First Brew TODAY
Thanks thirsty.
I actually went in there and told him I wanted to brew something similar to my favorite bear, which is Yuengling, and he suggested this lager recipe that they brew there. He told me they ferment ALL of their beer there between 65-75 degrees. Being that I'm new at this, not much to go on except for what I've read...and I had read that lagers were supposed to be fermented at lower temps. When he told me I could brew this lager at those temps, I jumped at making this my first attempt. I initially was going in looking to brew an ale or a porter, which seem to be more forgiving based on my research, and should be fermented at those temps.
I'm going to try to pick up the fridge this week with a temperature controller. Assuming I can get it this weekend, should I put the brew in there to ferment the rest of the way? Will it be negatively impacted at all by already starting to ferment a the current temp I have it at?
Don't think you have any choice now. Those guys are probably right, it will ferment, but may give you different flavor at that temp- it will make beer but may not have that yungling's profile you were shooting for. I would finish it out at the proper lager temp and follow a proper lager shedule. (Definately d-rest because of the temp changes to be safe)
The other thing you may want to do is call the LHBS and ask them how their's turns out fermenting high, and if they say they do it all the time- keep it the way it is.
thirsty wrote:
Don't think you have any choice now. Those guys are probably right, it will ferment, but may give you different flavor at that temp- it will make beer but may not have that yungling's profile you were shooting for. I would finish it out at the proper lager temp and follow a proper lager shedule. (Definately d-rest because of the temp changes to be safe)
The other thing you may want to do is call the LHBS and ask them how their's turns out fermenting high, and if they say they do it all the time- keep it the way it is.
That's one of the first things I asked him, and he said it comes out great and it's one of their best selling lagers. Also said it was one of their easier one's to brew...that's why I took the shot on it instead of going with an Ale or the Porter.
Oh well...it's a learning process right? lol We'll see how this one turns out. In a few weeks when this one is done fermenting, I'm moving it to the secondary and starting my Porter batch. Can't wait to see how both of them turn out.
thirsty wrote:
(Definately d-rest because of the temp changes to be safe)
BTW...newbie here....what is "d-rest"
Seeing it is your first beer and all, another piece of advice is not to put a time frame on your fermentation. If the instructions say to primary for 1 week then secondary for 2, or primary until the airlock slows to a few bubbles a minute, don't believe it.
Especially because you are using a lager yeast, and although not at a slower lager temp, they still take longer to finish out. And you definately want your beer to finish out. (unless you choose to traditionally lager for a couple months then a different shedule, but sounds like you are not). To make sure of this use your hydrometer. When you think it is done, take a reading, see if it fits the recipe profile, then wait a couple days and check again, if it is exactly the same you are probably done.
thirsty wrote:
Seeing it is your first beer and all, another piece of advice is not to put a time frame on your fermentation. If the instructions say to primary for 1 week then secondary for 2, or primary until the airlock slows to a few bubbles a minute, don't believe it.
Especially because you are using a lager yeast, and although not at a slower lager temp, they still take longer to finish out. And you definately want your beer to finish out. (unless you choose to traditionally lager for a couple months then a different shedule, but sounds like you are not). To make sure of this use your hydrometer. When you think it is done, take a reading, see if it fits the recipe profile, then wait a couple days and check again, if it is exactly the same you are probably done.
They gave me very generic instructions for the brew, which I thought was a bit odd. I've been reading tons of books and getting advice from you guys, so I was planning on doing just that. When it hits 10-14 days and I see that the airlock has lost most of it's activity, I plan on taking a reading, and again after 2-3 days to see if it truly is done fermenting. Also, they didn't tell me what my final gravity should be, so I figure it's safer to do it this way so I know for sure that fermentation is complete.
Their instructions said to ferment for 1 to 2 weeks and then bottle. I'm choosing to do a secondary only because of all the research I've done. I definitely want the beer to settle and clarify a little. I know it's my first one, and I should probably be trying to just get it out of the way, but I'd like to start the right way the first time and start learning what works and doesn't work from the start.
I was just going over some other threads, and read that wrapping a wet towel around the fermenting bucket will bring the temperature down a few degrees. What do you guys think? At this point it's been fermenting for about 24 hours at 64-66 degrees. Should I go ahead and wrap it in a wet towel for the remainder of the time, or stay the course and not mess with it?
What are the pros and cons of doing this at this point? Am I better off just leaving it alone?
Nuno wrote:
I was just going over some other threads, and read that wrapping a wet towel around the fermenting bucket will bring the temperature down a few degrees. What do you guys think? At this point it's been fermenting for about 24 hours at 64-66 degrees. Should I go ahead and wrap it in a wet towel for the remainder of the time, or stay the course and not mess with it?
What are the pros and cons of doing this at this point? Am I better off just leaving it alone?
What temperature range does the yeast mention? If it's within that range you should be ok. If you want to get it cooler you can put the fermentor in a cooler with ice water. Just be sure the temp doesn't get too low and try to keep it stable.
Wet towel might work. Never tried it.
DC
I've read different sites that say they've had success with temps 65-75 degrees...the actual info for the yeast says 50-60 degrees.
When I did some research on experience other folks have had with the yeast, they say to pitch 2 packets of yeast at the lower temps, and 1 packet at room temp...having success both ways.
In all, I wouldn't mind fermenting at the lower temp, I'm just curious as to how that might affect the beer being that it's already been fermenting for 24 hours at 64 degrees...and is currently bubbling at about 8 bubbles per minute in the airlock.
Thanks for any advice.
At this point my suggestion would be to let it finish at the current temp. Once you have an idea of what flavor that gives you, brew another batch and ferment at the lower temp. This will allow you to see what kind of difference the temp makes, and gives you another batch of beer. Win-win situation! Gotta love brewing!