IPA Fermentation temp & time in days

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barneyfresh

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Hi Everyone!

I have a question. I have been brewing a few batches of IPA's now, all with different hops or grains in the recipe. But the yeast remains the same. (1056 Wyeast)

So, every beer tastes the same, regardless of the recipe and hop schedule. Water should be OK (I live in Amsterdam, people say the water is good for brewing). Sanitation is good too during brew day

The beer IS drinkablem but in now way perfect or different from one another.. So I think the culprit is the yeast vs my fermentation control ( non existent to be honest) I put the wort and the yeast in a plastic carboy and put it in a dark corner with a wet towel.

I just ordered thermometer stickers and gonna use them on my new brew sessions this saturday. Is gonna be the first time I actually gonna be looking at temp during fermentation.

So my question is: What is a good schedule? I've been coming across the mid 60s Fahrenheit, so maybe 64,65? Until now I think I have been fermenting around 71..

And, how long should I keep it in that area of the mid 60s and what is the temp I should be aiming at afterwards? And for how long?

For now I have been doing this: 2 weeks primary, 3rd week dryhop in secondary and then into bottles for 4 weeks before opening (carbonation and alcohol is great every time, the taste could be better!)

Hope someone can help me out, much appreciated!!

Bart
 
Mid 60s for the bulk of fermentation (75% finished) then ramp up to 70 so the yeast can finish attenuating.

As far as IPAs go, 4 weeks in the bottle is too long. IPA is meant to be consumed quickly to get the most flavor out of the hops. I go a couple weeks in primary, dry hop for the last 5 days then just straight to bottles, no real need to risk an infection by transferring to secondary. You should really be timing it for about 4 weeks from grain to glass.
 
Do you live in Amsterdam, Europe or Amsterdam, United States?

I use 65° to 68°F as the optimum fermentation temperature for WY 1056..

All of the beers tasting the same could be coming from your brewing water, dry hop schedule, or fermentation temperature. I would use RO or distilled water for your next brew. Municipal water is treated with chlorine or chloramines. The chlorophenols could be the culprit giving all your beers the same taste.

Fermentation temperatures that are to warm will contribute increased esters or fusel alcohols.

The three week dry hop could also be contributing the same off flavor due to the duration. Excessive dry hop times can contribute grassy flavors with some hop varieties. I only say this because ten days has been my longest dry hop. This may not be a factor though since keggers will often leave the hops in the keg until it is emptied.
 
My experience is that IPAs are one of my quicker beers to make.

I spend 4 days in primary at 65 degrees, rack to secondary for 10 days at 70 degrees and dry hop. Rack to keg, cold crash, hook up CO2 and leave it for about a week. 21 days and I have a beer in the glass.
 
What recipes have you brewed? I wouldn't think all would taste the same based on ferment temp alone. I use US-05 for all my pales and IPA's and get a lot of difference in taste out of them so don't think you using 1056 each time would cause this either.
 
Hi all,

Thank you very much for the quick and detailed replies! I live in Amsterdam, Europe. I heard the municipal water is quite good for brewing.
My schedule is 2 weeks in primary, then 1 week in secondary, then in the bottles for 4 weeks till opening. so 7 weeks total.
Hmm, yeah it's weird, well there is a small difference in taste and smell, but not a lot, which is weird.. Also, just openend up a batch from few brews ago and I got burnt plastic smell..

So, gonna go for the mid 60's this upcoming brew. Then go to 70 after and then bottle
 
Hi all,

Thank you very much for the quick and detailed replies! I live in Amsterdam, Europe. I heard the municipal water is quite good for brewing.
My schedule is 2 weeks in primary, then 1 week in secondary, then in the bottles for 4 weeks till opening. so 7 weeks total.
Hmm, yeah it's weird, well there is a small difference in taste and smell, but not a lot, which is weird.. Also, just openend up a batch from few brews ago and I got burnt plastic smell..

So, gonna go for the mid 60's this upcoming brew. Then go to 70 after and then bottle

I don't bottle, so take my advice for what it's worth. I do notice though, after a month or so on tap, my IPA's hop profile will fade a bit. I never have 2 IPAs on tap at once, so it's hard to judge how similar they are tasting at that point.

Anyways, here is what I would try. Go about 7-10 days for primary, then dry hop for 4-7 days (look into cold crashing for a day or 2, that can be part of your 7 days, but let it sit at least 4 on the dry hop), Also think about skipping a true secondary, then bottle. I never rack the beer to secondary to dry hop anymore. As soon as fermentation has stopped, I just add hops right to the fermenter.

That could cut a week, maybe a little bit more off of your time to drinking. I'm wondering if pushing that 2 month time, before drinking, is muting some of your hop profile.
 
Yeah 2 months till its in the glass is a long time. Most of my fermentations are done in 4 to 6 days and in the keg ready to drink a few days after that.
 
65F works well for most ale yeasts

I like 2-3 weeks fermentation and 2-3 weeks bottle conditionning so the beer is ready to drink in 4 to 6 weeks
 
Like others have said, I think your schedule is a tad long. 2 weeks in primary, no secondary and 2 weeks in bottle is good for most beers.

Hop flavor starts to diminish relatively quickly. It shouldn't go away after 4 weeks but it may not be as bright.

Another thing to look into is your water. Just because people say it is good water doesn't necessarily mean it is right from the tap. My water tastes great. I got a water test and my water is a great base for brewing. Mineral wise it is almost like RO so I can add whatever I need to for any beer style. However if I don't add anything, my beer will be flat in flavor. My calcium is only 15 or so. If I brew an ipa, the hop flavor and aroma won't come through much. Hoppy beers need calcium (gypsum is used most for ipas). This may be your problem.
 
Thanks for responding!
I just searched for the composition of the water in Amsterdam and it says Calcium 44. Is that an OK amount?
Cheers
Bart
 
Without getting an actual water report for your area you never know if that number is accurate. It would be best to get your water tested. You would need to search for comes in Europe that test water. There is a company in the US called Ward Labs that does home brew water testing. Not sure it would be worth sending your water to the US for testing. Might be expensive for shipping.

Calcium of 44 isn't terrible but you would need to add a little depending on the beer. A blonde ale would need about 50 so you are right there. An IPA would need over 100 so you would want to add some gypsum.
 
Are you brewing extract, BIAB, or all grain?
I had the same problem with extract, but when I switched to all grain it fixed the problem... Not sure why, but could be due to more attention to detail with all grain.
 
Hi all,

Thank you very much for the quick and detailed replies! I live in Amsterdam, Europe. I heard the municipal water is quite good for brewing.
My schedule is 2 weeks in primary, then 1 week in secondary, then in the bottles for 4 weeks till opening. so 7 weeks total.
Hmm, yeah it's weird, well there is a small difference in taste and smell, but not a lot, which is weird.. Also, just openend up a batch from few brews ago and I got burnt plastic smell..

So, gonna go for the mid 60's this upcoming brew. Then go to 70 after and then bottle

Amsterdam water profile is reported here:
http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/water-profiles/

I think you should try to ferment below 70, maybe 65-68F. (So keep it under 20-21C if possible).

Make sure your yeast is fresh and healthy, I would use a starter. I would ferment for ~10 days (should be plenty of time), and dry hop around day 6-7 once fermentation starts to slow down (use fresh hops), wait 3-5 days (you don't need to dry-hop longer than that) and then bottle. Store bottles warm, 20C or above. Open around 1 week to 10 days after bottling, and if it's carbed - keep drinking it - hop aroma will go fast.

Back to water profile. It's actually fairly decent water but not quite perfect for IPA brewing.
You have a bit too much Na and more importantly not enough Sulfates. For hoppy beers you want more Sulfates than Chlorides. Also you may need more Calcium - ideally more than 50ppm, at least.

Adding about 5g of gypsum for 5G of water (~20 liters) should fix both problems, to first approximation.

For the record - I don't really think water is your problem, so I would do all other things people recommended first - but it could add a bit to the enhancement of the hoppy flavors.
 
One thing to remember is that fermentation temperature is the temperature of the beer, not the air. Can you put your fermenter in a much larger bucket of water? That will help cool down the fermentation temperature closer to ambient, and you can add ice to bring it down more if you need to.
 
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