First beer, question on temperature

Well, my first batch is bubbling away downstairs (English Brown Ale), it took about 15 hours for fermentation to start and bubbled well for about 36 hours at 75 degrees according the stick on thermometer that came with my kit. This morning it has slowed to about 8 bubbles per minute and now reads 73 degrees. My basement is a steady 67 degrees. I just wondered if the ferm temp was too high? I have lots of large tubs and could set the bucket in some water or should I just leave it alone? Thanks for any help..great forum here. Cody S

Well, it is a little warmer than optimum, although it does depend somewhat on the yeast you are using. I generally try to keep it in the 68 degree ballpark for a nice consistent ferment. Temps are most critical during the initial, vigorous part of the ferment.

And welcome to the forum!

Thanks for the reply, the yeast was dry Nottingham Ale that I rehydrated and proofed according to the How to Brew book..

and the smell coming out of the airlock smells great..

IMO too warm. I've noticed beers I've been brewing in the summer vs the winter. The off flavors are starting to be more noticeable as I get some experience.

A swamp cooler is a viable solution, basically a bucket to hold your fermenter with water where you add enough ice to keep temps down.

I'll think you'll still enjoy your beer, I think you'll like it better fermented at cooler temps!

Yeah, and welcome to HBT.

I'm on the Gulf Coast and average temps here are in the upper 80s/lower 90s. I planning on putting off brewing until it gets a bit cooler. I just don't think the window unit a/c will keep the temperature steady.

So I should leave it as its too late and see how it comes out, or go ahead and try setting it in some water?

I'm not sure I would bother with the temp control at this point, now that fermentation has slowed down. What I would do is let the beer sit in the primary for a couple of weeks (at least) and let them clean themselves up.

Good luck and welcome to the board!

ZombieBeer said:

I'm on the Gulf Coast and average temps here are in the upper 80s/lower 90s. I planning on putting off brewing until it gets a bit cooler. I just don't think the window unit a/c will keep the temperature steady.

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A swamp cooler really goes a long way. Just put the fermenter in a cooler or bucket of water, drape a tshirt over it (this wicks up the water around the bucket) and point a fan at the tshirt. This keeps my fermenter steady at 60F when ambient temp is 75F. If you need a little additional cooling (since it's pretty hot there, and probably pretty humid) just cycle out a couple ice packs every day. When I do this, I can get it down to 48F.

Dirt101 said:

So I should leave it as its too late and see how it comes out, or go ahead and try setting it in some water?

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Even more off-flavors are created when you start changing the temperature drastically. I fermented my first couple of batches around 75F (one of them was so active it got up to 80F) and they were all drinkable. I've since focused my efforts on temperature control a bit, because it does make a difference, but you should be fine.

It's too late now, but hey, you learned something, and it's very likely to be very drinkable anyway. There are a few swamp cooler methods out there. All will drop your temps a degree or two. I personally have used a tub with water and frozen pop bottles (filled with water, not pop) to keep the temps down. Just swap new bottles in twice a day or so.

It'll be drinkable. You'll find that as people get more and more into brewing, they get more and more critical of their beers. Problems with temp rarely make really bad beer. It's just not as good as they want it to be.

Get the temp down and you'll find your beers go from drinkable, to good. Get the temp very consistent and the same beer goes from good to very good.

There are so many variables in brewing to try to figure out what's causing different flavors so you want to get your temperature control nailed down if for no other reason than to eliminate one of the variables.

ChshreCat said:

It'll be drinkable. You'll find that as people get more and more into brewing, they get more and more critical of their beers. Problems with temp rarely make really bad beer. It's just not as good as they want it to be.

Get the temp down and you'll find your beers go from drinkable, to good. Get the temp very consistent and the same beer goes from good to very good.

There are so many variables in brewing to try to figure out what's causing different flavors so you want to get your temperature control nailed down if for no other reason than to eliminate one of the variables.

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+1

My co-worker doesn't seem to mind at all. You're beer will be very drinkable (too late to chill now, it's most important during fermenation). I use those cheapo tupperware (throw-away GLAD I think) to make large ice cubes, 5 of those twice a day work excellent for me.

Great..thanks for the info guys, Ill just wait and see how it turns out.

DRoyLenz said:

A swamp cooler really goes a long way. Just put the fermenter in a cooler or bucket of water, drape a tshirt over it (this wicks up the water around the bucket) and point a fan at the tshirt. This keeps my fermenter steady at 60F when ambient temp is 75F. If you need a little additional cooling (since it's pretty hot there, and probably pretty humid) just cycle out a couple ice packs every day. When I do this, I can get it down to 48F.

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Thanks for the tip, I found this pic.



http://www.brew-dudes.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/swamp-cooler-002.jpg

Im a newbie here, just joined for insight and info. I too have a kit that recomends bottling after ferm stops (4 days for me) I noticed what seemed to me like alot of unfinished sugar in the bottom of my fermenter. Figured oh well gotta bottle before too late. Kit instructions stated I could sample after 2 weeks. I sampled at 1 week to get a taste to judge progress. Taste like beer, but seems like it didnt finish ferm. Kind sweet like Cider. But deff has some kick also gave a slight hEADACHE. OG 1040-FG 1012. Its in bottles in my basment at a cool 72 dgrees. Should I be concerned?

Not sure about your beer specifically but ignore the instructions on bottling after 4 days.

Here's is my advice: leave your beer alone for 3 weeks. Don't touch it, don't look it, don't take any measurements of it. After 3 weeks, take a gravity reading if you like.

There's always talk on here about beer being too warm during fermentation and everyone says throw it into a bucket with some ice water. My question is could you make it too cold by doing this???

Yes, you can make it too cold - The goal is to keep the beer within the temperature range for your yeast.

You'll have to work out what's best for you - it could be 3 frozen water bottles in the morning before work, and two in the afternoon ... whatever.

Get a thermometer - wally world sells indoor/outdoor with an outdoor 'probe' that you can drop into the bucket. Then work to keep your temps at the range you want.

Behemoth said:

Im a newbie here, just joined for insight and info. I too have a kit that recomends bottling after ferm stops (4 days for me) I noticed what seemed to me like alot of unfinished sugar in the bottom of my fermenter. Figured oh well gotta bottle before too late. Kit instructions stated I could sample after 2 weeks. I sampled at 1 week to get a taste to judge progress. Taste like beer, but seems like it didnt finish ferm. Kind sweet like Cider. But deff has some kick also gave a slight hEADACHE. OG 1040-FG 1012. Its in bottles in my basment at a cool 72 dgrees. Should I be concerned?

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72 is not that cool for most ale yeast, and def too hot for lager yeast. Remember that the yeast create their own heat while they work, which might raise the temp inside the fermenter 5 or more degrees.

I fermented warmer like that for a while, and when I started getting the internal temp down to 65ish, my beers got much better and cleaner tasting.

After the initial fermentation, say a week or so, you can raise it up to make sure it's finished. Or, better yet, keep it around 65-68 and let it ride another couple of weeks. It's hard, but you should really try to ignore it for 3-4 weeks before bottling/kegging.

I think some of you misunderstood. I bottled after 4 days of fermentation. Started on Sat, finished on wed. That what the Coopers Lager kit stated. The Dvd that came with the kit said dont let the brew sit in the fermentor too long after bubbling stops.:cross: I should have found this forum sooner.

Behemoth said:

I think some of you misunderstood. I bottled after 4 days of fermentation. Started on Sat, finished on wed. That what the Coopers Lager kit stated. The Dvd that came with the kit said dont let the brew sit in the fermentor too long after bubbling stops.:cross: I should have found this forum sooner.

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You're right, I missed the part where you already bottled. Next time, wait. A FG of 1.012 indicates it's probably done fermenting but the only way to tell is to actually take 2 reading a day apart and verify they are the same.

"I noticed what seemed to me like alot of unfinished sugar in the bottom of my fermenter."

That's not sugar, that's Trub. When moving your beer to a bottling bucket, leave that behind.

If your beer was not done fermenting and there was more sugar to be converted the excessive pressure can cause a bottle bomb. Search the forums here for that topic for more details, it can be dangerous.

Thanks MikeG, I guess I'll just let it sit and bottle condition. No Bombs yet. I used plastic 750 ml bottles that came with kit, so if a few xplod it'll just be messy... not dangerous. Time for round 2. Wish me luck

This is a new-person question but I am reading about people concerned with heat. Is this because your beer is on a main floor exposed to summer heat? Does keeping the fermentor in a dark, below ground basement help the process? I guess I am trying to figure out the best place to store the beer while it is fermenting?

I notice on some sites they sell cooling and heating devices that wrap around the carboy, do these help?

Mines sitting in my basement on a table, the temp down there is steady 67 and it was still fermenting at 75 according to the stick on therm that came with my kit which may be off a degree or two but surely fairly close. Definitely going to take care of temp control for the next batch...

Yes, fermentation can raise the temps significantly above ambient. I got tired of fiddling with temp issues and just got a used fridge, electric space heater, and a two stage temp controller. A temp probe sits in the beer, and if it gets too hot it turns on the fridge. If it gets too cold it turns on the heater (sitting in the fridge). I can keep it within a couple of degrees of my desired temp. It was an investment of $ but being able to consistantly control temps was one of the biggest improvements in my brews. Cheers

4 days in primary and no more airlock activity so i pulled a sample and its sitting at 1.013, tasted pretty decent too, I plan to let it sit in primary for about 4 weeks before bottling...pretty sure Im gona need another fermenter or three..

Dirt101 said:

4 days in primary and no more airlock activity so i pulled a sample and its sitting at 1.013, tasted pretty decent too, I plan to let it sit in primary for about 4 weeks before bottling...pretty sure Im gona need another fermenter or three..

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Same here Dirt. Im goind to get one too. Wanna get glass but just splurged on a nice 42" plasma. So FG plastic will have to do for now. Dont know if I would go 4 weeks but hey to each....

Hmm..its an English Brown Ale..maybe thats too long in primary?

It certainly shouldn't need 4 weeks, but it's unlikely to hurt it either. It will certainly be nicely conditioned by then, and will have settled out considerably.