So I harvested some SN Kellerweis dregs and have them stored in the fridge, hopefully ready for my first all-grain hefe. Any and all advice is appreciated: 1. proposed grain bill is 50% wheat, 50% pilsner malt. I do BIAB and am not ready for a decoction at this point. Planned infusion mash temp is 152. 2. any tips on fermenting with this yeast? Planning on a "open" fermentation with foil over the carboy for 3 days followed by an airlock. Not sure on the ferm temp. Any thoughts @jbakajust1 and @kellyst? Also, would you build a starter for normal ale pitching rates? Thanks in advance!
For my last Kellerweis strain hefe I fermented at 65 for 4 days, ramped up to 68 for 4, and then finished at 72. Big banana flavor with this profile. I also underpitched, which I normally do with a hefe. Good luck! This is a great strain
I just kegged this beer yesterday, stepping up the dregs and making a starter. Although I had a vigorous fermentation with a 2L starter for 10 gallons, it seems to me that you would need to have at least some form of starter rather than just pitching the bottle dregs into the carboy. The yeast finishes low, especially since I fermented hotter than kellyst. I was at 68 for 3 days, then 72 for 3, 75 for 3 and 78 for 3. I'm excited for this beer. If I do it again, I would ferment a bit cooler to see if I could get a bit more clove. Edit: Maybe underpitching is okay for this strain.
Thanks. I stepped up the dregs with 100 mL and then 1L of wort before cold crashing, and I'm guessing I have about 70B cells now. Planning brewing 5 gal in a few weeks - might make a small starter and modestly underpitch. Appreciate the advice!
Just want to be clear that I underpitched, but a starter is still necessary. I did a 2 quart starter for a 10 gallon batch
I'm with @kellyst and @eaglepar3 about 2L for 10 gallons, and I sit at 68 with foil and a 5 gallon paint strainer bag over the top (keeps out the fruit flies).
Does Sierra Nevada use their primary ferment strain (Hefeweizen yeast) to bottle condition this beer? I know that for their other beers (pale ale in particular), they remove all the primary ferment yeast and repitch a small amount of yeast at bottling (not sure if they use a different strain for bottling). Is that not the case with the Hefeweizen? On the other hand, given the cloudiness that you get in hefes, I could see them not wanting to remove the yeast before bottling to pitch a bottling strain that flocs more. Thoughts?
It's got to be the primary strain since the profile when you brew with it is dead on with Kellerweiss.
Bill Manley of Sierra Nevada Brewing posted about the Sierra Nevada Hefeweizen of Kellerweis: “Even for a beer like Kellerweis, which is quite hazy, the majority of the haze still comes from protein.”
