Fermentation with Omega Hothead Ale and Wyeast 1318 London Ale III

[thehaze]

Hi there,

I am planning on brewing a hybrid sorts of beer, where I would like to blend Hothead and 1318 together and ferment warmer, like 25°C / 77 °F.

The grain bill would be:

4000 gr Pale 2-Row (60.4%) / 8.8 lb
1000 gr Flaked Oats (15.1%) / 2.2 lb
875 gr Flaked Barley (13.2%) / 1.9 lb
500 gr Flaked Wheat (7.5%) / 1.1 lb
250 gr Golden Naked Oats (3.8%) / 0.5 lb

Hops: Azacca, Denali, Citra, Mosaic and El Dorado.

Would it be possible to achieve a drinkable beer? Would 1318 get mad at those temps and produce (too) much off-flavours?

Thanks in advance.

 

[thehaze]

No one has any input? I think I will make beer, but I am bit concerned about fermenting 1318 hotter than Wyeast recommends. I do not mind the fruittiness, but I would mind off flavours. Hothead can ferment high at 95 F, which is awesome.

 

[govner1]

I'd think that primary fermenting temps above 68°-70°, particularly early on, would give you some significant off flavors.
If you were going for a Belgian style and using the appropriate yeast those temps wouldn't be a problem.

 

[thehaze]

I'd think that primary fermenting temps above 68°-70°, particularly early on, would give you some significant off flavors.
If you were going for a Belgian style and using the appropriate yeast those temps wouldn't be a problem.

So if I would be able to ferment cool the first 5 days, it would be OK, to go higher afterwards?

I suppose I could do that.

 

[Dcpcooks]

What are you shooting for with that yeast profile? I'm confused as to why you want to mix a yeast that's best at low temps with one that works great at higher temps?

 

[thehaze]

Trying to see if I could get a fruitty ( weirder ) profile out of the mix.

I can see the " problem " of doing so, but I thought it would be doable, if the Wyeast does not give too much off flavours.

 

[ProblemChild]

My general guess is that you would come up with an unreliable result. How well is each yeast working each batch?

all guesses here, but I feel the thought process has some merit anyway. If the hothead is fine at 68°F and the 1318 is fine there too, which one is doing the work? Hothead may be less active than 1318 at say 77°F, so 1318 is doing all of the work and throwing flavors left and right. You may get lucky, you may ruin a batch.

I am looking at all of the flaked grist and the hops and thinking to myself - Why not just do a Brett IPA? Higher temps and fruity flavors? THere you go...

Granted you will have to drink it in a month or so - but hey, why brew beer if you are not going to drink it???

 

[govner1]

So if I would be able to ferment cool the first 5 days, it would be OK, to go higher afterwards?



I suppose I could do that.

Yes. If you're goal is a "normal" beer & you're not looking for some other outcome I'd keep it at 66°-68° for at least 5-6 days. If you can manage more, even better. 7-10 days primary would be ideal.

 

[drewmarkwith]

Be prepared for some banana off flavors if you go too high with 1318. The one time I let 1318 go above 70 for an IPA in first 48 hours, it threw off a subtle but persistent banana flavor that carried over to the keg. The temp strip on better bottle was 76

 

[thehaze]

Be prepared for some banana off flavors if you go too high with 1318. The one time I let 1318 go above 70 for an IPA in first 48 hours, it threw off a subtle but persistent banana flavor that carried over to the keg. The temp strip on better bottle was 76

Do you still get the fruitty esters over 74 F? Or is it simply just banana and taht's it?

 

[drewmarkwith]

Still get pleasant fruity esters. I have had good results fermenting 68-70 first 3 days but this was the one time the temp got away from me when it shot up to 76 on temp strip so who knows how high the actual wort was. By no means was it a banana bomb though

 

[thehaze]

The final grain bill will be:

4000 gr Pale 2-Row (64%)
1000 gr Flaked Oats (16%)
500 gr Flaked Barley (8%)
500 gr Flaked Wheat (8%)
250 gr Golden Naked Oats (4%)

Hops: Azacca, Denali, Citra, Mosaic and El Dorado.

I will only use Wyeast 1318 and ferment it around 20 C/69 F.