Homebrew Batch Journal 001 - Hank's Hefeweizen

Journal Entry - 001 / March 2021 

Batch Information

Notes	Details
New Name*	Psychedelic Straw Hat
Style	Hefeweizen
Batch No	01
Brewed By	Keith Wolfe
Volume	5 gallons
Brew Date/Primary Date	February 21, 2021
Secondary Date	N/A
Racking/Bottling Date	March 8, 2021 (tentative)
Fermentation Temp	68 F

 * This is the name of my own personal batch. For the original recipe information, see Recipe and Ingredients, below.

Recipe and Ingredients

Notes	Details
Original Recipe	Hank's Hefeweizen
Creator	Northern Brewer
Type	Extract
Grains	Fieldstone Grain Blend
Hops	1 oz. Tettnang Hops Pellets
LME	6 lb. Wheat Malt Extract Syrup
DME	1 lb. Briess Golden Light
Yeast	SafBrew Dry Yeast
Water	Primo Bottled Water (5 gal)
Wort Boil Time	60 minutes

 

Hydrometer Readings

Notes	Details
Original Gravity	1.051
Final Gravity	1.010
Test 3/7/2021	1.010
Test 3/8/2021	1.010

 

Beer Information

Notes	Details
IBUs	16
ABV	5.41%
Apparent Attenuation	80.39%
Estimated Calories (per 12 oz)	169

 

Brew Day Notes

Brew day was delayed due to illness and then due to potential for power outages and winter storm. The brew kettle that came with the starter kit is inferior and smells of rust and metal. I purchased a higher-quality kettle and commenced brewing on Monday, Feb 22.

 Steeped the grains in 2.5 gallons of water at 170 F. Boiled extracts and hops for 60 minutes before straining into fermenting bucket. Aerated the wort and pitched the dry yeast by sprinkling over the wort in primary (per instructions). I did not bloom the yeast.

 

Fermentation Notes

2/22/2021: Very active fermentation after fewer than 12 hours.

2/25/2021: Airlock showing steady fermentation. Bubbles appear once every 6 seconds.

2/28/2021: Fermentation is slowing, but still steady. Bubbles appear once every 12 seconds. I will continue to monitor.

3/5/2021: Fermentation is slowing, but steady. Airlock bubbles once every 30 seconds. The scheduled racking date is two days away. If fermentation is still this active, I will delay bottling.

3/7/2021: Bubbling in airlock is likely due to dissolved CO₂ coming out of solution. Took first test reading with hydrometer in testing jar. Gravity: 1.010 for a projected AVB of 5.51%, which is a little higher than expected. I will retest on 3/8/2021 to confirm consistent readings and bottle if fermentation has stopped. I tasted from the testing jar after taking this reading. The unconditioned beer has a hint of banana with a bit of another fruit I cannot place yet. Pear maybe?. I expect to get better at this over time. But I can definitely taste the banana, which I hears is a ester called Isoamyl acetate. I'm very pleased with the flavor and appearance, which is a beautiful sandy brown.

3/8/2021: Second gravity reading 24-hours from previous confirmed that fermentation has stopped. Bottling to commence today.

Bottling Day Notes

I cleaned new bottles with a bottle brush, hot water, and Oxiclean. I then ran them through a detergent-less cycle in my dishwasher. I followed this with a dip in Star San. I figure that, when it comes to being clean, overkill is a good thing. Sanitized bottling bucket, racking cane, bottle filler, bottle caps, and tubing.

Added 5 oz corn sugar/water solution to bottling bucket prior to racking from primary. 

I was not very careful and the auto siphon reached the end of the bucket and started drawing in air before I could tilt the bucket to maintain flow. The result is, I did not end up racking the full amount into the bottling bucket. That, coupled with the two draughts for testing specific gravity left me two bottles short of 48 at the end. I'm considering investing in a refractometer, and I will manage my racking better next time. 

Final Notes

Appearance

This batch turned out to be a bit darker than I expected. The LME was dark to begin with, so I'm not surprised. The color is a beautiful amber. It's cloudy. This is also as expected, it being a hefeweizen. 

Aroma

Fruity aroma with a light hops. 

 

Flavor

This is a delicious hefeweizen with notes of citrus and pear. 

 

Mouth Feel

Mouth feel seemed a bit thin when I opened a bottle after one wee of bottle conditioning. After two weeks, this seems to have filled out a bit. The carbonation is nice and not too strong.