Yesterday I kegged a hefe before it was completely done fermenting. It was barely bubbling in the carboy, albeit still bubbling. I've release the pressure valve in the keg a couple of times and have heard an audible release. My question is - is it still okay to go ahead and hit it with CO2 or should I let it completely come to a halt? Thanks
How long did you primary for? Did you check final gravity? If you are going to start carbing, I am assuming you will be chilling at the same time. In that case the drop in temperature should stop any remaining fermentation.
Primary for a full two weeks. FG for the recipe was 1.013, and mine was 1.010 yesterday so I went ahead with it.
It should be finished anything ur hearing or seeing is likely just off gassing from co2 that was caught in solution. If it tastes fine then yes I would carbonate and serve
That hefe was likely done in 3 days or so... At two weeks, you are WAY fine. Bubbling can occur after FG due to atmospheric conditions, CO2 coming out of suspension, etc... I keg ALL my beers before FG as I spund/naturally carbonate... Really great way to eliminate O2 in the keg! (But best done with a pressure relief valve / spunding valve, of course!). No worries.. You are basically just outgassing the CO2 coming out of suspension in the keg.
I recommend gravity tests and tasting before packaging. Stable gravity indicates that sugars are no longer being fermented. Tasting keeps you alert to problems like diacetyl that might indicate that yeast (and maybe the brewer) still have some work to do,
I had a friend who kegged his beer before it was fully done so it could finish and carbonate simultaneously, but it never worked. The yeast settled out somewhat and went dormant, but they always reactivated once they hit my warm gut, which resulted in some truly impressive gaseous explosions. After a few of these beers we gave up on that idea and let his beer finish in the fermenter.
I split my Hefe into 2 kegs and ferment it there, no lid, for 2-3 days, then lock down the lid on it to finish for another 3 days. Rack to a sanitized keg, chill, serve. That is only if your Hefe is a Hefe. American Wheat Beers are not Hefe and should not be treated as such (nor called such).
Do you... A) Spund those final 3 days? B) Rely on a fixed corny PRV? C) Assume that the remaining fermentables will nail your carbonation target without ever needing pressure relief? D) ?
B/C/D For a true Hefe I'm shooting for high carbonation. I also pull samples every/other/day to check FG, carbonation, flavor, etc. If I find it is getting too high I pull the PRV. Especially on my Hefe I am going for fast turn around, flavor, drinkability, high carb. I'm not as anal about hitting a specific CO2/vols on that one. Keg will blow in a couple weeks. If I were doing this with any other beer I would invest in a spunding valve first.
