When to bottle my hefe?

[Cody]

Alright, so I have heard that wheat beers are best consumed young, like within 2-4 weeks. I've also heard that hefe yeast are fragile things. My 8G hefe has been in the fermenter for 3 weeks, and is looking nice and finished. It was close to the FG after a week, so I'm sure it's done.

So I'm going to have a big BBQ to share this beer with friends, but that will either be in 3 weeks or at least 6 weeks. I'd like to give this beer the best shot it can get. So my question: is it better to spend extra time in the fermenter, or in the bottle?

[CRBrewHound]

I would say either is fine, however, I would say that it is best to keep it cold, keeping it cold will reduce the aging process and keep it fresh longer.

[andy77]

Assuming you had a decent fermentation, your beer is done. Bottle it, let it carb and consume. If the bbq is in 6 weeks, I suppose you could leave the bottles warm for a couple or three of weeks to carb, then test a couple and make sure they're done carbonating and chill until the party.

EIther way, assuming you used decent sanitation, you're fine. 3 or 6 weeks is still pretty fresh.

[Adam]

For hefeweizen, I ferment for 10 days, sit for another 4, then bottle condition at room temperature for 10 days, then chill for serving.