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Steam beer kit
I had an idea last night as I checked the temps on my brew in primary and pondering my experience (read mistake) from a previous batch that didn't quite ferment out as far as I'd like. I didn't know my yeast profile which made it hard to know whether it was going to fit my brewing environment (cool basement). I then thought that maybe I should try a steam beer kit (I like brewing from kits considering it's simplicity, my time available, one stop ingredient gathering and my equipment.) My question is, if I brew a steam beer and keep the temperature in the low 60F range, will it harm the end result? What should I expect? Has anyone done this? If I found a room with a lower temp than that, would I really be making a lager? Thanks!
Can't comment on the steam beer, never made one. As for the lagering question, unless you use a lagering yeast, then it's an ale. You can ferment outside the recommended specifications, but that will affect the yeast ester compounds. How much depends on how far outside the range and for how long.
Low 60's is fine. I have gone as low as 64. If you get the temperature really low, the yeast might not even ferment, or move very slowly, since it is so far out of range. The further yeast gets outside what the manufacture specifies, the slower the fermentation is, and the further off flavors can be. I fermented a hefeweizen last summer around 80, and it turned out fine.
The whole thing with a steam beer is that it is a beer made using a lagering yeast fermenting at ale yeast temperatures. I'm aware that knowing your yeast profile is good and picking your yeast based on what you want your result to be is even better, but that wasn't an option for my kit out of a box. Two kids, two houses and a host of other things make my time allotment for brewing what it is. The dry yeast came out of a gold foil wrapper. I have no idea what it was or what it's profile was. Whatever my mystery yeast was it didn't like 63-65 degrees F. It did ferment, but it didn't finish as low as I would have liked and ended up a little sweet for me. I hope that explains a little better why I had the idea I did and what might I expect given the potential temperature range I may see. Oh yeah, I have been going to pains to see that my beer stays at around 64 for my ales. I want to avoid those those expensive pains in the future. Turn the heat down in the house, etc. I expect that 58-60 degrees F wouldn't be out of the question. That's why I want the kit with the lager yeast in it. Thanks again folks!
If you use a yeast similary to Wyeast California Lager, then you will want to be in the low 60's or even in the upper 50's for your fermentation temps. I kept mine below 65, and it came out extremely well. I just finished drinking the last of it this past weekend, and I will definitely brew it again.
It sounds like your temps should be just about perfect for this style of beer.
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