a warm dark place...

[bearsbrew]

i have been keeping my primary and then my secondary on top of our fridge in order to keep it between 70-72 degrees. My wife has been poking her nose into my brewing book and says that i should have the glass carboy in a darker place. It gets no direct sunlight but is subject to light from the window and the kitchen lights at night. Should this cause me any problems? Do i need to find a warmer place for my fermentors? Thanks for the feedback.

 

[boo boo]

Having sunlight directed onto your fermenter can cause yuor beer to be skunked due to the uv rays reacting with the hop resins in your brew. Keep a tee-shirt or (like I use) a black plastic trash bag over it to sheild it from the light.
BTW, you can ferment at a lower temperture, say around 64f if you wish. I bet your fermenting temps are higher than 70 72f.

 

[ScoutMan]

I just think it's cool that your SWMBO has some intrest in your brewing. The only thing I ever hear is "That stuff stinks", when Im boiling a new batch and "Get your crap out of the kitchen, I gotta make supper"

 

[homebrewer_99]

Put a black sweat shirt over it...

 

[twocylndr]

I use black garbage bag to cover my secondary. I don't worry about the primary, it's a white bucket.
I'd be more concerned about the fermenting temp over 70. I brew mostly ales; I keep them 66-68.

 

[Bugeaterbrewing]

During the initial part of active fermentation, the temperature of the fermenting wort can easily be 7-10° warmer than the temperature in the room. If you let the temperature of that wort get warmer than 74-75° you run the risk of producing fusel alcohols (the "jet fuel" taste) and fruity flavors (generally "green apple").

The suggested temperature ranges on the yeast packages are there because they contain an insufficient yeast cell count to properly ferment a 5 gallon batch of beer. A relatively high fermentation temperature will ensure a quick start even when you don't use a starter. However, such temperatures are not normally good for good tasting beer.

I try to ferment most of my ales at a wort temperature of about 65°, generally with an ambient temperature of around 60° until fermentation dies down. Then I will raise ambient temperature to around 64°. As a rule of thumb, ferment at or below the minimum recommended temperature.

Fermentation will be a bit slower at these temperatures, but it will produce better tasting beer. Also you need to have a proper starter volume to be able to pull this off. For most average gravity worts (1.050 range), you need the slurry from a 2 quart starter. It takes about 23-36 hours for a package of liquid yeast to ferment out this size of starter. In the process it will more than double the amount of yeast cells. This will give you a quick start and complete fermentation without unwanted esters and fusel alcohols.

For everything you ever wanted to know about yeast and starters, including a handy calculator to determine just how big a starter you need, check out www.mrmalty.com.

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company