Temperatures affect on beer.

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BigErn

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So I recently took the plunge into homebrewing with an Irish Red Exctact kit. The Yeast gives and optimal range of 60-72 degrees which seems like a wide range to me. I was wondering what the affect on the beer would be at either end of that range? The setup of my appartment gives me the leway to keep the temperature anywhere I want. Right now Its sitting in a room that is Approx 66 degrees and the Temp strip on the side says my Primary is 67-69 degrees.

Also I plan on taking it to a secondary so would I want to change the Temperature of the room?
 
Keep it right where it is. Keep it in primary for 3 weeks. Don't bother wih secondary. I check my SG at two weeks. If it looks good keep it a week longer and bottle it. The closer to the lower end of the temp range the cleaner the beer.
 
usually for extract kit, secondary is not necessary. even for advanced all grain brews, brewers are debating on whether a secondary is beneficial or not. there are 2 schools of thought.

1. Secondary provides an avenue for reduction of yeast count in the beer. This is somehow beneficial to the long term taste development and stability of the beer.

2. Secondary provides time for the flavours to mellow. For this school of thought, where this happens is irrelevant. Time is the key. Whether it happens in the secondary or keg or bottle just doesn't matter.

As for your Q on temperature, the beer can either be aged cold (likened to lagering) or at the same temperature as your fermentation. Never higher unless it is a brief diacetyl rest.
 
to answer your question, with ale yeasts, the top end of the range 70-75+ can produce a fruitier beer, sometimes desirable but probably not in a red. The lower end of the range will produce a cleaner profile, with less flavor coming off of the yeast, and in fact there are a few guys on this board that ferment at the very minimum temperature for any given yeast.
 
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