Kit & Kilo brewer here, though I tend to modify the kits with DME & better yeasts, I usually get decent results...but this one, not so much.
45L batches, about 12 US gal.
I've brewed with Nottingham before, pitched & fermented at around 63 with good results.
In August I brewed a blond, one I've done successfully a few times. Difference this time is it had been a hot summer week, and the cold water was not so cold - 65 degrees right out of the faucet, vs 45 in the winter months, and usually around 55 in the spring/fall.
So, I cooled my wort (I boil about 20 litres) and added to my cold water (about 25 litres) but the final temp on this warm summers day was still 74 degrees. So I pitched the yeast, and cranked up the AC in my fermenter cabinet - I checked 12 hours later and it was 65 degrees with a krausen starting to form...all good, I thought.
1 week later I tasted the beer from my hydrometer jar
:-( and again a couple weeks after that, during kegging/bottling - and there was still a banana aftertaste. I just tried a bottle again last night, and the aftertaste has faded somewhat, but is still there. I didn't try the kegs yet.
I'm thinking its because I pitched too warm. I've used Nottingham a few times, but always pitched in the 60s.
So, not ramble on any further, I have a question: Should I have waited a few hours for it to cool some more before pitching the yeast ?
I've read in the past that pitching the yeast ASAP is the right thing to do, even if the temp is slightly too warm. and so I've always pitched the yeast right away, but then I usually more or less hit the right temperature.
But I'm wondering if the wort would have been OK to cool some more for a few hours in a freshly sanitized and sealed fermenter before pitching the yeast ?
What do others do if the pitch temp is a little warm ? do you wait, or pitch anyway and cool as best you can ?
45L batches, about 12 US gal.
I've brewed with Nottingham before, pitched & fermented at around 63 with good results.
In August I brewed a blond, one I've done successfully a few times. Difference this time is it had been a hot summer week, and the cold water was not so cold - 65 degrees right out of the faucet, vs 45 in the winter months, and usually around 55 in the spring/fall.
So, I cooled my wort (I boil about 20 litres) and added to my cold water (about 25 litres) but the final temp on this warm summers day was still 74 degrees. So I pitched the yeast, and cranked up the AC in my fermenter cabinet - I checked 12 hours later and it was 65 degrees with a krausen starting to form...all good, I thought.
1 week later I tasted the beer from my hydrometer jar
:-( and again a couple weeks after that, during kegging/bottling - and there was still a banana aftertaste. I just tried a bottle again last night, and the aftertaste has faded somewhat, but is still there. I didn't try the kegs yet.I'm thinking its because I pitched too warm. I've used Nottingham a few times, but always pitched in the 60s.
So, not ramble on any further, I have a question: Should I have waited a few hours for it to cool some more before pitching the yeast ?
I've read in the past that pitching the yeast ASAP is the right thing to do, even if the temp is slightly too warm. and so I've always pitched the yeast right away, but then I usually more or less hit the right temperature.
But I'm wondering if the wort would have been OK to cool some more for a few hours in a freshly sanitized and sealed fermenter before pitching the yeast ?
What do others do if the pitch temp is a little warm ? do you wait, or pitch anyway and cool as best you can ?
