hrs ago) after the gravity settled at 1.012, about 10 days in primary at 17c.

I just used corn sugar / dextrose and a sugar scoop in each bottle and its been on the concrete floor under the house in a coolish spot at about 24 degrees max. This morning i go have a look and the PET bottles i used are rock hard and there is a bit of a yeast line around the top of the bottle. When i bottled the beer foamed up and had a bit of a head on it so i doubted it was infected but was a bit nervous i got a false reading and fermentation wasn't finished.

Me being nervous and impatient i stuck one bottle in the fridge for 4 hours and have just cracked it. Nice head and is carbed up just fine. Tastes dam good, banana at the front and clove at the back, pretty well rounded. it could probably do with another 30% carbonation to get it to style but im just really surprised at the timeframe on this one.

Anyone have any similar experience?

 

[Jack of all biers]

You haven't said which strain of yeast you used, but in my experience the typical 'Hefe'* yeast strains are quick fermenters, so at 24C I'm not surprised the yeast have chewed up most of the priming sugar in one day. I find that 7 days is enough for Hefeweizen in the bottle for full carbonation and settling of the yeast at temps around 16-20C.

* funny this as Hefe means yeast in German!

 

[#brewlife]

Used a 3068 smack pack and it was probably done in 6 days just kept rousing and sampling for 4 days as it was a bit higher than estimated.

 

[DrJez]

Oh yea, beers are carbed within 2 days at hotter temps. Not conditioned, but carbed. They will carb up further over the coming weeks with conditioning so you'll probably see that extra 30%

My pales hit perfection at 3 weeks ambient. Lagers (funnily enough) are good at 1, but 3 brings more completexity in malt and body