Ok - first off... I've read this entire thread: http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=40751&hilit=hefeweizen+project
My head hurts. ...but in a good way.
But I do have a question now... When should I bottle my Hefe??? ...Some say bottle early, some say let it set.
For mine so far, after 7 days in the primary (fermentation slowed to just a bubble every few minutes), I racked it to a secondary expecting to follow the "directions," and let it set for another 3 weeks (which I now find out are "generic" directions/recommendations, not necessarily relevant to a Hefe). ...OG was 1.048, "racking" SG was 1.012.
My question stems from the fact that fermentation in the secondary is continuing on at a rate of a bubble every few minutes (since the 16th, at a steady temp of 68 deg F). I've read that once fermentation "stops", you should check SG and if it is the same two days in a row, then bottle. However, my understanding from the attached thread and others is that I "shouldn't wait too long" to bottle a Hefe. ...if the Secondary is still "bubbling" (albeit slow), do I need to still check SG? Isn't it still fermenting? If it is still fermenting, and I prime and bottle, won't I run the risk of over carbonating and exploding bottles? If I wait until everything stops bubbling, will I be running the risk of letting it sit "too long?"
My inclination is to continue to wait until I don't have any bubbling for a day or two, then check/double-check FG before bottling. Am I thinking right?
My head hurts. ...but in a good way.
But I do have a question now... When should I bottle my Hefe??? ...Some say bottle early, some say let it set.
For mine so far, after 7 days in the primary (fermentation slowed to just a bubble every few minutes), I racked it to a secondary expecting to follow the "directions," and let it set for another 3 weeks (which I now find out are "generic" directions/recommendations, not necessarily relevant to a Hefe). ...OG was 1.048, "racking" SG was 1.012.
My question stems from the fact that fermentation in the secondary is continuing on at a rate of a bubble every few minutes (since the 16th, at a steady temp of 68 deg F). I've read that once fermentation "stops", you should check SG and if it is the same two days in a row, then bottle. However, my understanding from the attached thread and others is that I "shouldn't wait too long" to bottle a Hefe. ...if the Secondary is still "bubbling" (albeit slow), do I need to still check SG? Isn't it still fermenting? If it is still fermenting, and I prime and bottle, won't I run the risk of over carbonating and exploding bottles? If I wait until everything stops bubbling, will I be running the risk of letting it sit "too long?"
My inclination is to continue to wait until I don't have any bubbling for a day or two, then check/double-check FG before bottling. Am I thinking right?