Possible problem...

Danny013 · 09-02-2007, 09:19 PM

Did I mess up?

I did an English Mild today, extract, O.G. 1.031, 1 oz of fuggles (3/4 @ 60, 1/4 @ 30), transfered to primary, and this is what it looked like:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/Danny013/SANY0151.jpg

I filtered it through 2 strainers, so I don't know if it is small pieces of the hops floating around in there all clumped together or what? It's not an infection because this pic is literally 5 minutes after boil.

Do I need to relax?

Thanks!

Danny

**DeathBrewer** · 09-02-2007, 09:24 PM

relax

it's absolutely fine. the fun part is you'll get to see all that mess moving around in your carboy when the fermentation starts!

Thalon · 09-02-2007, 09:26 PM

That looks like cold break material. That's the junk that comes out of solution as you cool the wort after the boil. The faster you cool it, the more efficiently it comes out of solution. RDWHAHB, it will settle out to the bottom with the rest of the trub.

Danny013 · 09-02-2007, 09:31 PM

Whew. Thanks guys! Beer n00b.

/Or could you tell?

98EXL · 09-02-2007, 11:40 PM

it's cool man....I had this happen to my IPA yesterday, and it cooled the fastest ever in the sink.....it's all good though

Danny013 · 09-04-2007, 06:13 PM

Just an update - it's going good and bubbling away!

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/Danny013/SANY0152.jpg

Two quick questions though -

How accurate are the stick on thermometers? Do they take a good reading of the wort temperature in the carboy? It's in a water/ice bath right now about 1/3 of the way up to help keep it cool.

Also, I didn't realize fermentation temps would rocket up so fast. The brew was around 70-74 or so for the first 8 hours or so, I went to bed, and in the morning the stick on thermometer said 78! I had to run but when I got home that evening I tossed it in a little water and ice and it's been at a mostly consistent 66-70 since then. Will this brief and early jump in temperature produce some off-flavors?

Ok, 3 quick questions, what is the cold-break material composed of?

Thanks!

**Yooper** · 09-04-2007, 06:23 PM

Let's see- the temperature spike should be ok since you cooled it right away. Ideally, it would ferment the entire time at 68 degrees, but that short time at a higher temperature shouldn't do much damage.

The stick on thermometers are pretty accurate. I had a floating thermometer in a carboy once and it matched the stick on thermometer. The only problem with those stick on ones is that if you make a swamp cooler or stick the fermenter in water, you'll ruin the thermometer. I learned that the hard way.

Cold break material is made up of proteins that coagulate and fall out when the wort chills quickly.

All questions are always welcome!

Danny013 · 09-04-2007, 09:03 PM

Thanks for the reply!!

Ok, one more then. Will bottle conditioning at ~75-78 produce any off flavors, or is it such a small amount of new sugar and fermentation that it wont be too big a deal?

Thanks again!

**DeathBrewer** · 09-05-2007, 12:35 AM

i'd try to keep it lower if you could. otherwise it won't be so "mild" with all the undesired fruity flavors.

i try to keep most of my ales at 65-70 F

malkore · 09-05-2007, 01:37 AM

agreed. unless you know the yeast you're using benefits from a different temperature during secondary, maintain the same 65-70F range.
happy yeasts produce good beer.