If there are off flavors from the temp it might pay off to let it sit in primary for at least a week. You can age it in the bottle but it isn't as uniform and can take longer. Getting a bottling wand and bucket can make the whole process easier. When you do bottle you need to leave some head room in the bottle. A wand gives the proper amount of space when it is removed from the bottle. Congrats on your first batch as well.
newbie, first time brewing !
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stratslinger
Well-Known Member
OK, please don't take this wrong, because this might come across harsh. But trust me, it's tough love, brother!
This, as you've pointed out, is your first beer. You're getting advice from experienced brewers, and dismissing it awfully fast. Stop doing that!
Yes, your beer fermented warm, and the primary phase of fermentation (the process by which the yeast converts sugars into alcohols) happened pretty fast. But that also means that the yeast were stressed and threw a lot of extra byproducts, which is exactly why you want to leave that beer on that yeast cake a little longer - to allow the yeast to clean up after themselves. This is the conditioning phase of fermentation, and your beer will be better if you allow it time for that phase to happen.
As for your other question about what temperature to ferment at - that depends entirely on what strain of yeast you're using. I'm not sure about cooper's yeast, but most other yeast manufacturers print on their labels the ideal temperature ranges for the strain of yeast. Usually, if you ferment on the low end of the range you'll get a cleaner (no off-flavors) fermentation, while on the higher end you'll start to get some esters (different yeast throw different esters - some fruity, some clovey, some funky). In general, you want to keep a fermenter at that target temperature - if all you can control are the ambient temperatures, then you want to keep the ambient temps 5-10 degrees lower than the desired fermentation temp, since the fermentation will be 5-10 degrees warmer than the ambient temp around the fermenter.
Generally speaking, ale yeasts are happy in the low to mid 60's (though some go considerably warmer and a rare few a little lower) and lager yeasts are happy in the low 50's.
stratslinger said:OK, please don't take this wrong, because this might come across harsh. But trust me, it's tough love, brother!
This, as you've pointed out, is your first beer. You're getting advice from experienced brewers, and dismissing it awfully fast. Stop doing that!
Yes, your beer fermented warm, and the primary phase of fermentation (the process by which the yeast converts sugars into alcohols) happened pretty fast. But that also means that the yeast were stressed and threw a lot of extra byproducts, which is exactly why you want to leave that beer on that yeast cake a little longer - to allow the yeast to clean up after themselves. This is the conditioning phase of fermentation, and your beer will be better if you allow it time for that phase to happen.
As for your other question about what temperature to ferment at - that depends entirely on what strain of yeast you're using. I'm not sure about cooper's yeast, but most other yeast manufacturers print on their labels the ideal temperature ranges for the strain of yeast. Usually, if you ferment on the low end of the range you'll get a cleaner (no off-flavors) fermentation, while on the higher end you'll start to get some esters (different yeast throw different esters - some fruity, some clovey, some funky). In general, you want to keep a fermenter at that target temperature - if all you can control are the ambient temperatures, then you want to keep the ambient temps 5-10 degrees lower than the desired fermentation temp, since the fermentation will be 5-10 degrees warmer than the ambient temp around the fermenter.
Generally speaking, ale yeasts are happy in the low to mid 60's (though some go considerably warmer and a rare few a little lower) and lager yeasts are happy in the low 50's.
+1 I liked every bit of that
OP
OP
shanek17
Well-Known Member
OK, please don't take this wrong, because this might come across harsh. But trust me, it's tough love, brother!
This, as you've pointed out, is your first beer. You're getting advice from experienced brewers, and dismissing it awfully fast. Stop doing that!
Yes, your beer fermented warm, and the primary phase of fermentation (the process by which the yeast converts sugars into alcohols) happened pretty fast. But that also means that the yeast were stressed and threw a lot of extra byproducts, which is exactly why you want to leave that beer on that yeast cake a little longer - to allow the yeast to clean up after themselves. This is the conditioning phase of fermentation, and your beer will be better if you allow it time for that phase to happen.
As for your other question about what temperature to ferment at - that depends entirely on what strain of yeast you're using. I'm not sure about cooper's yeast, but most other yeast manufacturers print on their labels the ideal temperature ranges for the strain of yeast. Usually, if you ferment on the low end of the range you'll get a cleaner (no off-flavors) fermentation, while on the higher end you'll start to get some esters (different yeast throw different esters - some fruity, some clovey, some funky). In general, you want to keep a fermenter at that target temperature - if all you can control are the ambient temperatures, then you want to keep the ambient temps 5-10 degrees lower than the desired fermentation temp, since the fermentation will be 5-10 degrees warmer than the ambient temp around the fermenter.
Generally speaking, ale yeasts are happy in the low to mid 60's (though some go considerably warmer and a rare few a little lower) and lager yeasts are happy in the low 50's.
yea I hear yea , I am listening to you all for sure, and appreciate the feedback. Now that you have explained why to leave it sitting for in primary for longer , it makes sense to me... I didnt realize the yeast can actually "clean up" and take care of the mess they make from the high fermentation temperatures. Thanks for pointing that out, sometimes people just tell you what to do in this hobby, but its good to know the reasons why
How long do you think it would take these yeasties to clean up on average? considering they fermented for about 5 days now at 77F.
mike20793
Well-Known Member
I always leave in the primary for at least 3 weeks. My higher gravity beers I leave in for like 4-5 weeks. In my opinion, you don't ever want to go less than 3 weeks, but its all about personal preference and what works best for you. The best part of homebrewing is experimenting, so if you want, give it two weeks and see how you like it. Then brew it again and give it 3 weeks. You may notice a difference, you may not. That's part of the fun.
punkerdru
Well-Known Member
shanek17 said:
This is why they say RDWHAHB (Google it if need be). There is a ton of new stuff you're doing, but for real, brewing beer is easy. You can rack your beer right onto the boiling water if you want, like you said, all of that room temp beer will cool it down real quick. I usually put the water on the stove while I sanitize the bucket. Once it boils I cut the heat and stir in the sugar. Then sterilize some bottles and get the tubing set up. Pitch the still warm/hot sugar water into the bucket and tack the beer in top. It'll be fine!
shanek17 said:
Yeast are living creatures and have their own time tables. If you ask a question like that you are going to get told 3 week to 2 month is what you need. This isn't an exaggeration but it is based on the concept of making the best flavor possible. If you want to take that time then awesome. But since it is your first beer I assume you want to rush the process a bit. If you decide to speed this up then it is necessary to use proper sanitization and pull samples to taste once a week until it tastes ready to you. It will continue to condition in the bottle, albeit more slowly and unevenly. It is just a matter of what works best for you.
OP
OP
shanek17
Well-Known Member
yea you all make good points! its great to have the help otherwise this would be alot more frustrating, thanks to these forums and the general internet info, my wine and beer making has taken off! I actually just made a bottling bucket today, and it worked out alot better than I anticipated. I shot a video to show how I made it and am sharing it so others can get ideas if they decide to make there own.
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