Salvaging a homebrewed Hefe

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by okie_beer_nerd, Mar 17, 2014.

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  1. okie_beer_nerd

    okie_beer_nerd Initiate (0) Feb 17, 2013 Oklahoma

    So we tried our hand at all-grain hefeweizen and it is stupid weak. We know the problems: inconsistent mash temp and not nearly enough water. The sum of these factors was a really pale, canned-corn smelling, sadness. It is in primary right now, and still has a little ways to go, but we aren't expecting it to get much better, is there any way to salvage this?

    Some ideas we had were to a) add some kind of fermentable sugars to secondary and give what little yeast that's left something to munch on or b) pitching more yeast to go to town on what sugars may be left.
    Are we stuck with this frat party favorite or can it be saved?
     
  2. VikeMan

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

    How do you know it is stupid weak?
     
  3. okie_beer_nerd

    okie_beer_nerd Initiate (0) Feb 17, 2013 Oklahoma

    We took a sample and it was pretty watered down. We also checked our efficiency and it was at a whopping 35%
     
  4. pweis909

    pweis909 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,250) Aug 13, 2005 Wisconsin
    Pooh-Bah

    What was the original gravity?

    To my thinking, you are not invested deeply into this batch, and it does not merit any heroic efforts to save.
    Your options for saving a beer that is too weak involve added more fermentables and yeast. If you were really determined to save it, you might make another batch of high gravity wheat beer (maybe use extract until you understand what happened in your mash), pitch a big pitch of yeast, ferment separately from the original batch, and blend to taste. Quite a hassle, considering that you ought to be able to start over and knock out a decent wheat beer in the same time frame.
     
    billandsuz likes this.
  5. billandsuz

    billandsuz Pooh-Bah (2,097) Sep 1, 2004 New York
    Pooh-Bah

    if you want to invest time and money fixing something that probably won't work out, then boil one gallon with one or two pounds of pound extra light DME. that will boost abv.

    instead, now you know what to do to get your all grain dialed in. it isn't hard, but no amount of reading will replace the actual process. let this one ride out, bottle it. learn from the experience. move on.

    that's just my two cents.
    Cheers.
     
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  6. MLucky

    MLucky Initiate (0) Jul 31, 2010 California

    A taste test of beer that's still in primary won't tell you much. You're going to have all kinds of odd flavors in there at this point.

    A hydrometer reading will tell you something. When did you take the sample? What was the reading?

    You probably already know this, but you want to check efficiency as early in the process as you can--ie, take a reading before you start the boil. If you're significantly below what you wanted, you can fix it, either by adding some fermentables (it's good to always have some extra DME around) or by boiling for a longer period (if you don't mind getting a smaller yield). If you wait till after the boil, there's not that much you can do.

    You could try adding some honey. Some even argue that the best time to add honey is at the end of the primary. This would up the alcohol and contribute a little backbone to it. If it was my beer, I would probably use this opportunity to drop in a pound or two of unpasteurized honey, which is going to contain all kinds of wild yeast. It's a little risky, since you never what the wild yeast will do, but if you're feeling like this one's a drain pour otherwise, it'd be an interesting thing to try.
     
  7. VikeMan

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

    Alcohol, yes. Backbone, no, if by backbone you mean body.
     
    bs870621345 likes this.
  8. BushDoctor

    BushDoctor Initiate (0) Oct 27, 2007 New York

    Bottle it up and drink in the summer. Refresh yourself after some yardwork or something of the sort.
     
  9. firstthenlast

    firstthenlast Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2013 Massachusetts

    +1. this will do the trick.
     
  10. HerbMeowing

    HerbMeowing Maven (1,295) Nov 10, 2010 Virginia
    Trader

    The general advice for homer brewers is RDWHAHB where the W stands for 'worry.'
    In this case...it stands for 'whine.'

    Unlike doctors who bury their mistakes...homebrewers drink their mistakes.
     
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