Great beer for brewing during the summer?

[Donutz]

I have brewed 3 IPA's and 2 pale ales thus far. The last IPA I brewed was a bit tricky due to the warm temps and having to keep the fermenter chilled all the time... Very Difficult when you work 12 - 14 hours a day! That being said, What is a good style of beer to brew that would ferment in a 70+ temperature range? I was told by someone a while back that a saison is great to brew during the summer... but I'm not sure that I like saison's. I just haven't had any that I've liked thus far.

My typical beer styles that I do enjoy are Pale Ales, Porters, Stouts, IPA's, hefeweizen's....

 

[elkshadow]

If you have no temp control, my advice is brew whatever you want to brew and pitch Wyeast 3711 into it and let it get as hot as it can. It's a French Saison yeast but I have brewed lots of non-Belgian non-Saison beers with it and they were all amazing. I made a beer that had an English Barleywine grain bill, an American IPA hop schedule and 3711 and it was one of the best beers I've ever had. It will take any grain bill down to 1.003 or lower and the hotter it gets the better. High OG is nothing for this yeast. It will chew 1.070 into 8.8%ABV. I've gone as high as 12.9%ABV with it. Sometimes I think it was originally a wine yeast.

A lot of Belgian yeasts have high temp tolerance. Experiment with them. 3711 is a monster.

 

[pdxal]

Saison yeasts and some of the more high temperature tolerant Belgian yeasts are your only options if you want a well made beer fermented in the 70's or warmer. 3522, for example, works up to 76 easily and can ferment fairly cleanly with mild "Belgian" spicy/fruity character if you pitch a large amount of healthy yeast and oxygenate.

 

[giraffe]

Also, the aussie ale yeast wlp009/ coopers yeast is still pretty pleasant in the high 70s. It just tends to be mildly bready/fruity. If you can find it, as it is a seasonal. But it can make a drinkable version of most english and american styles.

 

[Vaureywwc]

If you have no temp control, my advice is brew whatever you want to brew and pitch Wyeast 3711 into it and let it get as hot as it can. It's a French Saison yeast but I have brewed lots of non-Belgian non-Saison beers with it and they were all amazing. I made a beer that had an English Barleywine grain bill, an American IPA hop schedule and 3711 and it was one of the best beers I've ever had. It will take any grain bill down to 1.003 or lower and the hotter it gets the better. High OG is nothing for this yeast. It will chew 1.070 into 8.8%ABV. I've gone as high as 12.9%ABV with it. Sometimes I think it was originally a wine yeast.

A lot of Belgian yeasts have high temp tolerance. Experiment with them. 3711 is a monster.

This. I agree with, I brew based on how I feel. Not the temperature. I drink Porters and Stouts all year long in the Deserts of Eastern OR. So of course I'll brew the darkest substance on earth, even if it's 115 degrees out!

Just get the right yeast, and your good to go. I'm personally brewing a partial-grain hoppiweizen with left over mats!

 

[Talgrath]

To add to what others said, Danstar Belle Saison functions at 65F and above, so it will take whatever heat you throw at it.

 

[motleybrew]

I'm doing my first saison with 3711 and I just took a sample....very tasty with all of that Belgian flavor you expect. It's been fermenting at a steady 73 in my basement. I'd be curious what it would add to a different style beer.

 

[user 30639]

You can always do a swamp cooler. Put the carboy in a cooler, cover with a t-shirt, and put some water in. Add cold packs if needed. I live in Texas and SWMBO refuses to keep the apartment at 60 degrees, so I have to make do.

 

[HCbrewing]

Never done one, but a Berliner Weisse is a perfect summer beer and from the research I have done you don't need much cooling during fermentation so it is another nice choice for people without temperature control capability.

 

[grathan]

hefeweizen is good at 70's.

 

[kingwood-kid]

APA/IPAs with Saison yeast (or American-hopped Saisons if you prefer) are good. Another option is WY1318, an English yeast that can handle 75 degrees or so. It's extremely fruity, and not very attenuative, but would work fine for the styles you mentioned, except hefe. As pdxal sad 3522 is Belgian, but not overly so. In any case, with a swamp cooler, you can bring down your temps to more managable levels. Even if you don't use ice bottles, the swamp cooler will let you ferment at room temps and not five degrees above.

 

[Spelaeus]

The temperature is exactly what led me to planning a 100% brett beer. Even our basement is hovering between 70 and 73 depending on the outside temp, but Brettanomyces bruxellensis Trois (WLP644) is listed as having an optimum temperature range of 70F-85F. Perfect.

 

[campbelldm1]

Never done one, but a Berliner Weisse is a perfect summer beer and from the research I have done you don't need much cooling during fermentation so it is another nice choice for people without temperature control capability.

Just kegged one of these Friday afternoon. Used white labs English ale yeast after a 48 hour sour mash. No temp control and it turned out very tasty.


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[Donutz]

Thanks for all of the great replies!!! Just for S#its and giggles, I think I'm gonna brew my stone ruination clone again and use the Saison 3711 yeast to see how it does! Even if it does come out slightly fruity, I think it will be alright.
Heck, the last batch of this I did I used Safale 05 and it went up to almost 76 degrees one day which really scared me that I would have ruined the beer. Supposidly, this could cause some ester's. My buddy was drinking it and said this is the best beer I have ever had... He claimed it was a little sweeter than the rest but not so sweet it ruined it... SOOO, perhaps I lucked out! But I would prefer to not make a good beer by luck!