Beer Fermentation Time Lapse Video

[Wortslurpin]

Recent time lapse fermentation video I made. Enjoy!



Feel free to shoot me some suggestions for other thoughts on my second attempt for a time lapse. I am really curious to monitor fermentation with a temperature probe during the entire fermentation to determine how much extra heat is generated during the fermentation cycle relative to the room temperature.

Yes, I will definitely use a lighter beer in my next vid...

 

[jd3]

It is actually surprising to see how much the cake moves around during this time. Pretty cool, though I'd use less Frames.

 

[scinerd3000]

nice. i always think this looks cool andit would be awesome to see a side by side with a thermometer readout

 

[brewmonk]

i culdn't see the cake/trub much in this. do you mean the crown?

 

[r_flagg]

So much light on that beer!

 

[dantheman13]

Cool stuff!

 

[Wortslurpin]

No need to get too worked up about the light. My wife works at a local homebrewing supply store and gets all sorts of stuff for free (this batch cost me nothing). The whole point of this batch was to get a time lapse video of the fermentation. Beside the light is artificial, not UV (sun), so I should not be too worried about any degradation of alpha acids to 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol (skunky flavor).

 

[Wortslurpin]

The other thing I don't like about this fermentation is the lack of temperature control. For all beer I make I place the carboy in a water bath and maintain +/- 1°F. Fermenting in open air is terrible temperature control which is why I want to prove that the fermentor gets hot in open air, much hotter than the temperature you think the room is at. That was my major quality concern with this batch - but who cares it was free to me!

 

[TrainSafe]

I bet it still tastes great when complete.

Thanks for all the time you put in to the video. I learned a bit about the process. I, too, was amazed at how much movement occurs while the brewer sleeps. This video is almost like shooting the inside of the fridge after the door closes. We know what to expect yet still watch intently.

 

[Austin_]

Very cool. What strain of yeast was that?

 

[samc]

1. Nice video
2. What causes the pauses?
3. Wife should work in the bank -samples are better!

 

[Wortslurpin]

The yeast is a white labs belgian ale WLP 400.

Regarding fermentation pauses, especially when the trub at the bottom rises to the top, my thought is that the hop oils are either quickly shocking the yeast or the oils are reducing the surface tension (defoamer). I cant say I have the answer to that one - a good question. Anyone else have any thoughts on this.

I am still not sure if it is better to have your wife work at a bank or a homebrew supply store? Maybe if she was working for Ben Bernanke running the printing press then I would take the bank but otherwise I think I would still go with the homebrew store.

 

[greenfrog5]

Cool idea to do this, and a very successful first attempt! I have recently made a variety of time lapse video for my work (though I don't work making videos, it was very DIY/hobby/cheapo-style). They are fun to do, and a bit tricky to practice and get all the variables tuned for a particular type of shot.

I assume you are using single shots with a digital camera? Do you have the ability to run 2 cameras at once (for simultaneous overall and closeups)?

As stated by a previous poster, fewer frames to increase the speed significantly would make it more 'exciting'.

This gets tricky because you potentially loose slower details as you speed by them. I did have the opportunity to use pro software that easily manipulated the speed at any point in the clips, so experimented a lot with variable speed to precisely suit my needs. You could accomplish the same (tediously) by dropping frames.

The variable speed might be weird with the clock there slowing down and speeding up - or it might be cool. Once around the clock (12 hrs) in 1-second of real time might be a good pace to try for steady speed version, but experiment. I like the idea of the clock, but on a fermentation time-scale, you almost need a calendar rather than a clock. Maybe mark off days on a calendar so the video can go much faster?

A much lighter beer with a light background so you could see better. Especially if you don't care much for the final product, light it accordingly to make sure you can see into the beer well.

Closeups of:
vigurous churning in the middle
yeast at the bottom moving around
krausen doing its thing
airlock
For closeups, you can vary their speed to suit the action - editing them each at their own speed together will still flow well. Getting the natural speed of each individual shot/view just right is the most important part in general.

With video software, putting a 'close up' version in the corner while still showing the overall shot to bring in the close-up shots.

Overall super-fast start to finish to emphasize clear - to - cloudy - to - foaming - to clear transition.

Regarding your desire to temp-control. You could use a clear aquarium to submerge in water while still filming.

Just some thoughts, let me know if you want help with anything I mentioned.

Aaron

 

[Dog House Brew]

I have found my ferments produce about 6 degrees F, on avg, more than ambient temp.

Thanks for the video

 

[Wortslurpin]

Thanks for the recommendations Aaron I like those ideas. I'll see what I can do for the next recording from your list - good stuff!