Hi,

I brewed a clone of Weihenstaphaner Hefe about 20 days ago using lme and dme. I also added 1/2 of an austin brew alchohol boost...I never took OG...Lost my paper to find out what the FG should be..used wyeast 3068..fermented at 64-67 for the 20 days..had to use a blow off tube as this thing made a mess...I had made a 1 quart stater 24 hrs prior to brewing...Fastforward...

I pulled said beer off the yeast cake today into keg...It tasted good but a little on the sweet side...I noticed not much of a yeast cake left in the bucket...only about 1/4 in deep. (i dont know if thats normal i have never done a wheat beer..used to big beer)...At that time i took a reading FG 1.018. Inside the thief tinny bubbles were constantly rising......I have already washed the yeast and put it in the fridge...

-Is 1.018 good for a hefe?
-If not do i need to build a starter out of the washed yeast and repitch it?

I appreciate any assistance!
Camden2300 is online now

UPDATE:Thanks for all the replies...I put the keg in a warm spot....it has been slowly fermenting away since....I just took another reading last night...Its down to 1.016 and the thief was still clear full of bubbling yeasties beer...I tasted it and i have to say even warm and flat it has got to be the best wheat beer i have ever had..... I want to give it one more week before carbing it...but next week im off on vacation and would love to put a dent in it....oh well i guess i might wait...

I did a bit of searching/looking at recipes.  It seems most are in the 1.014FG range.  I really wouldn't worry about the 4 points.

How did it turn out?  I love that beer.


Have you ever thought about trying to recover their yeast and build a starter from it?

Thanks for the reply...Taste wise it is absolutely delicious and very close to the original although today is day one in Keg and ive only had it flat. Seems to me a little sweet though.

I just walked by and pushed the air inlet on the keg...it has already built up pressure so it is still fermenting....I moved it to a warm spot to see if that will help it out...

I do have the washed yeast should  i go ahead and build a starter and repitch it?

I wouldn't.  If there is still some fermentation going on it's taking care of itself.  

Don't bother re-pitching it of course.

Yes, 1.018 is likely high for a hefe (think I would shoot for 1.010 or 1.012) but ofter extract will do that (not attenuate as well).  Unsure what your "alcohol booster" even is (sugar?)--I avoid those things.  However if it just tastes a "little" sweet before kegging it will be fine after its carbonated, that really makes a difference.

That yeast and malt combo are known to go high-order so always use a blow off tube with them!

Good job fermenting the hefe yeast in the mid 60s instead of at 70+ like many do!  I am a yeast freak, so I am not sure that a 1 quart starter on a single yeast pack is ever "OK" with me, but its probably fine for that beer...the only thing I would say next time is let it warm to 70+ only when it is almost completely done fermenting (to let the yeast pick up their activity and finish up).  A beer and yeast like that should likley never take more than a week to be done fermenting.

Mine are usually done in 4 days. I have used 3068 on at least 20 different hefeweiss beers in the past few years. Always have some on hand! You barely need any yeast for a 5 gallon recipe, that yeast is a ripper. 1.018 is definetley high, but see how it tastes after carbing before you do anything. Cheers!!

I think I screwed up my Hefeweizen.

It tastes just like a Trappist Ale I made once and turned out sparkling clear.