Should the temp be this touchy?

[Aaronh2500]

I boiled a Brewer's Best kit (American Nut Brown Ale) last saturday. I added two 6g packets of Munton's yeast. I noticed that it started working within 4 or 5 hours. I am keeping it in a dark room of the house that stays about 65-67F. I use a brew belt at night to keep the temp from getting too low. The belt has taken it all the way up to 73F and when I have it off it can get down to 66F.

Ok I will get to the point. It really took off and was bubbling like crazy for the first 48 hours and stayed right around 70F. Today (wednesday, which is the 4th day) I got home from work and the temp had dropped to 67F and the bubbling was sitting idle like it was done. So I put the band back on to see what it would do and within 4.5 hours, the temp came back up to 72F and the bubbler was sitting up again. I have not checked the SG yet, I didn't want to get in a hurry because I had planned on checking after 5 days to make sure I got the same reading 3 days in a row before moving to the secondary.

But should this small amount of temperature change be making this much of a difference?

 

[JonK331]

Sounds like it has fermented out. 66 to 73 is a fairly big difference for some yeasts. Careful with the rapid temp changes. You might be better off leaving it at 66.

 

[Fro9000]

Not that I have much experience, but everything I've read suggest that thats a pretty large temperature swing. I second leaving it at 66.

 

[annasdadhockey]

Its probably done. Use your hydrometer to know for sure. Your airlock probably started bubbling when you warmed it up due to off gassing of CO2, not fermentation. Good luck.

 

[BierMuncher]

Any beer that starts off with a bang at 4-5 hours is going to ferment out pretty quickly.

Always try to keep a constant fermentation temperature during the first 36 hours of vigorous activity. I prefer the 66-68 range but in the summer that is difficult. Ramping up the ambient to the 70 degree range the next 48 hours is okay and will insure thorough fermentation without driving high esters.

I'd say let that beer sit at natural temps the next 7-10 days and allow that yeast to clean up after itself. And...get on to your next batch. :rockin:

 

[Aaronh2500]

I have a cream ale sitting here waiting. Should I leave it in the primary for another 7-10 days or can I transfer it to the secondary and let it sit if the SG is right?

 

[david_42]

A 7 degree change doesn't sound like much, but for many yeasts that is half their recommended range. 66F is a good temperature for most yeasts, so you really don't need the belt.

Munton's yeast is very tolerant for temperature changes and has a wide range. The down side is low attenuation in all-malt beers.

 

[Finnagann]

66 is about the perfect temp for ale yeast! Count yourself lucky to have an ambient spot there. Kit instructions will tell you yo use higher temps but they are garbage. Also if you are racking to a secondary you can move it as soon as the Krausen (foam at the top) has fallen into the wort... I try to go by that instead of an arbitrary number of days... SG will give you a good idea as well but I don't like to disturb the krausen if I can help it and as far as I can tell you have to get a constant reading over 2-3 days in order to know its done with your hydrometer? In which case you could be moving it sooner.

 

[jlachesk]

I'm a new brewer (and new poster to HBT), and have been wondering about fermenting temps quite a bit lately as well.

My next batch is going to be a hefe, and I'm shooting for upper 60s fermenting temp.

When it comes to monitoring, how accurate are the external thermometers (the kind that stick onto the fermentor) when using a bucket?

My apartment is usually between 68-72, so temps may get a little high. Any DIY solutions to keeping things cooler? I was thinking a cool water bath if things get too high.

In response to taking measurements and distrurbing krausen, what I've done before is take out a bottle's worth of sample using my thief (after pitching the yeast), kept it at the same conditions as the batch and measured SG from there. Then I'm not as hyper paranoid about contamination, etc. Is this a valid approach, or am I missing something?

 

[Finnagann]

Hmmm, I'm still learning about all of this myself but getting your SG from a side batch sounds like trouble to me. You could try testing that against a reading from the main if you really want to run with it... somehow I doubt they would stay the same but it would be a very interesting experiment

I'm doing a "faux" lager of sorts, ie not keeping it at proper temps. The ambient temp is 14-18 C (57-64 F) so I've got it in a ~12 inch tall rubbermaid (plastic tub) full of water which seems to hold steady between 13 and 15 C (55.5 and 59 F). So it brings the temp down a bit and the larger mass of water keeps things more steady if you don't have a fancy rig like a fridge etc. I'm planning to drop it ~6 C (10 F) using frozen two litre bottles to "lager" it.... we'll see how that works, it might need more attention than I can give it.

Keeping it in a tub is a definate plus though... at the very least it will smooth out temp swings.

 

[jlachesk]

Not to highjack the thread, but I'm planning a brew this weekend, so I'll do some more investigation on whether or not measuring from the "side batch" works. (Unless someone has already done this).

I think I'll go with the water bath even if only for the temperature regulating benefits. Hopefully I'll remember to take some notes during the process and share some results.

 

[elmetal]

why did you put a belt when it was fermenting at 66? I would kill to ferment at 66 room temp. I would have like 10 batches going if I could do that without a fridge/cooler

 

[Grimster]

why did you put a belt when it was fermenting at 66? I would kill to ferment at 66 room temp. I would have like 10 batches going if I could do that without a fridge/cooler

Want to rent some room in my basement? pretty steady 63-65

 

[Aaronh2500]

I used the belt because the kit instructions said to keep it at 68-70. Now I know better.

 

[Finnagann]

Since you are using the kit instructions your ferment times should probably be changed as well. Are you doing primary ferment only or primary and secondary?

If primary only I suggest leaving it for 2-3 weeks. Between that and the lower temp your beer will taste better and should be ready to drink within 1-2 weeks of bottling. Shorter time and higher temps make for more off flavours that need to be conditioned out, or put up with :/

 

[Aaronh2500]

Update.... I checked the SG and it is 1.024 which is a little high compared to what it should be (1.010 - 1.016). I put the lid back on and will let it sit a few more days before I switch to the secondary. When should I think about pitching more yeast?

 

[Finnagann]

Has the krausen fallen back in ?How long has it been in primary?

 

[Aaronh2500]

The krausen has fallen. It has been in the primary for 7 days.

 

[Finnagann]

That does sound high. Did you use all malt in the recipe? Muntons regular yeast has a rep of powering out with all malt (they have a special gold rated one or something for all malt). I had it happen once not too long ago... probably others would know the best course of action better than me.

I decided to play with one a bit as I didn't have much invested and was making a K & B with a Muntons kit I had on hand, and hadn't been to impressed with.

Mine stuck at 1.018 after 7 days in the primary (I was making a lightish beer and only started at 1.038 so I figured it was too high). First I tried stirring... that only brought it down 1 point over 3 days or so. So I tried adding a few hundred grams of honey and bringing the temp up a few degrees C. The honey brought it up 4 points to 1.021 and then it fell to 1.015, sucess!!

But wait... what is that smell?? Bananas!! : /

I proceeded to play with it more (racked and added orange and ginger) but its not done so I don't know if I saved it or not.

At any rate adding honey seemed to help kick the muntons yeast into gear, dex might do it as well. But raising the temp was not such a good idea, I should have known better.

At 1.024 something is probably up and my best guess is the yeast. Anyone else have thoughts?

 

[Aaronh2500]

I checked it again today and it is still sitting @ 1.022. It smells good and tastes good too! Other than not getting all of the alcohol benefits, what problems will I run into if I transfer now and then bottle in a week?

 

[Finnagann]

The FG being high means that it will be sweeter and less alcoholic than intended... if you like the taste than go for it. I would be tempted to leave it to condition in the secondary for 2 weeks or more but, if you're impatient (or running out of beer ) you might want to just leave it where it is for a week.

I've heard that 2 weeks is the minimum effective time for secondary, and that leaving it in primary for 2-4 weeks (if you don't use a secondary) will give the yeast some time to clean up after itself.

Palmer talks about that, and lots of other good stuff, here: http://www.howtobrew.com/

 

[Aaronh2500]

I will leave it in the primary until saturday and then transfer to the secondary for at least 2 weeks.

 

[Finnagann]

Nice, let us know how it turns out.

 

[Aaronh2500]

Well, I left it in the primary for 2 weeks and then transferred it to the secondary for 2 weeks. I checked the FG again just to see if it came down anymore (it didn't). I added the priming sugar and bottled it. I tasted the last bit and it was SUPER sweet. I am a little scared it is going to be too "hot" and will blow the caps off the bottles.

Just for a recap:
SG 1.064
FG 1.022 (should be 12-16)
Added another 6 grams for yeast after 2.5 weeks to start it back up (didn't work)

I am hoping the sweetness goes away during conditioning, I guess we will see.

 

[Finnagann]

The taste will change significantly after it carbs up. Did you taste it with the priming sugar in? I always take a reading and taste before priming... all that unfermented sugar will make a big difference.

What all did you throw in?

 

[Aaronh2500]

I tasted it when I transferred it a couple weeks ago. It tasted real smooth. I guess I didn't think the priming sugar would sweeten it up that much.

I added another 6 grams of Munton's dry yeast a couple of days before I transferred it and the FG didn't change so I transferred to secondary. I was surprised because I actually used 12 grams originally instead of the 6 that the recipe called for.

The only other thing I can think that I did different from the recipe was that I boiled 3 gallons instead of 2. Does anyone think that would have an affect on the FG not getting down properly?