So I've done a few batches now with extract and specialty grain steeping. The question is as I continue the hobby, I want to direct my money towards making the beer better. My basement stays a very stable 69-70 degrees so is fermentation control important or not? I think I should get kegging stuff before going all-grain just for the convenience of it as well as quicker time to drink. I don't really have a big desire to make lagers but if I can then that's a plus I suppose.
making beer better
- Thread starter Fat_Maul
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
Okay, well I guess it would be helpful to know a little more about your setup. What are you brewing with now? What is your capacity? Can do you do full boils?
When the wife started me on this whole journey with a Mr. Beer kit, she also bought a 5g aluminum pot. So once I discovered how much I loved the hobby, I bought a full starter kit from Midwest with the fermenting buckets and all that so I could brew 5 gallon kits. The 5g pot was fine for this since I was only doing partial boils, but I wanted to do more, so I bought a 10g aluminum pot and an outdoor propane burner from Amazon. This allowed me to do full boils, partial mashes, and now all-grain brew in a bag. The 5g pot is still well-used in my brewing process as I put my squeezed grain bag into so I can get a few more cups of sweet sweet wort while I bring the wort to boil.
The next purchase I made was a small refrigerator and a 2 keg setup. It was expensive, but totally worth it. I despised bottling and I love kegging. Transfer the beer after its done fermenting into a keg, connect it to CO2 for a week, and enjoy your beer. I love coming home from a long day at work and pulling a nice draft from my keg fridge.
Next, I made a homemade wort chiller. I bought 25' of copper tubing from Home Depot and wrapped it around a keg and carefully bent the ends to the top. I clamped on some vinyl tubing and bought a garden hose/sink adapter, clamped it all together, and I had an inexpensive way to get 5.5 gallons of hot wort down to pitching temperature in about 15 minutes. I don't know if its improved the beer as much as it has just saved me a lot of time on my brew day and money from having to buy a bunch of ice.
I'd say my best purchase was the 10g pot and propane burner as it really opened up the ability for me to brew almost anything I wanted to for a 5 gallon batch. If you already have that, then temperature control is incredibly important. But, I have a basement like yours. Unless it gets to 100 degrees outside, my basement is always at 68 degrees. I keep a digital thermometer down there which has a high and low memory, with high at 68.6 and low at 68.2. I can live with that much variation, so I invested in a kegging setup and couldn't be happier.
When the wife started me on this whole journey with a Mr. Beer kit, she also bought a 5g aluminum pot. So once I discovered how much I loved the hobby, I bought a full starter kit from Midwest with the fermenting buckets and all that so I could brew 5 gallon kits. The 5g pot was fine for this since I was only doing partial boils, but I wanted to do more, so I bought a 10g aluminum pot and an outdoor propane burner from Amazon. This allowed me to do full boils, partial mashes, and now all-grain brew in a bag. The 5g pot is still well-used in my brewing process as I put my squeezed grain bag into so I can get a few more cups of sweet sweet wort while I bring the wort to boil.
The next purchase I made was a small refrigerator and a 2 keg setup. It was expensive, but totally worth it. I despised bottling and I love kegging. Transfer the beer after its done fermenting into a keg, connect it to CO2 for a week, and enjoy your beer. I love coming home from a long day at work and pulling a nice draft from my keg fridge.
Next, I made a homemade wort chiller. I bought 25' of copper tubing from Home Depot and wrapped it around a keg and carefully bent the ends to the top. I clamped on some vinyl tubing and bought a garden hose/sink adapter, clamped it all together, and I had an inexpensive way to get 5.5 gallons of hot wort down to pitching temperature in about 15 minutes. I don't know if its improved the beer as much as it has just saved me a lot of time on my brew day and money from having to buy a bunch of ice.
I'd say my best purchase was the 10g pot and propane burner as it really opened up the ability for me to brew almost anything I wanted to for a 5 gallon batch. If you already have that, then temperature control is incredibly important. But, I have a basement like yours. Unless it gets to 100 degrees outside, my basement is always at 68 degrees. I keep a digital thermometer down there which has a high and low memory, with high at 68.6 and low at 68.2. I can live with that much variation, so I invested in a kegging setup and couldn't be happier.
nhindian
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2013
- Messages
- 146
- Reaction score
- 5
Just a heads up... While ambient temperature may be in the upper 60s, your fermenting beer will likely be several degrees higher due to the exothermic reactions of the yeast.
It may or may not be a point of consideration to get some kind of controller, especially if temperatures hover around 70 degrees.
It may or may not be a point of consideration to get some kind of controller, especially if temperatures hover around 70 degrees.
Controlling your ferment temps to get them cooler (especially the first 4-5 days) will do more for your beer than any other change at this point. Beer temp (not air) in the 64-65*F range is the sweet spot for most ale yeasts.
69-70*F ambient is giving you ferment temps in the mid-upper 70's when it's at the more active phase. The result is less than ideal tasting home brew.
Unless you're using dry yeast (which gives plenty of cells), you need to begin doing yeast starters.
69-70*F ambient is giving you ferment temps in the mid-upper 70's when it's at the more active phase. The result is less than ideal tasting home brew.
Unless you're using dry yeast (which gives plenty of cells), you need to begin doing yeast starters.
I really second kegging for a few reasons
1."You brew your own beer, thats pretty cool"
"YOU HAVE 4 DIFFERENT HOME BREWED BEERS ON DRAFT?? IN YOUR BASEMENT?? YOU ARE THE COOLEST MAN ALIVE"
2. 10x easier
and most important
3. Beer->mouth much quicker.
1."You brew your own beer, thats pretty cool"
"YOU HAVE 4 DIFFERENT HOME BREWED BEERS ON DRAFT?? IN YOUR BASEMENT?? YOU ARE THE COOLEST MAN ALIVE"
2. 10x easier
and most important
3. Beer->mouth much quicker.
i still haven't started kegging, because each time i have money to put into brewing, i have put it into something that i feel will give me better beer, but not more convenient beer.
so that's why i have a fermentation chamber, a temp controlled freezer, a decent all grain cooler system, and an oxygenation setup, but still don't have a CO2 tank.
so that's why i have a fermentation chamber, a temp controlled freezer, a decent all grain cooler system, and an oxygenation setup, but still don't have a CO2 tank.
Yes, I am looking for quality, not quantity/convenience. I want to nail down the important variables first. When it comes to fermentation control, are we talking chambers and dip tubes? Should that be first? What does the freezer do for you? When you say cooler, do you mean wort chiller?
beergolf
Well-Known Member
The best things you can do for making better beer are pitching the proper amount of healthy yeast and controlling the fermentation temps.
Get a stir plate and learn to make starters. Then figure out a way to control your fermentation temps. It could be as simple as a swamp cooler or as much as a temp controlled ferm chamber.
Going to kegging may be convenient, but it will not make your beer better.
Get a stir plate and learn to make starters. Then figure out a way to control your fermentation temps. It could be as simple as a swamp cooler or as much as a temp controlled ferm chamber.
Going to kegging may be convenient, but it will not make your beer better.
When i said cooler, I was talking about lowering your ferment temp.
For really great ferment temp control, if you have the room for it, take a look at using a fridge or freezer controlled by an STC-1000. It allows you to accurately set the temp you want for the yeast strain being used and to easily change it as the fermentation progresses. It also opens up to wonderful world of lagers.
If you're going to be doing full volume boils, an immersion copper wort chiller is pretty standard equipment. You will need to get your wort down to the right temp before pitching yeast. Generally, that means low 60s for ales, mid 40s for lagers.
Hang Glider
Beer Drinker
Temp control = VERY important. I've registered 10F above ambient myself, I've read posts of more. If the yeast wants to be in 62-70F, that doesn't mean ambient, that means where the yeast actually live.
The DIY forum has lots of great Fermentation chamber builds, if you're into DIY.
A tub of water, with a Wally World indoor/outdoor thermometer (remote sensor would hang in the water) will let you know how you're doing. Keep some frozen water bottles near by and learn to regulate the temp to 65-ish - easy and cheap.
Easier (in the end, but more work up front) a refrigerator dedicated to fermentation control, with a Johnson, STC-1000, Ranco, or Love (Dwyer instruments) controller will get you fancy, care-free and accurate.
Of all the things I've done over the years, temp control was the one that had the MOST influence on the quality of the finished product.
WELCOME to HBT and your new hobby!
The DIY forum has lots of great Fermentation chamber builds, if you're into DIY.
A tub of water, with a Wally World indoor/outdoor thermometer (remote sensor would hang in the water) will let you know how you're doing. Keep some frozen water bottles near by and learn to regulate the temp to 65-ish - easy and cheap.
Easier (in the end, but more work up front) a refrigerator dedicated to fermentation control, with a Johnson, STC-1000, Ranco, or Love (Dwyer instruments) controller will get you fancy, care-free and accurate.
Of all the things I've done over the years, temp control was the one that had the MOST influence on the quality of the finished product.
WELCOME to HBT and your new hobby!
Similar threads
