Newbie question... brewing temperature

TheDuke

Each step brings up more questions.

My kitchen temperature means that my beer is brewing at 22C-23C average (1C-2C higher than the room temperature). But I have read that you can brew at both 16C and 22C but what is the difference.

Only thing I've noticed is that with a Larger yeast (16C) activity finishes between 4-5 days after which I put it into a second fermentation for 5 days (ish) and the bottle it for another 1-2 weeks... or that being the plan on the latter.

Does this all sound ok or have I something to learn here.

Thanks,

The Duke

BeerNut

You may need to allow more time at the lower end but that's about it.

TheDuke

Thanks BeerNut.. does it influence the taste, quality or type of beer in any big way? Just wondering - why would you bother brewing at 16C if 22C gets you there faster... (he innocently asked)

BeerNut

TheDuke wrote: »

why would you bother brewing at 16C if 22C gets you there faster

Mostly because you don't have temperature control. I certainly wouldn't add extra heat if my beer was in the high teens as there's a risk of it going above into the mid-20s and that's where flavour problems can arise. I'd rather wait the extra week. In general, doing stuff to speed the process up is not a good idea.

John_C

TheDuke wrote: »

Thanks BeerNut.. does it influence the taste, quality or type of beer in any big way? Just wondering - why would you bother brewing at 16C if 22C gets you there faster... (he innocently asked)

Different yeasts will give different flavours at the various temperatures. The usual thing is to pick a yeast that will work well at the temperature you expect. Of the popular yeasts, US 05 works well at 22 degrees and Nottingham works well at 16 degrees.

TheDuke

Interesting and thanks, so yeast type is that important. I'm using mangrove craft series and used bohemian pils for my first batch but that's a 16c as per the pack that I fermented at 22c. Not a good idea then.

I've now got workhorse 22c and Belgium ale 23+ and will experiment with that.

Question though, what does the M07, M29 and so on mean? Or are they just supplier codes.

Thanks again...

sharingan

TheDuke wrote: »

Interesting and thanks, so yeast type is that important. I'm using mangrove craft series and used bohemian pils for my first batch but that's a 16c as per the pack that I fermented at 22c. Not a good idea then.

That might be a bad thing if it is a genuine lager yeast. 16/17C is really the upper limit for making lagers & pilsners. 22C is often fine for most beers. It is at the upper limit for many 'english ale' type yeasts, but most US style beer yeasts will have no trouble with it.

Yeast does more than just turn sugar into alcohol and CO2. It puts out a lot of different chemical compounds into the beer which impact the flavour. When temperature is higher and the yeast more active, it puts out more of these chemicals.

This is desirable for some types of beers which are known for 'yeast character'. English Ale strains usually, as well as belgian wit/bavarian hefe weizen beers and belgian ales in particular.

If these strains put out desired yeast character at their intended temperature range, they will put out too much at elevated levels. US style yeast strains are usually noted for low yeast character, and preserving hop aroma. It means that they can be very robust at higher fermentation temperatures (if your US-05 beer hits 25C, you can usually get away with it).

Question though, what does the M07, M29 and so on mean? Or are they just supplier codes.

They are the just Mangrove Jack's internal codes. Fermentis (another yeast lab) have their own codes, which are not interchangeable. You will often hear of home brewers talking about S-04, US-05 or WB-06. Lallemand/Danstar tend to use trade names (Munich, Windsor, Belle Saison).

thelaoislad

need some advice ..
I bottled my first batch of IPA last Sun, added the 1/2 T spoon of white sugar to each 5ooml , its been at a steady 20-21oC since then ,no explosions or anything, all brown glass bottles with one plastic bottle as a control ..its rock solid now , hardly any give in plastic ..
I was going to move it out to the garage after 10 days , temp will be about 8-10oC I d guess..
does that make sense? Should I leave it inside at the higher temp for maybe 2 weeks, or is 1 wk long enough ?
When would it be drinkable , 3 weeks after bottling ??
Tks

BeerNut

If you need it out of the way, move it. It'll be fine. I'd give it another week of conditioning at least but no harm opening a bottle now if you're curious.

TheDuke

Sharingan... Thamks you, That was really helpful.

Indeed my beer tastes yeasty... partially because I couldn't wait long enough but I think your point is part of the problem.

Also thanks on clearing up the coding thing...

I've a workhorse yeast that works at both temps so let's see what happens....

I will also try a batch at 16... And see how that goes.

Im doing 5l batches till I get the gang of it... Some day soon hopefully..

TheDuke

Help.... I'm a little worried now. I made a new batch with Workhorse Yeast which the pack says works at both the higher and lower temperatures depending on the style of beer.

It fermented like crazy for two days and the temperature rose to around 26C (which was the fermentation not the room temp that was at 20C) but now it has stopped dead.

Surely two days of crazy fermentation is not good... everything I read talk about a week minimum. In fact none of my brews have made it to a week of fementation - max 5 days and then the bubbles stopped.

There are only 5L demijons and my OG tends to be high and around 60 (rather than the 40-50 for beer) so I'm I worring about nothing.... I'm going to start using a different location.

I haven tried any of my beers yet as I kinda nervous at this point.

Thanks...

drumswan

TheDuke wrote: »

Help.... I'm a little worried now. I made a new batch with Workhorse Yeast which the pack says works at both the higher and lower temperatures depending on the style of beer.

It fermented like crazy for two days and the temperature rose to around 26C (which was the fermentation not the room temp that was at 20C) but now it has stopped dead.

Surely two days of crazy fermentation is not good... everything I read talk about a week minimum. In fact none of my brews have made it to a week of fementation - max 5 days and then the bubbles stopped.

There are only 5L demijons and my OG tends to be high and around 60 (rather than the 40-50 for beer) so I'm I worring about nothing.... I'm going to start using a different location.

I haven tried any of my beers yet as I kinda nervous at this point.

Thanks...

You are over-thinking it. Visible signs of fermentation will vary wildly from batch to batch and mean nothing. Leave the beer in the fermenter two or three weeks and then bottle it.

TheDuke

thanks... indeed overthinking stuff is one of my top qualities.... on pretty much everything... :rolleyes:

Ok so here's my plan;
> primary fermentation one week in 5l demijon
> move to second in 5l demijon for 'secondary fermentation' for dry hopping one week
> bottle and leave for a week before trying the first bottle
> enjoy... hopefully...

Does that sound like a good approach? I'm still really impatient to see how my recipes are turning out....

drumswan

There's nothing to be gained from a secondary fermentation except heightened risk of oxidation, don't bother with it. Keep your first few brew processes as simple as possible.

TheDuke

thanks... I read that it helped deal with off tastes but clear not without putting everything at risk... I use the tube so little airation but there's invetibly spashes and air.... I've done two that way now... will keep a close eye on it.

I just answered my own question on bottling... avoid splashing and air getting in... slowly getting the hang of it... and patience...