jsharp4684
Novice
I'm gearing up to do my third batch; a Brewer's Best Holiday Ale kit. My first two (Oatmeal Stout and Mango Saison) were done by just following the kit directions and putting the fermentation buckets in a sink in my basement. The stout has come along quite well. It's quite drinkable, but has an off flavor I can't place (taking it to the next local home brew club meeting for some more experienced opinions). So I'm graduating to temperature control with the use of a fermentation chamber in an effort to improve my quality.
In the process of preparing for this step, I started looking into exactly what temp I should be targeting during fermentation. So I looked at the Nottingham Ale yeast information online. Now the mystery of the temperature is kinda solved, the yeast prefers 57F to 70F. Then I saw the statement "Quick start to fermentation, which can be completed in 4 days above 17°C." Does that mean, if I ferment at anything above 63F, it'll be done in 4 days? Or does that mean it's "done" in 4 days, and I should really let it sit for another 17 days? Will the yeast be done cleaning up after itself?
Basically, I'm trying to figure out: how accurate is the info from the yeast manufacturer? Is it something I should stick close to? Or is it more of a loose guideline.
My thought was to set the fermentation chamber to 64F, with the probe in a thermowell down in the wort. I'm just trying to avoid off flavors that I might get by bottling too early, but I'd prefer to bottle sooner rather than later. So if I don't have to wait three weeks to do that, then great!
Thanks in advance
In the process of preparing for this step, I started looking into exactly what temp I should be targeting during fermentation. So I looked at the Nottingham Ale yeast information online. Now the mystery of the temperature is kinda solved, the yeast prefers 57F to 70F. Then I saw the statement "Quick start to fermentation, which can be completed in 4 days above 17°C." Does that mean, if I ferment at anything above 63F, it'll be done in 4 days? Or does that mean it's "done" in 4 days, and I should really let it sit for another 17 days? Will the yeast be done cleaning up after itself?
Basically, I'm trying to figure out: how accurate is the info from the yeast manufacturer? Is it something I should stick close to? Or is it more of a loose guideline.
My thought was to set the fermentation chamber to 64F, with the probe in a thermowell down in the wort. I'm just trying to avoid off flavors that I might get by bottling too early, but I'd prefer to bottle sooner rather than later. So if I don't have to wait three weeks to do that, then great!
Thanks in advance