Newbie Temperature Question????

[jazzbass]

Thanks in advance for all the information. I've been lurking for a while
getting ready for this first BREW!

I plan on my first brew tomorrow. Spent tonite boiling water getting equipment in place etc.. Boy you sure can get thirsty doing all this stuff!!

Question is this. My basement holds a steady 60 degrees.

With an old slop sink, a blanket and a combination of low wattage bulbs
I can easily maintain 60 degrees doing nothing, 62, 65, or 68 with different
low wattage bulbs.

I plan on doing a Killians Clone red ale.

Is 60 degrees a little low? Wait and see what happens, or bump the temp
up to whatever you guy's recommend.

Thanks,

Larry

 

[Brewsmith]

68 would be good, if you can keep it constant. If not bring it inside and put it in the closet.

 

[david_42]

Check the yeast, but most ale yeasts work best at 70. You will also get some heat generated by the yeast at the beginning. I'd start with the 68 degree bulb and check it after 12 hours. Remember, you want the temperature a little high while the yeast are in the growth phase (pre-bubbling).

I love basements, but about 8 months out of the year it would be a swimming pool out here. A very cold swimming pool!

 

[jazzbass]

WOW, instant responses. I like that.

I'll add the little heat. Reading the books and recipe sheet are kind of broad.

I thought the extra 8 degrees would be helpfull initially.

I'll let you know as I progress..

Thanks

 

[rewster451]

I think in the 68-70 range, for most ale yeasts, but anything constant is good. You especially don't want to go too high.

 

[2pugbrews]

I had the same problem. Low temperature basement, heat with wood so temp goes way down upstairs at night. Had an old fashioned washtub, wrapped some foam padding around it, set my fermenter in, filled with water. I use 2 aquarium heaters mounted in two boards fixed to edge. I am able to maintain a precise temperature with this setup. I tested the setup for several days to arrive at the right setting to keep the temperature before I did my boil.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Nottingham dry yeast (Danstar) can work at temps between 57 and 70F.
http://consumer.lallemand.com/danstar-lalvin/nottingham.html

 

[Beer Snob]

White Lab Liquid says to be in the 70 - 75 range. The temp reads on my fermenttor like around 67ish at night and is around 70 - 72ish during the day depening on whats gong on in the kitchen.

 

[El Pistolero]

White Lab Liquid says to be in the 70 - 75 range. The temp reads on my fermenttor like around 67ish at night and is around 70 - 72ish during the day depening on whats gong on in the kitchen.

That depends on the strain...from the White Labs site, the optimal temps for most of their ale yeasts are in the 65-70 range. The labels do read that you want to pitch at 70-75, and leave it there until active fermentation starts, but then you want to move them to someplace closer to the ideal temps.

 

[usmcruz]

WOW, instant responses. I like that.

I'll add the little heat. Reading the books and recipe sheet are kind of broad.

I thought the extra 8 degrees would be helpfull initially.

I'll let you know as I progress..

Thanks

Just food for though because you already started fermenting. Buy a liquid kolsch strain and wait until fermentation starts actively and then go and place the fermenter in you spot. 60 degrees is no problem because optimum fermentation temp is about 54 to 64 degrees.

 

[jazzbass]

First brew day went very well. I put the primary in the wash tub at 4pm
at 70 deg. Have a hose going to a blow off bucket with sanitizer.

Midnite she started bubbling away. A few questions??

Anything to watch for a key time to transfer to secondary or is 72 hrs
a good rule of thumb.

While boiling the wort it appeared the bittering hops kept boiling out sticking
to the sides of the boiling kettle. Do you guys keep stirring them back in
or have they done there job at that point?

Do you squeeze out your steeping socks or just let them naturally drain.
Didn't know if squeezing out might introduce some negative charecteristic
or add more flavor.

When moving to secondary should I maintain the 70 deg or let it finish
off at the 60 degrees in my basement.

Thanks and Happy New Year to everyone,

Larry

 

[El Pistolero]

Anything to watch for a key time to transfer to secondary or is 72 hrs
a good rule of thumb.

If you want a rule of thumb, use 1 week...otherwise wait until the bubbles have slowed to < 1 per minute, the krauzen has fallen, and the SG has quit dropping.

While boiling the wort it appeared the bittering hops kept boiling out sticking
to the sides of the boiling kettle. Do you guys keep stirring them back in
or have they done there job at that point?

I personally like to keep stirring them back in.

Do you squeeze out your steeping socks or just let them naturally drain.
Didn't know if squeezing out might introduce some negative charecteristic
or add more flavor.

I used to squeeze every drop out of the hops, and out of the grains after steeping. I'm now convinced that is probably a bad idea, tho if you've been keeping things properly cleaned and sanitized I doubt it will be a problem...never has for me.

When moving to secondary should I maintain the 70 deg or let it finish
off at the 60 degrees in my basement.

The cooler temp will certainly help with the clarity, tho you want to make sure that your fermentation is completely done in the primary first.

 

[Sasquatch]

My beers ferment happily at 60 degrees.... My understanding of yeast is that each generation functions best in the environment it is born in... so most strains of yeast will just acclimatize to slightly warmer or cooler temperatures (though off-flavours become in issue at some temp). I've used the nottingham dry and it works really well. Coopers dry seems to be the fastest to ferment and drop. Brewing cooler seems to me that you just need an extra day or so to finish the fermentation.

I am in the habit of piching yeast with the wort at about 30 C (...85 F) and letting things slowly cool off. It seems to give the yeast a nice place to start.

 

[The Happy Mug]

At 60F, you can lager with White Labs San Fransisco lager yeast. My buddy made a beautiful bock with this strain.

 

[jazzbass]

I've been thinking about that. Thanks for the confirmation on the Lager.

I think I might do another ale or two first to get some stock built up.

Still have 2 to 3 months here in Northern Ohio were that 60 degree temp
won't be a problem. Since I just started home brewing, I might even be able
to get by in the summer. I never monitored the basement temp that close.

What is the warmest consistant temperature you guys would recommend
brewing Lagers?

Summertime on the deck, around the swimming pool and working in the
garden really has a tendency to increase consumption!

 

[usmcruz]

I've been thinking about that. Thanks for the confirmation on the Lager.

I think I might do another ale or two first to get some stock built up.

Still have 2 to 3 months here in Northern Ohio were that 60 degree temp
won't be a problem. Since I just started home brewing, I might even be able
to get by in the summer. I never monitored the basement temp that close.

What is the warmest consistant temperature you guys would recommend
brewing Lagers?

Summertime on the deck, around the swimming pool and working in the
garden really has a tendency to increase consumption!

55 degrees is the highest otherwise off flavors will result