Brewhouse kit question: temp of added water?

[Madroaster]

Hi All,

This is my first post here, but not my first time home brewing. I've made a few of the extract kits when I was in university, and some wine then, too, maybe 10 batches total. One went bad, but it was my roommate's fault; he didn't value sanitation and I gave up nagging.

Anyway, my question is about a Brewhouse kit. I've searched (googled this site) and can't find the answer. The kit instructions call for room temperature water to be added. I have a line running off my carbon filter for my espresso machine and I'd like to take it from there. But it's coming from the mains and will be cooler than room temp by a good 10C.

I had planned to use the Cooper's yeast that came with the kit (I want to try an unmodified kit first), and I'll ferment in the basement where ambient temp will hover around 13C. My fear is the cold water will keep the yeast from activating, and at those temps it will already have a hard enough time (though I'll put the fermenter in a big box up off the floor, which should keep it warmer). I can think of three options:

1. Leave the water out upstairs to warm up a bit overnight
2. Pitch at the cooler temp but bring the bucket upstairs until the yeast activates, then back downstairs
3. Just try it with cool water in the basement and see what happens; moving as necessary

Can anyone offer any advice? Brewing upstairs isn't an option at all--it's a very small house and my espresso habit already takes up a lot of real estate. It's a surprisingly small, closetless house.

 

[RCCOLA]

Is this a no boil kit?With ale yeast?
If so you should know that you will always make better beer by boiling the extract for at least 15mins after mixing it w/ as much water as your biggest pot will hold.Then mix with enough water to bring to however much the kit is supposed to make.
When I brewed extract I would get up on brew day and boil 3 gals of water and let it cool for use as my top off water.This insured I would not have any nasties in my beer.
From there after mixing you can adjust your temp. to wherever you need it as you will probably need to let it cool down.
As far as 10C for fermenting ale is concerned--well it's a little on the cool side.Personally I would try to find somewher that is around 17C to ferment it.This will stress the yeast less and produce a better tasting beer and lessen your chances for a stalled fermentation.

 

[McGarnigle]

RCCOLA, this is a wort-in-the-bag kit.

I might try #3. 13C seems a bit low for Cooper's, but a lot of people here like doing ales cool to keep them clean. If it doesn't do much -- and you must be patient; fermentation won't be raucous -- then bring it upstairs. My concern with #2 is that you're changing the wort temp a couple of times early, when the yeast are getting settled.

 

[RCCOLA]

RCCOLA, this is a wort-in-the-bag kit.

QUOTE]
How much wort do they supply in these kits?Haven't yet encountered such an animal.

 

[Madroaster]

I might try #3. 13C seems a bit low for Cooper's, but a lot of people here like doing ales cool to keep them clean. If it doesn't do much -- and you must be patient; fermentation won't be raucous -- then bring it upstairs. My concern with #2 is that you're changing the wort temp a couple of times early, when the yeast are getting settled.

That is what I was thinking too (your concern with #2). I'll try #3 and see how it goes...thanks for the advice.

 

[Madroaster]

RCCOLA, this is a wort-in-the-bag kit.

How much wort do they supply in these kits?Haven't yet encountered such an animal.

The Brewhouse kits have 18L, and the Festa kits have 23. This is my first time with one of these kits, but they've been discussed at length on the forums.

 

[Chips]

I've used both Festa & Brewhouse kits. I prefer the Festa as they're "Dump & go", so perfect for those times in your life where you're just too busy to brew but still want to make homebrew. Also they come with different yeasts for different styles of beer (Brewhouse seem to only come with Cooper's Ale).

When working with the Brewhouse kits, I like to boil the 8L of water first in order to make sure it's sterile and also help drive off any chlorine in the water.

I also brew in my basement where it is very chilly in the winter months (< 10C). I find this to be a little cold for the ale yeast. So if I add the 8L of boiling water to the cool wart, I can usually get the initial temp around 16 or 17 C which seems just fine. From there I'll sometimes use a brewbelt around my primary (no glass!). This seems to keep the primary at the ideal temp and has worked well for me in the past.

 

[Worrak]

I've made a few of these Brewhouse kits. Every time I have added cold tap water directly from the tap into the wort. When it mixes with the room temperature wort it turns out just a few degrees below the temperature recommended in the instructions. I just pitch the yeast in and leave the fermenter upstair where it is warm for the first day then I transfer it to the basement. My basement is between 60F - 65F. Fermentation has turned out fine.

I would recommend using a liquid yeast. These kits turn out so much better with the liquid yeast. Using the generic brewers yeast included in the kit seemed to give every batch an almost similar taste.

 

[Madroaster]

I've made a few of these Brewhouse kits. Every time I have added cold tap water directly from the tap into the wort. When it mixes with the room temperature wort it turns out just a few degrees below the temperature recommended in the instructions. I just pitch the yeast in and leave the fermenter upstair where it is warm for the first day then I transfer it to the basement. My basement is between 60F - 65F. Fermentation has turned out fine.

I filled it with water from the line downstairs; this morning there was little activity at the top so I brought it upstairs. I'll bring it back downstairs in a day; there should be noticeable activity by then. If there isn't, I'll still probably bring it down; odds are it's just fermenting quietly. SG in a week will tell.

I would recommend using a liquid yeast. These kits turn out so much better with the liquid yeast. Using the generic brewers yeast included in the kit seemed to give every batch an almost similar taste.

I wanted to use liquid yeast, but decided to avoid the temptation to modify the kit first time out. I can get liquid yeast locally, so I'll use it in my next batch. I have no doubt it will make a difference, but I want to know how much it makes.

 

[Drew_101]

Watch out for wild fermentation. You may need to put a blow off tube on. Just keep a check on it.