Saint Aardvark
Well-Known Member
Hi everyone -- I did my first brew today after spending the last six months collecting Grolsch bottles and reading lots. (No, I don't obsess...) Things went pretty well, I think -- no boilovers, no obvious contamination (though I'll know for sure in a week or so), and no mess. Woot!
The recipe is for Strathcona Pale Ale, a recipe from my local HBS; I'm using Wyeast 1332 in hopes of getting some nice English Ale aroma -- I have very fond memories of Bass Ale on tap when I lived in England. The OG came out higher than it should have been -- 1.056 or so, instead of 1.046 -- but I'm letting that go.
The one thing I'm wondering about is the temperature of the fermenter. I'm using a plastic bucket as primary, and I'm keeping it in the parking garage of my townhouse, where I have a storage room. The temperature in the room is dead set at 19-20C (66-68F), so I figured that would be perfect for the yeast. What I didn't count on was the rise in temperature in the few hours since pitching: the thermometer on the side of the fermenter says 30C (86F)! And since this is one of those sticky, changes-colour-to-match-the-temp thermometers, it must be right.
I've read -- many times -- the thread about ruining beer, and I've read Revvy's advice about time healing all wounds^Wbeer...so I'm not too worried. I've got a wet t-shirt on the fermenter, and hopefully that'll get the temperature down a bit too.
What I'm wondering is whether I should continue to pay attention to this -- keep wetting the t-shirt, point a fan at it, whatever -- or if I'm worrying too much. Yes, I'm a newbie, so worrying too much is probably gonna happen anyway. Until my home brew is ready, I've got some microbrew stocked up to alleviate the anxiety.
Anyhow...that's it. Thanks for the great advice in all the forums, everyone, and glad to meetcha!
The recipe is for Strathcona Pale Ale, a recipe from my local HBS; I'm using Wyeast 1332 in hopes of getting some nice English Ale aroma -- I have very fond memories of Bass Ale on tap when I lived in England. The OG came out higher than it should have been -- 1.056 or so, instead of 1.046 -- but I'm letting that go.
The one thing I'm wondering about is the temperature of the fermenter. I'm using a plastic bucket as primary, and I'm keeping it in the parking garage of my townhouse, where I have a storage room. The temperature in the room is dead set at 19-20C (66-68F), so I figured that would be perfect for the yeast. What I didn't count on was the rise in temperature in the few hours since pitching: the thermometer on the side of the fermenter says 30C (86F)! And since this is one of those sticky, changes-colour-to-match-the-temp thermometers, it must be right.
I've read -- many times -- the thread about ruining beer, and I've read Revvy's advice about time healing all wounds^Wbeer...so I'm not too worried. I've got a wet t-shirt on the fermenter, and hopefully that'll get the temperature down a bit too.
What I'm wondering is whether I should continue to pay attention to this -- keep wetting the t-shirt, point a fan at it, whatever -- or if I'm worrying too much. Yes, I'm a newbie, so worrying too much is probably gonna happen anyway. Until my home brew is ready, I've got some microbrew stocked up to alleviate the anxiety.
Anyhow...that's it. Thanks for the great advice in all the forums, everyone, and glad to meetcha!