Converting Brewery Temp Info for Homebrew Use

[kdw2pd]

I'm going to be brewing an Arrogant Bastard clone using the CYBI recipe #2 (with suggestions from the rest of the HBT thread) and Wyeast 1217, supposedly Stone's yeast. Statements suggest that Stone ferments at 72F. Obviously, 72F in a 5 gallon bucket isn't the same thing as 72F in a huge conical.

When you're trying to clone a particular beer and have information about the fermentation of that beer, is there a guideline for converting known info about the brewery's temp to homebrew temp to get similar yeast performance? For example, could I just simply subtract a constant (say 7 degrees, making up numbers)?

 

[Pappers_]

I have no idea, but am surprised that Arrogant Bastard would be fermented at that warm a temperature. Am interested in seeing what others have to say.

 

[zach976]

I'm confused about the question. 72F is 72F. The 5 gallons of wort is going to change temperature faster because of the smaller quantity of liquid.

 

[SmokeyMcBong]

what weighs more, a pound of lead or a pound of feathers? lol!

 

[jahdub]

I remember someone from stone saying something about the extreme pressure in their conical fermenters letting them ferment higher than we would, without contributing off flavors.

 

[kdw2pd]

Sorry, folks. After reading responses I realized I was unclear in my question. Reading here suggests that fermenting in huge cylindroconicals suppresses ester formation, from the pressure on the yeast. So pro breweries can ferment warmer without creating esters than a home brewer. So 72F at Stone would be much cleaner than 72F for me.

What I wanted to to know is if there's any consistent way to account for the differences caused by fermenter shape?

 

[cjgenever]

That's right, head pressure reduces ester formation. I have no idea what, if any conversion factor exists. Zainasheff simply states that he adjusts to what he thinks the yeast will work well at. The temp, as always, depends on the yeast strain and what you want from it. Just do what feels right. I would start at 65 for first 48-72 hours and then slowly raise to 70