Hefe ?

[barley ben]

So if ya's haven't noticed, I'm not too far from kegging. Now a million questions keep coming to mind. Heres a quick and easy one. Sometime I'm gonna keg a hefe-weizen and I was just wondering how to keep the yeast mixed for each glass i pour. Usually the yeast is out in the first few pints so for this style should I shake the keg every time I drink some to prevent it from settling. I don't have a problem with that if I have to but is there an easier way to do it? After all, whats a hefe without the yeast?

[ray m]

Hmmmm.....I always thought that the nature of the yeast used in hefe's is that a lot remains in suspension so you don't have to worry about a lot of settling. I am probably suggesting a no-no, but I guess GENTLY agitating the keg before dispensing is OK. However, (and I say this because I have no knowledge of kegging and their intricacies)---I wonder if agitating the keg will result in built-up pressure that one may certainly NOT want in his/her corny??? I notice that, in my tap-a-draft, if the bottle/dispenser assembly is overly agitated, it will release CO2 gas pressure (you can hear it escape through the built-in check valve). Wouldn't the same phenomenon happen with a corny???

I probably did not make this easy, did I?:( Sorry

[Pappy]

I just finished a (and am very soon to keg another) keg of Hefeweizen. I kegged it, set the pressure and left for a week. Came home and it was well-carbonated and the yeast was still very much not settled out. I did not start to notice any appreciable settling until nearly 3 weeks after initial kegging. By that time, there wasn't but a few pints left. I did agitate it a bit and that helped bring the yeast back up into the tasty ale. If it's a true Hefeweizen yeast, the flocculation should be very low to begin with. I used Whitelabs German Hefeweizen IV 380 yeast. It's the best yeast for the style I've tried yet.

[paul84043]

Brew pubs invert thier Hefe kegs for a while before tapping them to get the yeast back into suspension. I think that the currents from dispensing it help keep things mixed up after that.

[Jughead]

Originally posted by ray m
...I wonder if agitating the keg will result in built-up pressure that one may certainly NOT want in his/her corny???

I think the cornys are rated around 300lbs, so shaking them up a little shouldn't cause a pressure problem. Use one with a relief valve if you are really concerned.

If the pressure does go up too high to pour without too much foam, just bleed the pressure off through the gas poppet or the relief valve.

Inverting the corny will likely cause beer to sneak up the gas dip tube into where the poppet sits. Be carefull not to blow this back into a regulator when you hook up the keg, and make sure you clean the gas dip tube and poppet after.

[S.F.B.]

Originally posted by ray m
I wonder if agitating the keg will result in built-up pressure that one may certainly NOT want in his/her corny??? I notice that, in my tap-a-draft, if the bottle/dispenser assembly is overly agitated, it will release CO2 gas pressure (you can hear it escape through the built-in check valve). Wouldn't the same phenomenon happen with a corny???

If you disconnect your cO2 line before you agitate it shouldn't build up much pressure.