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Is that the only rest that you do? That's basically the upper end of Palmer's recommended range, but he does suggest a minimum of six days. Temps at my house can get a bit higher than 70, so I'm sticking with the old chest freezer for now.

I brewed my first Munich Dunkel last Saturday, and it's been fermenting nicely at 50 F since then. I'm planning to increase the temperature today for the maturation phase (following Palmer's instructions in How to Brew), but I'm not exactly certain which temperature I should increase to. In one...

I have the Blichmann plate chiller, but my ground water is so hot (nearly 100 F) that it's basically worthless. Even combining it with a (small) immersion chiller, I struggle to cool the wort down to the high 80s, and even that takes a very long time (30 minutes). Until I figure out some sort...

eric19312: It could very well be a temperature issue. Because I didn't have the probe attached to the fermenter, there's a good chance the actual wort was outside of the desired temperature range. Your explanation of the extra yeast masking some of the effects of the high temperature seems very...

One beer that I've had some issues with is a robust porter (derived from a recipe in Brewing Classic Styles). The first time I brewed it (with liquid yeast), it is magnificent. Since then I've brewed it twice with dry yeast (US-04), and both times it was off. The first time there were clear...

Jim R: Liquid yeast is definitely better, but unfortunately where I live it isn't available. The next time I manage to get some, I should start yeast farming. dmtaylor: If what you're saying is true, then I have no idea what may have been causing my beers to be so inconsistent. I've never had a...

Taping the probe to the side of the fermenter seems to have done the trick. It probably helps that the rest of the freezer is currently stocked with half-liter bottles of saison (as effective as bricks but far tastier).

Thanks all - a lot of excellent information here, though I guess it's not as straightforward as I had thought. RM-NM: I use a chest freezer with an inkbird, though I've been having some problems with temperature fluctuations (I actually started another thread about it). That certainly could...

Thanks, guys. I'll start taping the probe to the side of the fermenter (with insulation) and will get a fan in there. I'll also order a tilt at some point in the not-so-distant future.

Apologies in advance for the painfully basic question, but how many yeast cells are found in a small (11 gram) packet of dry yeast? I'm finding conflicting info - Palmer suggests 100 billion, but BeerSmith says 200 billion. I can't find any information on the Safale website. What I can say is...

The freezer is definitely off. It takes quite a long time (hours) for the temperature to increase enough for it to switch back on, so I'm not concerned about the possibility of burning out the motor. Your explanation of the coils still exchanging heat even after the power switches off makes a...

RM-NM: This is what I thought initially, but I've been having some consistency issues and wondered if at least part of it could be attributed to fluctuating temperatures. I plan to buy a tilt in the near future, which should allow me to find out for certain. AAAV8R: That looks like a very...

Thanks, RPh. I have a limited number of kegs so I wouldn't be able to spund every beer, but it's certainly worth experimenting with. ike8228: That is a very interesting setup. I guess I would be concerned about the balloon bursting from too much CO2 - are you able to release excess pressure, too?

Thanks, guys. Excellent advice. Adding a couple of buckets of water also sounds like a great way to buffer the temperature swings a bit. I have it set at 1 degree, so I'm not really sure what's going on. I'll try the tips above and hopefully it will fix it.

I just have it dangling in the corner, just above the floor. Obviously your method would give a more accurate reading of the beer temp - I'll give it a try. Thanks!

I'm currently using a chest freezer attached to an Inkbird device to control my fermentation temperature. The problem is that I'm getting pretty large temperature swings. If I have it set at 68 F, when the freezer kicks on it will cool the ambient air in the freezer all the way down to 60, then...

Very interesting. I obviously have much to learn. Thanks.

How exactly could cold crashing lead to oxidation? I always cold crash - I thought it was standard practice.

Thanks, RPh. I definitely haven't been allowing it to settle, so that's a pretty obvious fix right there. Will also look into other kettle fining options (like whirlfloc).

Thanks, Vikeman. I do use a strainer like that - I just wondered if something a bit finer was appropriate. I'll experiment with the brew bag but it's good to know there's nothing abnormal about how I'm currently doing things.