New England Temps

[baystatebrew]

Hi,

I'd like to take my second shot at brewing. I successfully brewed my first homebrew about a year and a half ago. I'd like to try again. It's not September 10 and I'm in Massachusetts, about 30 miles west of Boston.

I do not have central A/C. I'd like to brew a pale ale, and I think the ideal temp range is like 60-65 degrees F. My concern is that we may still have a few indian summer days in my area, as New England is known to have well into September if not early to mid October (lived here my whole life and 90 degree F days in late September are not unheard of at all around here).

Any ideas? Should I wait to begin my brew in a few weeks when the weather really starts to cool and I won't have to worry about any really hot days? Or am I good to go now do you think? I've been taking temperature readings around the house today and get about 70 degrees F, which I think is fine. My only concern is those unpredictable indian summer days we might get in mid to late September. Should I just brew it now, put it in a closet, the garage, or basement, and not worry about it? Or wait?

Also, I picked up what I thought was everything for my pale ale recipe. This is a really simple recipe for a new brewer. I got everything but forgot one thing at the home brew shop. The recipe calls for 6 lbs of light English malt extract (I got this), 1 lb light dry malt extract (got this too), and 12 oz crushed amber crystal malt ( I forgot to get this one). Will I be good to go without the 12 oz of crushed amber crystal malt, or is this a critical ingredient?

Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[the_bird]

Meh... basement should be fine. Do a water bath if you want to even out temperature swings even more.

 

[ajf]

I wouldn't like to make the brew without the crystal. The beer will be rather thin tasting. The crystal will give it some body, a bit of color, and a much more interesting flavor.
And fermenting in the basement should be fine. That's what I'm doing at the moment because the freezer is full of carbonating cornies.

-a.

 

[I-Hop]

I live in Revere MA and brew all summer long. I just put the fermentation bucket into a bigger bucket (keg cooler) and fill it with water. On the hotter days, I keep frozen bottles of water handy to dump into the water bath to drop the temps a bit.

Hope this helps.
Keith