partial vs full boil

Brulosopher said:

Yeah, probably 80F+

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80F? Plus??

Will the fermentation temps swing that much from ambient temperature? I had the impression the actual temps were probably a few degrees higher (like 4-5 degrees).


Next batch should be better. I have an external temp controller for my freezer now.

I have a question in line with the partial versus full amount of water, in regards to steeping grains. I had heard that you should steep your grains in a small amount of water rather than the entire five gallons for better extraction. It doesn't seem to make sense to me, you're still stepping the grains at the same temperature regardless of the water volume.

Yesfan said:

80F? Plus??

Will the fermentation temps swing that much from ambient temperature? I had the impression the actual temps were probably a few degrees higher (like 4-5 degrees).

Next batch should be better. I have an external temp controller for my freezer now.

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It can is all I'm saying, you only know if you measure though. A long time ago, I was fermenting beer in a closet with ambient 68F; the wort got up to 76F at full kraeusen. Jet fuel.

Brulosopher said:

It can is all I'm saying, you only know if you measure though. A long time ago, I was fermenting beer in a closet with ambient 68F; the wort got up to 76F at full kraeusen. Jet fuel.

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Ah, this makes more sense. In a closet, the ambient could be quite a bit different from the temperature of the outside of the fermenter. I'd be surprised if the center of the wort could be that much higher than the outside edge, but it could easily be that much higher than an uncontained ambient.

In my fridge, except when the compressor is running, the wort and air pretty quickly reach equilibrium. In my closet, the wort (measured via a stick-on thermometer strip) is often fairly different from the air temperature. Just having the air contained and insulated makes a big difference!

zeg said:

Just having the air contained and insulated makes a big difference!

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This has definitely been my experience.