What yeasts like higher (ie, summer) temperatures?

[Surfrider]

I'd like to brew up a couple more batches, but unfortunately I live in an un-air-conditioned house, and I don't possess the finances to modify an old refrigerator as I have seen some others do. If I'm going to brew anything this summer, it's going to have to like higher temps (in the 75° range), and be tolerant of fluctuations in said temperature.

Suggestions?

I figured I should ask for some guidance here because, even though I'm a newbie, I AM aware that some yeasts throw off some funky flavors when fermented at higher-than-preferred temps. I've read also read that in some wheat beers, high fermentation temps can lead to a distinct flavor of bananas (b-a-n-a-n-a-s), which is a complete deal-breaker.

Thanks guys.

 

[humann_brewing]

What is the temp range your house is at?

I think saison would be the highest which is in the 80s but wits will take the 70s with good results too.

 

[ACo]

i would say Safale US-05 is pretty great. Very clean and doesnt make many off flavors.

It's pretty much the same as WLP Cali Ale Yeast.

 

[weirdboy]

Saison, many Belgian styles, Hefeweizen.


However, I live in an unairconditioned house as well and have no trouble controlling fermentation temps. Just stick your fermenter in a tub of water and use bottles of ice to control the temp of the water it's sitting in. By tub, I don't necessarily mean bathtub. My wife would kill me if I used that. I personally reuse the sub-$20 50qt. picnic cooler I got from Target that also doubles as my MLT, but really anything that's wide enough to hold your fermenter plus some extra space for water (and won't leak) will work.

 

[Surfrider]

...Just stick your fermenter in a tub of water and use bottles of ice to control the temp of the water it's sitting in. By tub, I don't necessarily mean bathtub. My wife would kill me if I used that. I personally reuse the sub-$20 50qt. picnic cooler I got from Target that also doubles as my MLT, but really anything that's wide enough to hold your fermenter plus some extra space for water (and won't leak) will work.

If I'm honest with myself, I must admit that I would never keep up with such a system. I need a beer that I can stick in the closet and forget about 'till it's time to rack. It's partially laziness, partially time constraints. Ok, it's mostly laziness.

 

[craven_morhead]

US-05 can handle pretty big temp swings. Otherwise, wheats and saisons. Depending on your locale, a fan + wet t-shirt + tub of water makes an evaporation cooler that will drop your temp by 5-10 degrees without having to swap ice bottles.

 

[humann_brewing]

water/ice baths are great and I have been doing them until I got my fridge going but one thing to keep in mind is that ambient temp or water temp does not equal fermentation temp and this needs to be accounted for.

US-05 says that is has a range of 59-75 but I wouldn't suggest fermenting in a 75* house where the fermentation temp could easily be 85* during vigorous fermentation. I try to shoot for the bottom of the suggested range that way if it is hotter in the carboy, it should still be in the right range.

 

[Surfrider]

Thanks for the tips, everybody. Looks like saison and wit it is (I'll just pray for no bananas).

Although...and I hate to admit this...I've never had a saison before. However, in the interest of fixing this problem, I've printed out the saison list on Beer Advocate and will be taking it to the local "upscale" grocery store (which has an amazingly well-stocked beer section) to find a few beers to sample. Man, do I love research.

 

[weirdboy]

water/ice baths are great and I have been doing them until I got my fridge going but one thing to keep in mind is that ambient temp or water temp does not equal fermentation temp and this needs to be accounted for.

This is not true.

I performed a series of tests with a calibrated aquarium probe thermometer inside my bucket fermenter, and compared by measuring against my thermapen on the outside water. In every case except where I had just added ice to the outside water, the temperatures matched within the thermometer's margin of error. It was consistent over a period of two weeks.

 

[rasherb]

I performed a series of tests with a calibrated aquarium probe thermometer inside my bucket fermenter, and compared by measuring against my thermapen on the outside water. In every case except where I had just added ice to the outside water, the temperatures matched within the thermometer's margin of error. It was consistent over a period of two weeks.

That's awesome. I would have never guessed that to be true. Gotta try this with my glass carboy.

 

[EricCSU]

This is not true.

I performed a series of tests with a calibrated aquarium probe thermometer inside my bucket fermenter, and compared by measuring against my thermapen on the outside water. In every case except where I had just added ice to the outside water, the temperatures matched within the thermometer's margin of error. It was consistent over a period of two weeks.

I have used a carboy thermometer for my ice bottle/water bath fermenter and can keep the temp pretty constant. It is good to know that you have similar results and that it has been reproducible.

Eric

 

[EricCSU]

What is the temp range your house is at?

I think saison would be the highest which is in the 80s but wits will take the 70s with good results too.

Although saison yeast will tolerate the higher temps, I have heard from several experienced homebrewers (including The Jamil Show) that the yeast will do better if started cooler (about 68 degrees) and then slowly (a degree per day) raised to 78-80 to fully attenuate.

If temp control is an issue, you will be probably be better off waiting until the winter months when you can ferment cooler (with little supervision).

Eric

 

[EricCSU]

If I'm honest with myself, I must admit that I would never keep up with such a system. I need a beer that I can stick in the closet and forget about 'till it's time to rack. It's partially laziness, partially time constraints. Ok, it's mostly laziness.

It will take about two minutes to fill the bucket with water and less than a minute each day to check the temp and add an ice bottle. In total, it will take about 1/100th of the time it takes to bottle.

Eric

 

[hal2814]

It will take about two minutes to fill the bucket with water and less than a minute each day to check the temp and add an ice bottle. In total, it will take about 1/100th of the time it takes to bottle.

Eric

I understand where surfrider is coming from. I've been putting off further attempts at making lagers because I don't want a process that requires daily attention. Even if it's only a few minutes daily, I just don't want to deal with it. I have enough things in my life that require daily attention. I like that my current brew process is something I can get around to as I please.

 

[SmugMug]

A large rubber maid container will cost you a whopping $8. You pay for your water on your utility bill, so you can chalk several gallons up as paid for and a couple of 2 liter bottles (used for ice) will cost you a couple of bucks. So for about $10-12, you can set up a decent swamp cooler. Set up your cooler in a dark, cool room (unused closet or spare bathtub) and replace the ice bottles once a day. TaDa! You now have a low cost temperature controlled environment for your beer. Those 2 liter bottles can be washed and sanitized for bottling too!

Don't mean to sound preachy, but it really is an inexpensive way to brew good beer in the summer if you don't have the space or $$ for a spare refrigerator.

 

[duncan36]

If you're lazy do one of the Coopers ale based Extract kits. They are designed to be brewed in Australia where its always hot. So they work fine at 78f or less.

 

[davesrose]

This is not true.

I performed a series of tests with a calibrated aquarium probe thermometer inside my bucket fermenter, and compared by measuring against my thermapen on the outside water. In every case except where I had just added ice to the outside water, the temperatures matched within the thermometer's margin of error. It was consistent over a period of two weeks.

One thing that should be noted is that it depends on the OG, the amount of yeast you have, and how quickly it's taking your beer to attenuate. With my imperial stout that I've just taken out of a water bath, for example, I found that at the height of fermentation....it was still 12 degrees warmer then my water bath. That was with an OG of 1.102, a large starter of Safbrew S-33, and plenty of oxygenation. The most active fermentation was the first 48 hours, then the beer got to be closer in temp with the waterbath afterwards (so the first couple days, I was exchanging several bottles of ice...then I would taper off once active fermentation was slowing). I would expect a much lower OG beer, and less yeast cells, would give you active fermentation temps closer to the waterbath. But if you're really worried about how the temp deferential is between wort and bath....it's best to sanitize a thermometer and actually measure your wort's temp: that's the only way to know for sure. I don't think it's a good idea to generalize as every beer's fermentation is slightly different.

 

[humann_brewing]

Although saison yeast will tolerate the higher temps, I have heard from several experienced homebrewers (including The Jamil Show) that the yeast will do better if started cooler (about 68 degrees) and then slowly (a degree per day) raised to 78-80 to fully attenuate.

If temp control is an issue, you will be probably be better off waiting until the winter months when you can ferment cooler (with little supervision).

Eric

I totally agree with what you are saying, but I think the original post was that 68* was not attainable and was looking for something that will take the heat without much fuss. I am not saying it is ideal but out of all the yeasts it is the best option.

The better option would be to figure out how to cool down the fermentor like with a water bath.