kidsmakeyoucrazy

Recipes 

I'll be bottling my Irish Red this weekend after 3 weeks in the Primary and will be going right back with a Midwest Belgian Tripel recipe after cleaning / sanitizing. I'm pitching 2 smack packs of Wyeast Activator 1214 due to the high OG (and I'm not ready to mess with starters yet...). I've also picked up some stuff so I can rig a blowoff tube.

My room temps are typically between 62 and 70 deg. Do I need to worry about temperature control? My first two beers have all settled at at about 70 deg within a day of pitching and then gradually lowering to between 66 and 68 once fermentation winds down. The temp range for the yeast is 68-78 deg. I'm wondering if I need to insulate it or will it be ok at the low end. Of course I'm expecting a bigger fermentation than my first two beers so I may get too hot in the fermenter...should I go with a water bath just to be safe?

Is there anything else I need to look out for? This will also be the first beer to use my secondary ( 5 gallon glass carboy), which I'll transfer to after 10 days to 2 weeks depending on how fermentation goes. Also, should I age in the carboy or let it sit a few weeks and then bottle and forget about it for a few months? I've read that these beers take time to mature.

TipsyDragon

Recipes 

you always need to worry about temperature control.

i would let it sit on the yeast for a month to a month and a half. then bottle and forget about it for as long as possible.

kidsmakeyoucrazy

Recipes 

Thanks. Will not going to secondary affect clarity any? I'm guessing not much if I let it sit a month?

TipsyDragon

Recipes 

your clarity will not be affected. the same thing that happens in the secondary will happen in the primary if you let it sit. as a matter of fact letting it sit in the primary provides more yeast to do the clean up of fermentation byproducts.

Nukesquad

Recipes 

you may notice that it would age better if you bulk aged it in the secondary as compared to just puting from primary to bottle. However, this additional step adds another instance for potential infection if improper cleaning/sanitizing is present.

kidsmakeyoucrazy

Recipes 

That's the one thing I'm struggling with...do I let it sit a month, or secondary after 3 weeks. I'm still a few days out on this one though so it's not like I have to decide for a while.

kidsmakeyoucrazy

Recipes 

I noticed your in Norfolk. A bit off topic, but have you been to HomebrewUSA? I was thinking about visiting the next time I was up there. I usually go to Norfolk once a month or so.

Nukesquad

Recipes 

Absolutely! The staff there is great, and I haven't had a bad recipe kit there. They can also fill any recipe you bring in. I would definitely check it out.

iridium77Ir

Recipes 

I was just in HomeBrewUSA today... the owner always goes out of his way to make sure you have what you need for a successful brew. I'm working on their Desert Pale Ale at the moment. They aren't open on Monday, but if you call ahead of time they usually make an exception to open the doors.

troutab81

Recipes 

+1 on the secondary. The only reason I use secondaries is to make room for my next batch! Leaving it sit for a while wont hurt.

I would consider making a yeast starter, although I dont know what your OG is... better safe than sorry.

__________________
On Deck: El Jefe Bavarian Weizen
Primary 1: None
Primary 2: None
Secondary: None
Bottles: California Pale Ale
Keg 1: Nugget Nectar Clone
Keg 2: Dogfish Head 60 Min Clone

Beer is good food. -- John Goodman