Q's About My First Wheat Beer

[Samuel Adams]

Hi Guys,

Learning heaps reading up on here.

I put down a Morgans golden sheaf wheat beer on 11/10/10 or 10 days ago and my SG is still pretty high (1020)
Sugars used are 500g malt, 250g dex & 250g corn syrup and just a saaz hops teabag.

Now here in QLD I usually bottle after 7 or so days due to the insane heat but we are having wierd cool weather for this time of year and this brew has sat on 20-22*c
Now judging by what I'm reading on here that is a good temp (maybe even to high) for a brew but I'm just not used to leaving it in the fermenter so long.
(Another thing I've learnt on here, I used to think it would go off if I didn't bottle it straight away)

Ok so my question is what SG should I expect and be safe to bottle ?

Didn't do a OG (slack I know, will be from now on)

Cheers

 

[Pennywise]

What volume was the brew? For the standard 23L I'd expect that to get down around 1012. Is the kit 1.7kg?

 

[Samuel Adams]

Yeah sorry, 23L brew with 1.7kg can

 

[Bubba]

Hi Guys,

Learning heaps reading up on here.

I put down a Morgans golden sheaf wheat beer on 11/10/10 or 10 days ago and my SG is still pretty high (1020)
Sugars used are 500g malt, 250g dex & 250g corn syrup and just a saaz hops teabag.

Now here in QLD I usually bottle after 7 or so days due to the insane heat but we are having wierd cool weather for this time of year and this brew has sat on 20-22*c
Now judging by what I'm reading on here that is a good temp (maybe even to high) for a brew but I'm just not used to leaving it in the fermenter so long.
(Another thing I've learnt on here, I used to think it would go off if I didn't bottle it straight away)

Ok so my question is what SG should I expect and be safe to bottle ?

Didn't do a OG (slack I know, will be from now on)

Cheers

Standard 23l brew should have OG around 1040 and FG about 1012. Just make sure it is stable over a couple of days. The maltodextrin won't ferment out so FG will be a little high, but you will need to get it to 1012 at least. Don't worry about the time in fermenter as long as temp is maintained (18-20 ideal). I leave mine for at least 14 days every brew, and no issues.

 

[Pennywise]

Yep, +1 on leaving it for 2 weeks regardless. I have one in now that's been in for 4 weeks, will be getting kegged this weekend. The main issue I'd be looking at now though is stable & reasonable temp control. 22 is fine if you can keep it there for most yeasts, but it going from 22 to 24 down to 20 in the space of 24hrs can cause some yeasts to floc out prematurely and stall your ferment (and also stress the yeast possibly causing off flavours). Best first step in that case would be to rack off to another vessel to stir some of the yeast up into suspension again, this usually get's thing going again.

 

[Samuel Adams]

Cheers Pennywise & Bubba.

I'll check again today and hopefully it is on it's way down.
I won't bottle until it's down to 1012 or lower, don't want any bottle bombs haha

Yeah the temp didn't go any higer than 22 so hopefully the yeast is fine.
Might start looking at using better yeast, I had no idea how important it was.

I gotta get me another fermenter too, can't brew enough as it is let alone if I start fermenting longer.

 

[manticle]

Was it just the can and sugar or was there anything like maltodex in there? Don't just rely on a random number to tell you when ferment is finished. Calculate what it should be depending on ingredients. Once it gets in that region and stabilises over several days, then you can bottle although as you've worked out, leaving a few more days can be beneficial for maturation.

 

[eddy401]

i had a problem like this with the same kit - after bubbling away well for the first few days it stopped and seemed to stall, i tried mixing ti up again and raising the temperature but it didnt d anything, eventually added a sachet of kit yeast from some cheap can i had (not a good idea i know, even if it had worked ot would have altered the taste) it only got down to 1016 for me in the end (assuming my hydrometer is correct, which it seems to be - i still use it) and so i bottled it then, and it is fine hasnt exploded or anything - but i wouldnt reccommend this! could easily blow up in your face quite literally.
just what happened with my beer.

p.s it was morgans golden sheaf + 1 can morgans wheat extract, kit yeast, 23L volume.

 

[Samuel Adams]

Was it just the can and sugar or was there anything like maltodex in there? Don't just rely on a random number to tell you when ferment is finished. Calculate what it should be depending on ingredients. Once it gets in that region and stabilises over several days, then you can bottle although as you've worked out, leaving a few more days can be beneficial for maturation.

Yeah 500g of malt, 250g dex & 250g of corn syrup.
Not sure how to calculate the likely FG, I know it's prob on this site but there is alot to read and haven't seen it yet.
I'll leave it a few more days and see how it's going.


twardo -
Mine went hard bubbling away on day 2-4 and then was still going (slowly) for another couple of days.
Has stopped now but still has a high SG, see how it goes in the next few days.
Let me know how yours go down the line taste wise & whether any blew up (hope not)

 

[harlem]

like the sound of this mix if it is a true wheat beer. I'll be interested to hear how it tastes. Did you use the kit yeast mate, and would anyone suggest a more suitable yeast than the kit one?

cheers

 

[Steve]

and would anyone suggest a more suitable yeast than the kit one?

cheers

WB06

http://www.fermentis.com/FO/60-Beer/60-11_...uct_rangeHB.asp

Cheers
Steve

or....or Danstar Munich

http://www.danstaryeast.com/products/munich-wheat-beer-yeast

 

[Samuel Adams]

Yeah I used the kit yeast.

Next one I do i think I'll use a can of wheat malt extract (like twardo did) instead of the sugars like I used.
Maybe put corriander & orange peel in aswell for a Hoegaarden type taste.

Very keen to see how it turns out

 

[manticle]

While I think 1020 is too high, the malt and maltodextrin will give you a higher Fg than straight kk or even malt and dex. At a rough guess I would say you are looking at an FG range of 1014-1016.

There is an article I wrote in the wiki section called 'can I bottle my beer at 1022' or somesuch which has some tips and tricks for this kind of thing (including working out FG).

 

[LaundryLager]

My first attempt @ a wheat beer was disastrous: brewing in the middle of winter it was in the fermenter for 9 or 10 days. Being inexperienced, I was nervous about leaving it in the fermenter for that long so I bottled it (FG was 1014). BUT!! Thank goodness I bottled to plastic bottles - I realised down the track that it wasn't finished fermenting and now I have some severely overgassed crappy, yeasty beer. Opening a bottle it'll spew suds for a good five minutes. I don't think the brew was infected - just that it wasn't finished fermenting.

Now when I brew, I try to leave the wort alone for a good two weeks (and I've invested in a brew belt, though I won't need that over summer). Done that with a couple of stouts + a Cooper's Canadian Blonde now. Does wonders. Takes a little longer than normal to properly carb-up in the bottle (probably as most of the yeast has fallen to the bottom in the fermenter), but it does lessen the resulting sediment in the bottle.

 

[Samuel Adams]

Well after 2 weeks the SG is still at 1020 so I think i'm going to bottle it, bad idea ?
Temp is up to 24*c now too.