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When to bottle my Hefe???

Chris Roe

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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?
 
If your final gravity has been stable for three days, your fermentation is almost certainly done. The bubbling is probably "off-gassing" and can continue for many days.

I ferment my hefe at about 60F and let it sit until fermentation is complete plus one week, or for three weeks total, whichever is LONGER. At 68F you may get the same results with two weeks total. My rationale is that the time after fermentation is complete allows the yeast to consume some of the undesirable compounds produced early in fermentation.

The BeerSmith priming calculator will allow for the existing dissolved CO2 based on the highest temperature since fermentation completed.
 
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