Fermenting temp.

I bought a Morgan's Canadian Pilsner beer kit but am a little confused on temps. The instructions say to add yeast packet when wort is between 71-86F. It also says to ferment at 71-86F, I thought pilsners required a much lower fermenting temp. Any advice for a new guy??

Thanks!

That sounds way too high. What yeasrt came with the kit?

Gary

What type of yeast is it? I'm not familiar with that kit, and it would help to know what the yeast strain is.

Typically, you are correct, pilsner's are fermented with lager yeasts in in the 50ºF range. Many brewers brewing from commercial kits do not have the ability to lager/ferment cold however, so it is likely that the company provided a clean ale yeast instead. Even still 71-86ºF is awfully high.

Its just a plain silver yeast package that says:

Brewing Yeast 514
5g net 01812

Probably Sterling 514, which is a very neutral ale yeast that can ferment in the 17-30C range. Most lager/pilsner kits use a similar ale yeast, because temperature control is a problem with lager yeasts.

Even so, keeping it at the low end of the range will produce a better product.

Thanks for the replies!!! I have a fridge set up for dry curing meat and can keep the temp very steady. what temp should I aim for.

Also what temp is recomended for adding yeast??

Can anyone suggest a temp?

I'd go with low 60s if you can, converted over to Celsius of course

Perfect thanks a lot!! What about temp for adding yeast?!

There several schools of thought on this. Some believe you pitch warm and let it cool down, others never pitch yeast until the wort is at or below the ideal fermentation range.

I personally cool my wort to fermentation temperature and then pitch, so in this case you'd go for the about 16-18ºC. The ideal temp range for this yeast (assuming it is Sterling 514, which I'm sure it is) is 61-75°F (16-24°C).

As you brew more, I think you will find that you will make huge improvements in your beer if you take advantage of that fridge of yours. Accurate temperature control during fermentation is one of the biggest things a new brewer can do to improve their product. You can even make a true lager/pilsner using actual lager yeast if you have the fridge and a temperature controller. As mentioned before, the ale yeast that came with your kit was chosen by the seller because very few kit brewers have the ability to control their fermentation temps.

If you are interested in knowing more, have a look over in the DIY section, and search for 'fermentation chamber'.

Cheers, and enjoy your beer!

Thanks for the help Fall-line and what a nice build you have going!!!!!!!!!! Quite the homebrew set up you have!!!!!!

I recommend chilling your wort even colder, around 40F or 50F, then pitch your yeast. Your will get a cleaner ferm. Just be sure to oxygenate the wort really well, and be aware that it will probably take 2 to 3 days before you see any activity, hence the importance of oxygenating well. I have fermented all of my best ales this way.

Of course, dont keep the wort at 40F or 50F, let it come up to around the low 60s