Fermenting Question!

[Inthreadwetrust]

Hey everyone,

I brewed an IPA and a Pilsner yesterday. I have them both in my basement, not on the concrete floor, but I'm wondering if I should have them on my first floor or second floor (as they are a bit warmer then the basement)? I checked this morning (only about 12 hours after throwing in the yeast) and didn't see any bubbling or burping. Could be because it's too cold in my basement? Is it possible to move it to my warmer floors? Also is there anything I need to do other then just move it to a warmer spot in the house? Or is my brew ruined...? This is only the third/fourth time I've brewed so everything is still new to me!

Cheers!
- Shane

 

[Hopper5000]

Do you know how cold your basement is? Pilsners need to ferment around 50 degrees and ale strains such as your IPA need to ferment in the 60's.

 

[Inthreadwetrust]

Do you know how cold your basement is? Pilsners need to ferment around 50 degrees and ale strains such as your IPA need to ferment in the 60's.

I measured it at 60 degrees last night and this morning. So that seems to be fine for the IPA, but will the pilsner need to be somewhere colder? Or will 60 pretty much work for the Pilsner?

Thanks!!!

 

[Thakaz]

The Pilser needs to be cooler. The fermenting liquid will be slightly warmer than ambient temps too, all that yeast activity can drive temps up another 5-10 degrees. All yeast strains have an optimal temp range specific to that strain.

Grab a bunch of liquid crystal thermometers for the outside of your fermenters. They're dirt cheap and will give you a pretty close reading of the temp inside your fermenter.

 

[JustLooking]

It really depends on the yeast. Some beginner kits use ale yeast but call the beer a lager such as a Pilsner. If it's a kit, who made it and what yeast did they use?

 

[Hopper5000]

Yeah should be fine for the IPA. The better question that JustLooking asked is what kind of yeast is in these brews?

 

[BigFloyd]

It really depends on the yeast. Some beginner kits use ale yeast but call the beer a lager such as a Pilsner. If it's a kit, who made it and what yeast did they use?

This^^^^^^. There's no way anyone can tell you with any degree of accuracy whether or not either of them are OK at those temps without knowing what yeast is being used in each batch.

 

[bramptonbrewer]

I brewed a muntons ipa in my basement, which is at 68 degrees. And it went from an og of 1046 to fg of 1008 in 5 days and just had a taste of it even though it has only been in the bottle 4 days, it's not carbonated yet but it tastes great.