My fermentation temps

[mattne421]

ive been fermenting my brews at 68* ambient. ive come to realize that ferment temps and ambient are different. Im curious to weather or not im fermenting too high and im getting off flavors because of it

 

[wildwest450]

It's very possible. Fermenting temps will be in the low to mid 70's, too high imo. One of the single best things you can do to improve beer quality is to control fermentation temps.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

It's very possible. Fermenting temps will be in the low to mid 70's, too high imo. One of the single best things you can do to improve beer quality is to control fermentation temps.

+1000. with most ale strains, you wanna be in the low-mid 60s inside the fermenter, maybe 68-70 at the top end. (some strains prefer warmer temps). this is how i control and maintain temps during fermentation.

 

[Jayhem]

Yep, I made the same mistake when I started brewing. I did not realize how much warmer the beer temp could get during the robust part of fermentation with high krausen! The beer can reach 8-10 degrees warmer than ambient air!

Now I keep ambient at 60 F until the Krausen falls and then move the fermenter into a 65 F ambient room for the rest of the primary fermentation.

 

[malevolent]

ive been fermenting my brews at 68* ambient. ive come to realize that ferment temps and ambient are different. Im curious to weather or not im fermenting too high and im getting off flavors because of it

As others have said, putting your carboy or bucket in 68 degree ambient means somewhere in the low to mid 70s inside the bucket which will produce less desirable tastes during fermentation. If you don't want to invest in a real cooling unit (or a ghetto rigged swampcooler), just set the temp of the least used room in your house/apartment to around 60 degrees and your fermentation should be fine.

 

[mattne421]

what kind of off flavors are associated with higher temps?

 

[wildwest450]

http://***********/stories/techniqu...ke-me-sweat-cool-tips-for-hot-weather-brewing

 

[malevolent]

what kind of off flavors are associated with higher temps?

http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21-2.html

Thats a good place to start. Explains why temp control is so important, and gives great examples of "off" flavors in beers and why they exist

 

[mack65]

I have Fermometers on my carboys, but one thing I've always wondered is: Does the temp displayed by the Fermometer more accurately show the internal temp or outside temp? If it is not an accurate internal temp, then how do you ensure you get an accurate temp?