Coolhand78
Well-Known Member
Hi everyone...First time brewer noob here, and done my best to search the forum and read the stickys and the 'did I ruin my beer?' threads, but haven't exactly found this answer.
I'll try to cut to the chase: I used a True Brew Oktoberfest extract kit (which uses a Muntons ale yeast), and I'm afraid the first 12-16 hours of fermentation was at way too high of a temperature.
I followed these instructions from Palmer: "Bring 3 gallons of water to a boil in a large pot. Pour this water into the fermenter and leave it to cool. Now bring another 3 gallons of water to boil in the brewpot. You will be boiling the malt extract in this water and diluting this concentrated wort with the water in the fermenter to make the total five gallons."
So, the initial 3 gallons got boiled and then poured into a 6 gallon glass carboy to "cool" while I boiled and cooled the rest of the wort. I got the wort to cool down to approx. 84 degrees in an ice bath, and then added to the carboy.
However, the original 3 gallons of boiled water sure hadn't cooled very much during the 2 hours before I added the wort. I pitched the yeast, and slight bubbling began within a couple hours. Twelve hours after pitching, the airlock was bubbling very vigorously. This was in my kitchen, and the ambient temperature was around 72 degrees. I moved it into the basement 16 hours after pitching, based on advice here that the ambient temp was too warm. All bubbling subsided within 36 hours.
So, with the combination of HOT water in the carboy, wort at 84 degrees when I pitched, and then the high ambient temperatures for the first 16 hours, did my fermentation happen at too high of a temperature, resulting in off flavors? I've read a bit about fusel alcohol and am wondering if this is a concern.
Sorry for writing a book. Very excited about my first batch of beer. I appreciate the patience and advice from experienced home brewers that must roll their eyes every time a noob like myself comes in here freaking out and looking for some hand-holding.
I'll try to cut to the chase: I used a True Brew Oktoberfest extract kit (which uses a Muntons ale yeast), and I'm afraid the first 12-16 hours of fermentation was at way too high of a temperature.
I followed these instructions from Palmer: "Bring 3 gallons of water to a boil in a large pot. Pour this water into the fermenter and leave it to cool. Now bring another 3 gallons of water to boil in the brewpot. You will be boiling the malt extract in this water and diluting this concentrated wort with the water in the fermenter to make the total five gallons."
So, the initial 3 gallons got boiled and then poured into a 6 gallon glass carboy to "cool" while I boiled and cooled the rest of the wort. I got the wort to cool down to approx. 84 degrees in an ice bath, and then added to the carboy.
However, the original 3 gallons of boiled water sure hadn't cooled very much during the 2 hours before I added the wort. I pitched the yeast, and slight bubbling began within a couple hours. Twelve hours after pitching, the airlock was bubbling very vigorously. This was in my kitchen, and the ambient temperature was around 72 degrees. I moved it into the basement 16 hours after pitching, based on advice here that the ambient temp was too warm. All bubbling subsided within 36 hours.
So, with the combination of HOT water in the carboy, wort at 84 degrees when I pitched, and then the high ambient temperatures for the first 16 hours, did my fermentation happen at too high of a temperature, resulting in off flavors? I've read a bit about fusel alcohol and am wondering if this is a concern.
Sorry for writing a book. Very excited about my first batch of beer. I appreciate the patience and advice from experienced home brewers that must roll their eyes every time a noob like myself comes in here freaking out and looking for some hand-holding.