Wheat beer Yeast help

[Chookers]

checked sg today it was 1018, I tasted it and there was absolutely zero hint of sweet.. It tastes quite thin and as if its about to go sour (if that makes any sense). I cant tell if its supposed to taste like that or not.

I suppose I will have to carb it up and compare to a store bought hefeweizen. I can see why these are the type of beer that is mostly used in fruit beers.

not impressed..

it is possible that I don't like whet beers I suppose, maybe they're supposed to taste like this.

 

[Reman]

If it's still dropping then you might want to leave until the SG reading stabilises over a couple of days.

I just bottled my hefe and without the carb and not at 3c it tastes pretty crappy, this is not like my non-hefes which always taste pretty good flat and warm. So I wouldn't judge before you've given it a chance!

 

[kaiserben]

checked sg today it was 1018, I tasted it and there was absolutely zero hint of sweet.. It tastes quite thin and as if its about to go sour (if that makes any sense). I cant tell if its supposed to taste like that or not.

Is that a typo? Should it be 1.008? (I assume that because you said it tastes quite thin and not at all sweet). 1.018 just isn't low enough IMO.

Quite thin and a bit sour sounds pretty normal. Weizens are an acquired taste.

EDIT: I've never used the yeast you're using, but usually my Weizens spend only 10 days in the fermenter - usually 5 days controlled temps then 5 days at room temp. I check gravity on days 9 and 10 and it's always well and truly done. My FGs always end up 1.013 or lower; even as low as 1.007 (style guidelines call for 1.010 - 1.014).

 

[fraser_john]

<snip> It tastes quite thin and as if its about to go sour (if that makes any sense). I cant tell if its supposed to taste like that or not.<<snip>

Some wheat yeasts do produce a bit of tang so would not stress about that, 1.018 is too high to finish though and weizen yeasts are usually pretty good at attenuating.

 

[Chookers]

Well I have stopped controlling the temps now, and will check the SG again (tomorrow I think will be better).

Kaiserben it is not a typo, when I checked the SG yesterday it was 1.018, which surprised me as the flavour did not reflect this IMO. I am starting to think my hydrometers are haunted or something because I have never gotten the readings I expect (unless I have done a kit).

Reman it tastes CRAPPY! I was almost ready to tip down the drain, but I read a few other posts which made me think its meant to taste this way. The drain still looks like a good idea, but despite this I think I'll continue. Give it more time for the sg to drop and even bottle it, then find someone who drinks this style and ask them if its right.

FraserJohn I hope that is the case with mine I was actually trying to make a beer that wasn't sour.. and I am so tempted to give it another whack of hops even though that's not the traditional, I know these type of beers are usually quite low on hops.

Thanks guys for your input and suggestions, I'm hoping my beer is just doing what its supposed to, and I haven't waste my time and resource.

Lol, I could enter it in that amateur beer comp and see if anything comes of it... hehe if I win then I'll know it wasn't bad.

 

[kaiserben]

I suspect what your tasting is expected.

What is unexpected is where your gravity is at after this length of time (is it now 15 days since you pitched yeast?). But yeast doesn't always follow our expected schedule, so let the temp rise and hopefully it'll drop a few more points over a few more days.

This might be obvious, but have you checked your hydrometers in plain water to see if they're at 1.000?

What temps did you mash at and for how long?

 

[Chookers]

kaiserben, you are correct 15 days since pitching.

I mashed in at 35,
raised to 43 for 20min,
52 for 15min
63 for 30min
72 for 30min
78 mashout

was BIAB, dunk sparged in 73.

my SG preboil was 1.036 I boiled 60min and checked SG again 1.040. I gave it another 30mins to get SG1.050

I do check my hydrometers from time to time, I have just checked it with water again now. It was 1.000 exactly.

Maybe I stuffed up with my mashing? you think?

 

[kaiserben]

The mash temps look fine and similar to what I do. So you can probably eliminate mashing as a possible issue.

Yeast health is about the only troubleshooting thing I've still got for you. Possibly a lack of viable yeast cells. I read you were trying to get your pitching rate low to try to get a balance of esters, and that you had to calculate for your volume and ended up pitching 1/3rd of a pack of dried yeast (or about 3.66g). Such small amounts mean your margin for error is way higher. If your yeast pack was a few months old and/or had spent some time without refridgeration you might have had a lot less healthy cells than you calculated for.

Hopefully raising your ferment temp now knocks a bit more gravity off.

 

[Chookers]

I think you are right Kaiserben, I think I pitched too low. There was not much in the way of a krausen, very little foam at all, and I have read that wheat yeasts generally produce quite a lot.

I will check SG again tomorrow. The temps been 22-23 degrees now for more than 24 hrs. Visually there has been no change.

 

[Chookers]

Just checked the SG, and it has dropped 2 points, is now 1.016. I tasted it too, and it does taste considerably better. Seems to have more flavours in it now, and the tangy almost sour flavour is still there but more subdued because the other flavours are coming forward now. I think I will wait another two days and check the SG again.

Then comes bulk priming and bottling, think it will be happening this weekend hopefully.

 

[Reman]

Try and give the fermenter a swirl and see if you can get the temp up a few degrees to encourage it to finish out

 

[Chookers]

I did as you said Reman, and gave it a swirl. today it seems to have a little bit of foam on top in patches. I tried to take the SG but the bubbles kept sticking to my hydrometer, I spun it to shake them off but they were just replaced instantly by more bubbles. In the end I decided to leave the sample awhile till the bubbles stop coming. I didn't seem to have this problem the other days.

It looked like 1.018.. but I think that's the bubbles, as the other day it was clearly 1.016

 

[Chookers]

Ok, its at 1.014.. and a bubble every 2mins or so through the air lock..

 

[Reman]

Good, looks like it's kicking along. Even though it might be getting closer to FG I'd give it another swirl to give it a final push. Make sure the SG measures the same for two days before bottling.

 

[Chookers]

it was 1.010 yesterday. I'm hoping it is 1.010 today too, so I can hurry up and bottle this bloody thing! and drink it.. tasting better everytime I test the gravity.

 

[Reman]

Remember to come back and show us a pic and what it tastes like!

 

[Chookers]

will do

 

[Chookers]

I ended up bottling 8.4L what an epic disappointment that is... I really thought Id get more than that. To this I bulk primed with 75g Dex +200ml water, and boiled it for 2mins.. I am thinking I over did it maybe..

 

[kaiserben]

http://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/

 

[Chookers]

thanks Kaiserben, if that calculator is reliable then I'm all good.