Hefeweizen secondary fermentation question

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by BradleysBrew, Jul 6, 2014.

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  1. BradleysBrew

    BradleysBrew Initiate (0) Dec 12, 2013 Missouri

    Should I be worried about green/brown particles on foam in secondary? I transferred it yesterday and this morning there are some splotches on the foam. Could it be just some trub or hops from the primary floating up? My first hefe, any help is much appreciated.
     
    #1 BradleysBrew, Jul 6, 2014
  2. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    No, that's not a problem. But there's really no reason to transfer a basic hefe to secondary.
     
    #2 VikeMan, Jul 6, 2014
  3. inchrisin

    inchrisin Pooh-Bah (2,013) Sep 25, 2008 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah

    Secondaries are typically used to help hold beer for a longer period of time off of the trub. With a Hefe, they're best enjoyed fresh and it is style appropriate to have some of that sediment floating around in the beer. Don't worry about the color and go by taste here. I'd say within a month of brewing this beer you should be moving it into bottles.
     
    #3 inchrisin, Jul 6, 2014
  4. BradleysBrew

    BradleysBrew Initiate (0) Dec 12, 2013 Missouri

    Great! I was a little worried. The reason I put it in a secondary was my OG was about 1.036-1.038 and my recipe called for 1.045, so I added some corn sugar to the secondary hoping to boost the ABV.
     
    #4 BradleysBrew, Jul 6, 2014
  5. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Was this an extract batch? If so, that's a pretty big difference in OG, and was probably caused by too much water or by not mixing the top off water with the wort well enough before taking a gravity reading.

    Anyway, if the OG really was low, you could have added the sugar directly in the primary. Not that I would have...I probably would have just made the lower gravity hefe.
     
    #5 VikeMan, Jul 6, 2014
  6. BradleysBrew

    BradleysBrew Initiate (0) Dec 12, 2013 Missouri

    This was my first non-extract batch, and you got me, I added too much water not paying close attention. Think I'll still be alright?
     
    #6 BradleysBrew, Jul 6, 2014
  7. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    You'll still make beer. Likely a dry-ish beer.
     
    #7 VikeMan, Jul 6, 2014
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