Munich Helles as an Ale

[jasonbwell]

Hey guys,

so the yeast and the instructions that came with my Munich Helles kit said that I can brew it as an Ale. Being that I dont have the means to get it down to the temps neccessary for lagering, I've gone ahead and just followed the instructions. The beer went well thru the first fermentation and I've just moved it to the secondary. My question is this: Should I move the secondary to the coolest area possible? In my house, that would be directly on top of an AC vent, which should help it cool...

any thoughts?

 

[Patirck]

What yeast are you using?

Did you do a D-rest between primary and secondary?

If it is like a lager, you want to keep it at refrigerator temps for a month or more.

 

[boo boo]

Even though this will be an ale, if your fermentation has finished completly, then yes, cool it down low for secondary.

 

[thegerm]

lager (noun): a beer which has been fermented with lager yeast at lager temperatures.
lager (verb): to store and condition a beer at cold temperatures. Lagering can be beneficial to any beer.

So you've got an ale that's finished fermentation and is now ready for the cold conditioning period (lagering). The colder the better, without freezing. If you lager it at serving temps, that's ok too, but colder is better.

 

[944play]

Without lager yeast, it's not a Munich Helles, it's a Blonde Ale.

I think a water bath is better than just sticking the fermenter on an AC vent. You want the beer temp to be steady or rise slowly over the course of the fermentation.

 

[bh10]

Without lager yeast, it's not a Munich Helles, it's a Blonde Ale.

I think a water bath is better than just sticking the fermenter on an AC vent. You want the beer temp to be steady or rise slowly over the course of the fermentation.

Depending on the yeast it could be a Kolsch, too.

 

[ultravista]

I bought a 20th anniversary Munich Helles kit from Austin Home Brew a few months ago.

I plan on fermenting with Pacman @ 60 degrees (f). It should come out OK.

 

[jasonbwell]

I'm not sure what kind of yeast it is. This is only my second brew, it's from a kit and the packet just said "yeast"! Regardless, now I'd like to ask this: I'll be bottling this week, and, since this was fermented warmer like an ale (see the messages in this post), I'm wondering if I should go ahead and refrigerate it right away after bottling or should I store it at room temp. for a while?

 

[Patirck]

If your bottling you need to store it at room temp for at least a few weeks - like 2 or 3 so that you can generate carbonation. You are also supposed to use bottling sugar when you move the beer from your fermenter to your bottling bucket.