Beginner Advice - Imperial Stout & Brown Ale

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jh2os

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On my 3rd day of my first 2 batches, I want to make sure I don't screw them up so I'm looking for some advice.

Brown Ale - OG: 1.072
Imperial Stout - OG: 1.091

1. Is 75 F an issue with either of these brews during primary or secondary?

2. If considering to do a secondary on the imperial to clear it a bit and add some coffee and chocolate, how long should I leave it in the primary and in the secondary before bottling?

3. What's average time for a brown estimated around 7% to be ready to drink after bottling?

4. Should I take another SG reading if I decide to rack into secondary?

Thanks in advance !!!
 
1. Yes, 75* is too warm for anything but Belgian ales and Saison. During secondary it'd be fine but that's too warm for good fermentation (as in, flavor-wise. I'm sure it'd take off like a rocket).
2. Leave in primary for 3-4 wks, secondary for a month or three. Not sure how to best add the coffee/chocolate as I've never done, but you might consider adding cold-steeped coffee for the coffee bit. I've heard that works really well.
3. 6-8 wks, give or take. Could be longer if you ferment warmer or have other problems that create off-flavors.
4. when - when you first rack to secondary, or after it's been there awhile? Cause I would do the latter but not the former.
 
Nice thank you !!!

Update: Just stopped home for lunch and checked the temp. again (Day 4), it is now reading 73 F.

Question: what is the ideal temp. to be fermenting the brown and imperial at?

Problem: In a small apartment (2nd floor) with limited space and a girlfriend that is always cold. Built a small shelf in the hallway to keep 2 Primaries, 2 Secondaries, and cases of bottles which are covered by a towel to dampen the blowoff bubbling noise and to keep it dark.

Question: Could this be making it too warm and any idea on how to keep it cooler?
 
What yeast are you using? If you are looking to minimize/eliminate fusel alcohols and minimize ester production you'd want to be in the low to mid 60's for most yeast strains. Especially during the first 48-72 hours. If you're on day 4, not sure cooling it down will help much. I think you will have some fusels with both of those brews, but could be okay depending on yeast strain.

Swamp coolers work to help bring the temps down. Basically you put the bucket into a rubbermaid container and fill about halfway up the bucket with cold water. Keep cycling frozen water bottles in. That can reduce the temps by anywhere between 2 and 6 deg F. Maybe more if you use more bottles.
 
If you have no way of controlling the temp, you can always wrap the fermenter in a damp towel. Having a fan blowing on the towel will cool it down even more.

75 is just too warm unless it's a Belgian. Make sure you leave them in primary for at least 4 weeks so the yeast have a chance to clean up any off flavors.
 
Attached is a picture of the ingredients I used.

So basically, they are going to have a strong alcohol like taste because of the high temp, and keeping it in the primary for at least 3 weeks should help?

I was planning on letting this age for at least 3 months before bottling. Is this also a good idea?

image-1818181902.jpg
 
The taste will probably be a bit 'hot,' yes. There may also be other kind of fruity or tangy flavors. US-05 is a pretty versatile strain so it could be worse.

It's not a bad idea, so long as you have good sanitation and keep it well protected from oxygen.
 
Just thought of some more questions...

1. Are there any ingredients that I could add into the secondary to help decrease the off favors while letting it age for months (4-6)?

2. Should I expect continued fermentation in the secondary?

3. What is considered "quality sanitation" for aging, to avoid oxygen contamination?

4. Did I just end up brewing (2) batches that are going to light me up like moonshine?

Dogfish Head World Wide Stoudt is one of my top 5 favorites because of the high a.b.v. So I don't mind drinking a normal pint while sipping on my Imperial Stout Whiskey Brew that I just made. Lol....

You guys are helping me a ton and I appreciate it. This app is F$&@ing awesome !!! Thanks again in advance...
 
1. There are ingredients you could use to distract from off-flavors, like coffee or fruit, but not to remove them.
2. No. You should only transfer to secondary once fermentation ceases. 'Secondary fermentation' is a misnomer; back in the day before we had proper yeast propagation/oxygenation practices it was used to finish off fermentation, but not anymore. What we're using is not really a secondary, it's a bright tank. It might keep on off gassing though, so don't panic if it keeps bubbling a bit.

Of course, if you add fruit or something else with sugar to secondary, you would want it to start fermenting again.

3. Clean all equipment, Starsan everything the beer touches, seal it from the air with an airlock. Boil any ingredients/agents before adding them, such as priming sugar. Don't worry too hard, strong beers are harder to infect.

Oxygen can be trickier. Rack the beer so as to splash it as little as possible; get it into a tightly-sealable vessel, such as a carboy, with as little headspace as you can (within reason, don't fill it to the brim). You can drop sanitized marbles in to adjust the headspace if necessary. Do the racking when there's still some Co2 in the beer, so it can make a Co2 blanket over itself. Don't move the secondary around unnecessarily, except perhaps to agitate it gently after you first seal it (this can scare out some Co2 and produce the protective layer over the beer; you know it's working if the airlock starts to bubble rapidly right after you sway the carboy around).

4. No, it'll just be a bit hotter than most brews. And if you got plastered off it you might have a bit more of a hangover than you would otherwise. Frankly i don't much enjoy drinking enough of any beer that strong to get drunk though, especially not homebrew. The amount of sugar and carbs all at once, in liquid form, and the resulting glycemic shock, is almost worse than the effects of the alcohol. And when it's homebrew it seems a waste of your artistry and effort besides. Not trying to preach, you can certainly disagree. But I find many people feel the same way, so it does tend to be a bit self-limiting.
 
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