Hey, I did a quick all grain porter this week to use as my first kegged brew in over 10 years. I got it done and pitched Nottingham as it was handy and I wanted it done in time for the super bowl and I knew it would clear pretty quickly. The thing is the temps here have been colder than normal and the fermenter is in a room which is running between 58-61F. Do you think this brew is going to stick unless I try and move it (hard as it would require moving it up an entire floor)?
Is 58-60F too cool for Notty?
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BridgeBrew
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It would be better of you let the fermentation start a bit higher temp, like 65ish, and then let it drop down near 60. I have a RyePA going right now that is steady at 61degrees and i have slow and steady airlock activity. Im going to warm it up a touch as fermentations reaches the third day to make sure it finishes out nicely.
BridgeBrew
Well-Known Member
Wrap your bucket in a nice warm blanket, that will help the fermentation get rolling too.
Thanks. I pitched at about 75F though I am sure it cooled down to the high 60's before fermentation got going. I have air lock activity, but was just concerned. If I were to keg this after four days and move the keg upstairs for three days to warm up and maybe finish, and then force carb four four days, would any harm be done?
BridgeBrew
Well-Known Member
You should take a gravity reading before you decide to force carb and make sure it is done fermenting. Seven days is pretty quick to start carbing. I think I've carbed BierMunchers Centennial Blonde in 8 or 9 days and that was the quickest for me. If your porter is a lower gravity it might be ok, but it wont be at its best. Age sure helps a porters taste blend and mellow.
zachattack
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+1
I've fermented Notty in my 59 degree basement. A nice slow, clean fermentation.
I wouldn't rush a porter. If it were me, I'd leave it in the cool basement for 2 weeks, bring the carboy to the warmer upstairs for a week to make sure it's finished, then rack to the keg and slowly carb over another 3 weeks. So 6 weeks total grain to glass.
You can certainly speed up lighter beers, but IMO porters and stouts need a little bit of aging time.
I've used Notty at 57 degrees- worked great!
A tip with yeast- instead of pitching warm and lowering the temperature, try the reverse. Yeast don't like being cooled, but they LOVE being warmed. What I would do is chill the wort to 55 degrees, pitch the yeast, and then let the beer warm up to 59-60 degrees. It really gets the yeast going, and it makes a super clean beer. It is much better than the reverse- pitching too warm and then cooling the beer.
I would have no qualms about kegging this beer when clear. Notty works well, and then drops like a rock in just a few days, leaving a clear beer. I package when clear, usually by day 10, for many of my ales. Some roasty flavors may need some time to meld, but you can leave the keg at room temperature for a week or to before placing it in the kegerator and carbing it up.
aiptasia
Well-Known Member
+1 to that. Notty is a versatile yeast that should do fine in the sweet spot from the mid 50's to the mid 60's.
+1.
I'm letting a Notty batch finish up (now in its 3rd week) at 65*F and will bottle in two days. Pitched it at 65*F. For the first week, I ran it at 55*F and had a very active fermentation, vigorous enough that I was concerned for about a day that I might see a blowout.
Thanks for the tip. I checked this beer today and it is at 1.010 on day seven and there has been no air lock activity in at least three days. Notty does indeed get after it! This is on a beer which has been no higher than 64F through that time as well. The gravity sample tasted very roasty and was a little 'sharp' still, but was quite tasty and close to clear. It is to be a vanilla-bourbon porter and thus I have had a vanilla bean split, scraped, and cut into sections soaking in 14 ounces of Maker's Mark since Monday. I will add this to the keg before adding the beer. My original goal was to have this ready by the Super Bowl, but y'all have about talked me into letting it go a full 10 days before kegging, or as Yooper sugested I may transfer it and wait to carb for a few days. Thanks to all.
