Brewing up a Hef

[BigNastyBrew]

I brewed that exact same recipe (wwwwellllll... hops were a little different) a few weeks ago and just finished the last bottle last night, it was one of the best brews I've ever made, enjoy!

Sweet! Good to hear your success. I'm really hoping it turns out well. Hefe and Schwarzbiers are my favorite styles hands down.

[BigNastyBrew]

J F C !!!!!!


I gotta get this shit figured out.

Taking the advice of another experienced brewer elsewhere, I went ahead and kegged this tonight after 73% attenuation (OG 1.060, FG 1.016).

He's said all along that wheat beers are best young and he does it all the time. He does win medals on beers.

Anyway....

Of course it's flat and warm but it actually TASTES great! However....it smells like fucking sewage.

Is this my fucking water or did I possibly not boil it vigorously enough for the 90 minutes (Pilsener base)? I had it tested at Ward Labs but then I installed a .5 micron filter afterward. Should I have it tested again?

[BDawg]

Those are sulphur compounds. That yeast will throw tons of them.
Every smell that you smell during fermentation is something that is LEAVING your beer, which is a good thing.
Kegging too early keeps those smells trapped and they won't volatize out.

[BigNastyBrew]

Can I rack it back out of there and save it? It isn't carbonated yet, just colder.

[crupp]

Wow…I’m dubious…
You may have kegged a little early…you brewed last Wednesday, right? Based upon your attenuation, though, I have to believe that the yeast did its thing; and I’ve kegged and drank Weissbier at about the ten day mark. Does your water normally smell like ass? If not, I doubt it’s the water…
I don’t think that it was your boil, as even a simmer for 90 minutes with pilsner malt wouldn’t smell like sewage…cabbage, maybe…..sewage, no.
I guess you could rack it back into a fermenter, but I don’t think that it will do any good if you don’t pitch another active starter.
Man…I don’t know …

[BigNastyBrew]

Wow…I’m dubious…
You may have kegged a little early…you brewed last Wednesday, right? Based upon your attenuation, though, I have to believe that the yeast did its thing; and I’ve kegged and drank Weissbier at about the ten day mark. Does your water normally smell like ass? If not, I doubt it’s the water…
I don’t think that it was your boil, as even a simmer for 90 minutes with pilsner malt wouldn’t smell like sewage…cabbage, maybe…..sewage, no.
I guess you could rack it back into a fermenter, but I don’t think that it will do any good if you don’t pitch another active starter.
Man…I don’t know …

Thanks for staying with me on this one. This is only my second AG batch. My extract wheats have turned out great.

The water is friggin AWESOME by itself since I installed the filter on it. Let me ask you this: what impact does a .5 micron filter have on the minerals? I'll list my water profile BEFORE I added the filter. If someone could please speculate as to how the new filter would impact my water.

pH 7.8
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est 678
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 1.13
Cations / Anions, me/L 10.0 / 10.8
ppm
Sodium, Na 83
Potassium, K 4
Calcium, Ca 64
Magnesium, Mg 37
Total Hardness, CaCO3 314
Nitrate, NO3-N 5.9 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 28
Chloride, Cl 198
Carbonate, CO3 < 1
Bicarbonate, HCO3 181
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 148

[crupp]

Wow…you’re pretty hardcore with the water…I’m not smart enough to let you know how the filter would change your water, but I don’t think that the filter would have anything to with a sewage smell. What is confusing the hell out of me is the fact that you say it tastes great.
Did you:
Have a covered boil?
Chill your wort quickly?
Over sparge with water below 160?

[BigNastyBrew]

Well....you have to look past the sewage to get the great taste to be honest. I can separate bad from good when I drink beer with both.

I had an uncovered boil, chilled in about 20 minutes, and sparged with water that was 185 but the mash was 165 when I did that.