Bottling - El Hefe

We bottled the El Hefe last night after a short secondary period of just under two weeks (just long enough to allow any bigger particles to settle out.) Very nice hazy orange-gold color. As for mouthfeel, it seemed a little heavy but I am sure that will lessen after four to six weeks of bottle conditioning. Taste? Great. If only I had made this beer before summer.

Fifty-four 12oz. bottles (23 of them are Grolsch-style flip top bottles - seemed fitting for a hefeweizen). Also, we went ahead and labeled the bottles as well. A finishing gravity of 1.010 results in an ABV of around 4.7%. El Hefe!

El Hefe and Crazy Bear Update

Last night we moved the El Hefe from the primary fermentation vessel to the secondary aging vessel. I don't actually intend to keep it in the secondary for more than a week, as I prefer to bottle age it. Why secondary then? While hefeweizens are supposed to be hazy, I still think it would be beneficial to allow some of the larger sediment to settle out prior to bottling. Moving from vessel to vessel helps do that. Finishing gravity: 1.010. Estimated ABV should be 4.80%.

Also, I drank the final bottle of the regular stock of Crazy Bear Honey Nut Brown Ale last night. It was a bittersweet moment (not the flavor) because this was my first blue ribbon beer; but, it does open up space for new brews. The next (and last) time this beer will touch my tongue is when we have the 2009 Brewing Year Recap party. Until then....

Brew Day - Hefeweizen

Sunday was Brew Day and, despite the cold, dreary weather, Hefeweizen brewing went well. A brief boil over occurred directly after the malt addition but nothing excessive. An interesting difference/change in this brew was the dried malt extract (DME). I usually stick to liquid malt extract (LME) only but this recipe called for one pound of DME and six pounds of LME. The added DME should really boost the alcohol and substance of the beer. It should turn out nice and "hefe-ty". Starting gravity was 1.046.

This is my second wheat beer - the first being the Cherry Wheatseeker. That beer took second in its class (Fruit Beer) this summer at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair. The main (sort of) negative comments about it centered around the cherry flavor. Hopefully, the Hefeweizen will maintain the positive aspects.

The ingredients:

6 lbs. Wheat LME
1 lb. Light DME
8 oz. Carapils specialty grains
1 oz. Tettnang hops (bittering)
No aroma hops