So this is my first stab at homebrew. I have the brewing kit from NB and am trying the Honey Kolsch with Safale-05 yeast (so, ok, not really a kolsch). I am fermenting in a glass carboy in my basement storage area.
It has been hot up here in Wisconsin and on brew day I realized the ambient temp of the storage area was 74-76F. The yeast recommended max is 75. I thought I would be ok with that. I did not realize that fermentation was going to get hot.
I brewed Wednesday night and did a yeast starter. I checked the beer first thing in the morning and there was 2 inches of foam and the airlock was bubbling every couple (5?) seconds, I thought that was good. I checked my fermometer and could not get a reading (it goes to 76). I am guessing the beer could have gotten up to 78-80. This was 10 hours after pitching yeast.
I started reading things about fermentation temps and esters on this forum and realized I might have a problem on my hands. I quickly rigged a swamp cooler and got the beer to 72. If I sniff around the airlock I was definitely getting banana, but its not like I can smell it from even a few feet away. With some improvements to swamp cooler I am holding it around 66-70 and I think it is the best I can do. There is no airflow and no way to hook up a fan. At the lower temp, I am still sniffing a little banana but I think it is weaker than I first remember.
This beer is going to be kegged for my housewarming party in late September. I move in a couple weeks. Once I move, I will have more options for temperature control.
I am simply trying for a nice crowdpleasing beer and not banana bread. So my questions are:
1. How worried should I be? I feel like I caught and corrected the situation fairly quickly but the fermentation was rocking in those first hours.
2. Is there anything more I can do during these initial days of fermentation when I have to have it in this basement. I think my limit to where I can reasonably hold it temperature-wise is 66-68.
3. What should I be planning for (secondary, lagering?) once I can move the beer to my house and essentially every option is open in order to dissipate these esters?
Wow, thanks for reading this whole post if you made it here! Any comments are appreciated.
It has been hot up here in Wisconsin and on brew day I realized the ambient temp of the storage area was 74-76F. The yeast recommended max is 75. I thought I would be ok with that. I did not realize that fermentation was going to get hot.
I brewed Wednesday night and did a yeast starter. I checked the beer first thing in the morning and there was 2 inches of foam and the airlock was bubbling every couple (5?) seconds, I thought that was good. I checked my fermometer and could not get a reading (it goes to 76). I am guessing the beer could have gotten up to 78-80. This was 10 hours after pitching yeast.
I started reading things about fermentation temps and esters on this forum and realized I might have a problem on my hands. I quickly rigged a swamp cooler and got the beer to 72. If I sniff around the airlock I was definitely getting banana, but its not like I can smell it from even a few feet away. With some improvements to swamp cooler I am holding it around 66-70 and I think it is the best I can do. There is no airflow and no way to hook up a fan. At the lower temp, I am still sniffing a little banana but I think it is weaker than I first remember.
This beer is going to be kegged for my housewarming party in late September. I move in a couple weeks. Once I move, I will have more options for temperature control.
I am simply trying for a nice crowdpleasing beer and not banana bread. So my questions are:
1. How worried should I be? I feel like I caught and corrected the situation fairly quickly but the fermentation was rocking in those first hours.
2. Is there anything more I can do during these initial days of fermentation when I have to have it in this basement. I think my limit to where I can reasonably hold it temperature-wise is 66-68.
3. What should I be planning for (secondary, lagering?) once I can move the beer to my house and essentially every option is open in order to dissipate these esters?
Wow, thanks for reading this whole post if you made it here! Any comments are appreciated.