Hello - I just did my first partial grain with a cascade pale ale kit from Midwest. Everything went well, I was pretty close to the target OG, but for some reason the bucket it's fermenting in is running a little hotter than usual. It's at around 85F, which is weird because I have done a couple other batches before this and they had no problem getting down to room temp, which is around 75F. The other buckets are cool to the touch, this one's a little warm. Is the fermentation causing it to heat up? I'm not worried because it's (obviously) fermenting strong, bubbling away quite happily. Might contribute some off flavors though going so hot or oxidation? Thanks in advance.
hot ferment?
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ChshreCat
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You could get some odd esters or fusel alcohols in it from the hot ferment. If I were you, I'd get that into a cooler or tub, fill it partway up with water and add some ice to get the temp down. Might be a little late now though.
Fermentation is an exothermic reaction. Meaning that it generates it's own heat so the fermenter will be warmer than the outside air.
It's fermenting strongly because of the higher temp.
Fermentation is an exothermic reaction. Meaning that it generates it's own heat so the fermenter will be warmer than the outside air.
It's fermenting strongly because of the higher temp.
woollybugger2
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+1 on the swamp bucket
Or do what I did - trust some SOB that tells you the fridge he's selling for $10 works great. Go shove it into your piece of crap station wagon (just barely fit). Plug it in a couple months later planning on using it as a fermentation chamber. Realize it doesn't work.
Two 2 liter ice bottles keep her 'round 60* though with an ambient temperature of 75-80. I wish the fridge WORKED because then I wouldn't have to mess with ice bottles - but crap happens.
All that to say: swamp bucket works for a while, but if you have room - pick up a dead fridge and swap in ice bottles once a day.
Two 2 liter ice bottles keep her 'round 60* though with an ambient temperature of 75-80. I wish the fridge WORKED because then I wouldn't have to mess with ice bottles - but crap happens.
All that to say: swamp bucket works for a while, but if you have room - pick up a dead fridge and swap in ice bottles once a day.
Cool it down. Depending on your yeast strain it could be ok or it could turn out like crap. I made a beer that tasted like bubble gum flavored acetone from fermenting too hot. I've also used yeasts which tasted fine at 85F. It all depends on your yeast strain. Keep a log, of the temperature and the yeast so you'll know next time, if you need to panic at 85F or have a home brew.
For what it's worth, it's Munton's active dry brewer's yeast. The standard type that comes with a lot of the Midwest kits. I have no idea what fusel alcohols or esters are. It turns out that the AC wasn't working properly for some reason...my apartment blows. I actually have a mini fridge that I'm going to turn into a kegerator later on when I get the $ for the equipment. But currently it can't fit a fermenter...I'd have to strip it out completely to do that.
Anyway, thanks for the responses. I'll see how it turns out.
Anyway, thanks for the responses. I'll see how it turns out.
ChshreCat
Well-Known Member
Just throw it in a tub of ice water and you'll get by.
Esters are byproducts of the fermentation products that can give you odd flavors. Bananna. Bubble gum. Pepper. Spice. They can be good in some beers, but are wrong in most others.
Fusel alcohols are types of alcohol that can give you a hot alcohol flavor. Nail polish remover taste. That sort of thing. Not what you want in your beer.
Esters are byproducts of the fermentation products that can give you odd flavors. Bananna. Bubble gum. Pepper. Spice. They can be good in some beers, but are wrong in most others.
Fusel alcohols are types of alcohol that can give you a hot alcohol flavor. Nail polish remover taste. That sort of thing. Not what you want in your beer.
I'm assuming that's the same yeast used in Munton's pre-hopped kit. I put this yeast through some serious abuse when I was a beginner. Looking at my notes, my second batch of beer fermented at 28C (82F). I also had believed that the fermentation stuck. So I placed the fermentor on a heating pad to try to get it going again. I'm not sure how hot it got then. The beer actually ended up pretty good. It had some off flavors, but they dissipated pretty quick during conditioning.
So learn from my mistake, try to get your temp down. But it doesn't sound like you have much to worry about. The yeast strain is pretty forgiving from my experience. The beer may not be award winning, but probably wont be ruined.
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