Fermentation Temperature

Ok - I did my research, and there is still enough of a question for me to ask:

Should I ferment my Hefeweizen at a room temp of 70 degrees F, or should I take it down into the basement where ambient temp is a steady 64 degrees F????

Too high of ferm temp can lead to banana/ethyl flavors, and many say that fermentation in the wort can bump up 2-10 degrees above ambient room temp.  By that info, I'm fermenting too high.  However, too low of ferm temp can slow things down and cause problems too.

My current batch has been fermenting (well) at 70 degrees ambient room temp for roughly 18 hours now. I am strongly leaning toward the idea of carefully moving the fermentor into the basement to 64 degrees for the duration of the process. 

Opinions???

Thanks!

Chris

What yeast did you use?  The yeast strain has a lot to do with the temperature that you ferment at.  In addition, in some hefeweizen's you'll want the banana flavor.  It depends on what you're trying to accomplish.

Look up information about your yeast strain and see what the manufacturer says about it.  Google your yeast strain and see what other brewers have said about it.

Thanks for the quick response!

On the vial it says; "...[pitch] in 5 gal of aerated wort...at 70-75 degrees F...keep at this temp until fermentation begins...the key to a quick start are good aeration and temps over 70 degrees at all times until fermentation begins..."

And therein lies the rub – so far I have ensured all that, but what about for the REST of the fermentation process?  ...A lot of folks talk about "fermentation" temp, but are they talking about AMBIENT temp it was fermented IN, or the WORT temp ITSELF???  ...I will follow your advice and do a Google search on THIS yeast, but for folks here...

The yeast is White Labs Hefeweizen Ale Yeast WLP300 liquid yeast.

Chris

I found a review of the WLP300.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/2009/09/19/white-labs-wlp300-yeast-review/

I've personally used this yeast.  It makes my wife's favorite beer that I brew.  It has a nice banana flavor with a hint of clove.  The higher the fermentation temp the more banana you'll get, the lower the more towards the clove side.  Wort starting gravity and pitching rate will make a little bit of a difference with this yeast as well, based on my experience with it.  If you over pitch, you tend to lose the banana for the most part.  It sounds like you didn't over pitch.  Also, if you have a high starting gravity, you'll get more banana.  Since your starting gravity isn't high, you should get a nice balance of clove to banana.

Oh, the other question you asked about.  The fermentation temperature is the temperature of the wort during fermentation.

Scott - that's EXACTLY what I was looking for!!!  ...how the heck did I miss that in my searches?!?!?!  Thanks for the link!

Apparently, I did my initial 18 hours bass ackwards!  ...as soon as I read the info, I moved my fermentor to the basement, and plan to leave it there until "violent" fermentation subsides.  ...I'll bring it back up to 70 degrees ambient after that.

Good link/info to have for next time tho...

Thanks again!

Chris

The first post of this thread has been edited to summarize the entire 50-page discussion:    http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=40751&hilit=hefeweizen+project

It's an excellent guide to making hefe.

Awesome link!  Thanks!  ...mine is fermenting at 62 right now, and that's probably the best I can do, so we'll see how it turns out.

Chris

The last time I made a brew with hefe yeast, I made it at the low end of the recommended temperature range. When I racked it into a keg it smelled terrible. Downright foul.  I force carbonated it anyway, but didn't have much hope. After the rest of the kegs of the season were done, I finally tapped it and... wow. It was magical. One of the best brews I've ever made. So if it smells bad at bottle/keg time, don't worry about it.

Thanks for the tip!  ...bubbling has slowed way down, so we'll see how it is in a few days when I rack it into the secondary.

Update on the Hefe...

Bubbling slowed to nearly a stop in the primary, so I racked it into the secondary last night.  Good news is it smelled good, smelled like beer, and spec. grav. at this stage was 1.012.  We'll see how the next 2 to 3 weeks do... Ambient temp sits around 68 F...

I don't care for banana flavour in beer. When I'm in Belgium I often drink kriek and hoegaarden rose which uses raspberries but for me banana is just wrong. Hefe is one of the very few beers I can't drink.

"I don't care for banana flavour in beer. When I'm in Belgium I often drink kriek and hoegaarden rose which uses raspberries but for me banana is just wrong. Hefe is one of the very few beers I can't drink."

Try fermenting a hefe between 60 and 62F. You'll get a light but distinct clove note and no banana. It's a whole different beer.

Roadrocket, I second what durrettd said. That last hefe that I brewed at the bottom of the recommended temp range for the yeast was really good, and no banana notes at all.