To cold to..

[Porter fan]

ferment an ale @ 58 This is The constant temp of my basement..


The Recipe: Hemp Porter

1# chocolate malt

3\4# roasted malt

1\2# crystal malt 60L

1oz hemp @ 60min to go

1\2 cup bakers chocolate @15 min to go

4# LME

1# DME

1oz northern brewer 13% aa Boil 60 min

1\2oz hallertau 8.6% aa

1\2oz centennial 7.4% aa @ 20Min to go

1\2oz Centennial Finishing 7.4% aa


Coopers English ale yeast started day in advance..


I read Dave Millers book and he suggest 65-68 for an ale.Will the fermentation finish at this temp? I seeped the grain for 30 min @153 and sparged with 170* water.A friend who is an AG brewer did the hemp in a light lager and it had grassy notes and one hellva body buzz .This is why I'm trying it with a darker beer witch is my preference anyway.It is fermenting very slowly it was brewed yesterday the yeast was pitched @ 1:30 pm EST.

 

[david_42]

Cooper's needs 73-77F. Try wrapping the fermenter with an old quilt or putting a cardboard box over it with a very small light (4 watts) in it. My house is about 63F and I wrap the

 

[Porter fan]

I moved it to the kitchen,We do keep our house on the cool side 68 so i wraped with a blanket.Thanks for your reply.

 

[drengel]

i made a hemp pale ale, which i tried to transfer to the 2ndary yesterday. it started at 1.054 and after a week its only around 1.035, ive never had a beer ferment this slowly, but i think the culprit is that my basement temp is dropping, its been around 66 but is now going down to about 63. i swirled the yeast up, aerated the wort and redumped it in expecting that would get it fermenting, but still nothing. maybe its time i used that emergency dry yeast i keep around.

 

[homebrewer_99]

It's slow because of the colder temps.

Be sure you insulate the floor under the primary/secondary.

I place my carboys in milk crates and place several layers of cardboard inside the crates for insulation.

 

[Porter fan]

My other Local HBS(the one i go to all the time is closed today being Sunday) said too just add Lager yeast after the ale is done doing it thing.. won't this add some off flavors?? For one Diacetyl? I got some reading ta do!I will report back.


BTW It's bubbling and forming a nice head of kraeusen..

 

[drengel]

interesting, thanks, i'll try that, i have some crates lying around, and i dont want to have winter slow down my batch a week system. is there anyway to know what temp the wort is at without taking a thermo reading? i dont like to open up my fermenters at all except when necesary, and i dont trust the plastic strip thermometer on the side.

 

[drengel]

not sure why your hbs would say that...maybe someone else knows but that doesnt make any sense to me.

 

[david_42]

I could see using a lager yeast as a finishing yeast, if the basement gets too cold for ale yeasts. There are some nice black lagers out there.

 

[Porter fan]

I could see using a lager yeast as a finishing yeast, if the basement gets too cold for ale yeasts. There are some nice black lagers out there.

I think your onto something,I started to read the latest issue of BYO and fliping thorugh I see a pice on Russian Imperial Stout and he ferments @68 with Wyeast 1028(London ale) or WLP005(British ale)..At the end of this fermention adds Lager yeast to finish out the beer.Hmm I'm thinkin I am going to put it back in the basment and finish this one out with a lager yeast..Drengel ya gonna try it??

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

"The Nottingham strain was selected for its highly flocculant (precipitating) and relatively full attenuation (transforming sugar into alcohol) properties. It produces low concentrations of fruity and estery aromas and has been described as neutral for an ale yeast, allowing the full natural flavor of malt to develop. Good tolerance to low fermentation temperatures, 14°C (57°F), allow this strain to brew lager-style beer. Recommended 14° to 21°C (57° to 70°F) fermentation temperature range."​

The above should work. Just repitch with the above yeast.

 

[drengel]

I think your onto something,I started to read the latest issue of BYO and fliping thorugh I see a pice on Russian Imperial Stout and he ferments @68 with Wyeast 1028(London ale) or WLP005(British ale)..At the end of this fermention adds Lager yeast to finish out the beer.Hmm I'm thinkin I am going to put it back in the basment and finish this one out with a lager yeast..Drengel ya gonna try it??

i think im gonna have to. im gonna recheck the gravity first, but if its still high i have the nottingham yeast in my frig and ill toss that in- cant let 2.5 gallons of pale ale go to waste, especially not one using 'special' hops.

 

[Catfish]

drengel, you're gonna have a real hard time throwing that trub away.
Bet if you dry it out you can re-use it....

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

might want to stick it somewhere warm for the first 24 hours or so if you pitch the nottingham, just to get going nicely first.

 

[drengel]

it turns out it was already down to 1.012, i must have missed something going on, never saw the irlock bubble, but oh well, everythings ok. tastes fantastic and i threw about a 1/4 oz. cascade hops in dry. the taster i took while transferring is probably the best beer ive ever made, and its just into the 2ndary.

 

[Porter fan]

Drenger,

Glad to read your hpa is coming along.I did move my hp back to the basement just checked it and it still bubbling with around 2" of kraeusen...

 

[drengel]

sounds like its doin fine...good luck with the hp.

 

[Porter fan]

I racked the HP to the secondairy, Sample was not too bad nice chocolate flavor with a hint of coffie.The hops seem less than anticipated maybe some dry hopping is in order. Any sugestions?

 

[homebrewer_99]

How about a heating belt for your plastic primary?
WARNING: They are not to be used on glass carboys.

 

[croba50]

it turns out it was already down to 1.012, i must have missed something going on, never saw the irlock bubble, but oh well, everythings ok. tastes fantastic and i threw about a 1/4 oz. cascade hops in dry. the taster i took while transferring is probably the best beer ive ever made, and its just into the 2ndary.

if you did not see bubbling might have a bad air lock or need to be cleaned i had that problem once had a bad o ring leaking out the sides.

 

[Dude]

How about a heating belt for your plastic primary?
WARNING: They are not to be used on glass carboys.

How come Morebeer advertises the Fermwrap on a glass carboy then? Hmmmmmm?

 

[Tony]

drengel, you're gonna have a real hard time throwing that trub away.
Bet if you dry it out you can re-use it....

Definately gonna need a Big Bambu paper for your trub!

 

[homebrewer_99]

How come Morebeer advertises the Fermwrap on a glass carboy then? Hmmmmmm?

That's not the one I was referring to. I have a blue one that says it's not recommended for carboys. I think glass is a better conductor of heat and cold than plastic.

The pic your showing us is great. I'll have to check it out. Thanks.

 

[Porter fan]

No sugestions? come on now!

 

[drengel]

id say if its not hoppy enough then throw some aroma hops in dry--just remember that it wont increase the bitterness at all. also remember that porters aren't supposed to have an overly hoppy profile, so if youre looking for a close to style guidelines porter then it might be fine, of course who cares about guidelines if you like hops.

 

[The Happy Mug]

You could stick it in a tub of warm water, and try to regulate the temperature. I bet an old hot water heater heating element could let you keep an ideal temperature with a bit of modification.