Anybody use a serving tank for a hefeweizen?

[mtmax]

We are looking into serving our Hefeweizen (American Wheat Style) via a serving tank in our Tap Room. We normally store the hef kegs upside down until tapping to keep that cloudiness, if we serve from a tank (say 7bbl) will it be hard to keep the beer cloudy due to settling or can you blow some C02 in the bottom once-a-while to keep it cloudy? Any ideas?
TIA
Max

[grassrootsvt]

It all depends upon how quickly you are selling your product! Rousing with CO2 is never a bad idea - I've done this before. However, I have noticed that once the yeast has flocced, it tends to want to continue to floc more quickly... but, if you have the time and the means, a blast of CO2 every now and then is the best means...

[alesu]

We had that problem with our first batch of Hefe. After talking to our Wyeast about it they recommended a product called Tanal A which is added during transfer to the bright tank. So far it has worked very well and seems to give us consistent cloudiness.

[beertje46]

We had that problem with our first batch of Hefe. After talking to our Wyeast about it they recommended a product called Tanal A which is added during transfer to the bright tank. So far it has worked very well and seems to give us consistent cloudiness.

Tanal A
This product is extracted from renewable plant materials and used to enhance yeast and colloidal suspension (permanent haze) in beer. It is ideal for hefeweizen and wit beers where a cloudy appearance is desired.

I wonder what renewable plant the materials come from?

[brewbonghm]

Yep, I 'spose there's a pill for everything.
Very recently I was out and had some very popular American made wit beer (declined the fruit) and noticed that something had been added to it to "stabilize" the haze, I was not impressed, as the flavor and overall perception had been altered. The stuff that comes fro wit-land is very different, in both appearance as well as flavor, whereas just a few short years ago the differences were far smaller.

Weizen is a very process dependent product. Given the circumstances and equipment under and with most of us brew; a bit of lagering helps as most of the precipitation is done by final rack and a sequential blending can be opted if haze is not properly developed. Blowing the "hefe" back up into bier which has been around for a while is not always the best option either as autolized "Bavarian" has that very distinct "Burnt Weenie Sandwich" aroma/flavor.

The best place to start is in the mash, a number of things can be done to develop a permanent haze in the mash, which also improve the authentic wheat flavors/aromatics. These processes may be counterculture to what you may do on a regular brew day, but then again you are not making "regular" beer.

[beertje46]

Yep, I 'spose there's a pill for everything.
Blowing the "hefe" back up into bier which has been around for a while is not always the best option either as autolized "Bavarian" has that very distinct "Burnt Weenie Sandwich" aroma/flavor.

Good points however, when I read "Hefeweizen (American Wheat Style)" I think American house ale strain, not true Bavarian.

[alesu]

Try using Weinhenstephan Weizen 3068 and use the Tanal A. We didn't see any difference in taste perception from the original batch without and the new batch with the tanal a. Also I would suggest talking to Wyeast about about Tanal A to see if it fits into your your marketing strategy. I've found them to be very helpful when it comes to technical advice.

[Guest]

Serving Hef e from BT

Hey Max. It is mIke at Carter's in Billings, MT. We serve our Hefe out of BT's and occasionally jet CO2 through the bottom of BT, but the flocc is too high on our house yeast and it clears up within a day. I would use a different yeast( Bavarian), or there is a haze former available from BSG that will maintain that haze your looking for for months. Good Luck


Michael Uhrich
Owner/Brewer
Carter's Brewing
406-861-7712

[jarviw]

The best place to start is in the mash, a number of things can be done to develop a permanent haze in the mash, which also improve the authentic wheat flavors/aromatics. These processes may be counterculture to what you may do on a regular brew day, but then again you are not making "regular" beer.

want to elaborate how this is done??
I thought all haze will clear up given long enough time to settle... would love to learn a new trick.

[brewbonghm]

True, long and cold will clear up just about anything, but not running your typical ph adjustments, over-cleaving proteins, hot sacharification and a hot run-off will hold a haze longer. It is a delicate balancing act and has a lot to do w/water chemistry, trial and error and the ability to keep one's nerve when getting creative w/mash treatment. You gotta toss out the rule book on these, in "ano 1089" there was no book or tools.

[Rosie]

We sell a bit of Hefeweizen, though not from serving tanks, we still have the same issue - getting a consistant cloudiness in the kegs.

One thing that I have not yet tried, but read about in Randy Mosher's 'Radical Brewing' (awesome book for inspiration by the way) is to drop a tablespoon of ordinary flour into the kettle (I assume 5 gal (20l) batch) - he states, 'Unlike a protein haze, this won't go away as the beer warms up' and states it as 'One cheap trick for creating a permanent haze or 'shine'.'

Anyone tried this?

Cheers,

[Alt Brewer]

Hefe in Brite Tank

I brewed a Belgian Wit and served out of a Brite tank. I foud that, as pointed out earlier, that even with occasional rousting, it eventualy flocced out. I thought about the tanal A, but never went further than that. Maybe I'll do a smaller batch next time.

[Sulfur]

slowing floc

Instead of maximizing cooling while in the Lagertank or in the BBT, try throttling back a bit i.e. to 3deg C.

[alesu]

We are easily a month out on racking the Hefe to the serving tank with Tanal A and the haze is the same as day one. Very simple very easy!

[big_al]

Hefe in tank

we serve our hefe from 7bbl tanks and it seems to keep its haze. It's only when we keg it off that we notice it settling out more. We can pick on tap when the keg is changed, but we don't store them upside down.
not sure why it would settle out more in keg than in tank.

Allan
Tanglehead