Pitched at 100F...
- Thread starter jbaysurfer
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Crazy.
I'm intrigued by winemaking...but I have a lot more to learn about beer before I start branching out!
I just wanted to report back about this beer.
It turns out that the pitch temperature, HSA and any other questions that this batch brought about were all answered in the RDWHAHB style..it all worked out fine. The beer would actually be my best so far...except for I skunked it.
How you're wondering? Well, my ferm chamber uses a 40W bulb as a heater. I have been meaning to build a little heat sink/shade with a small terricota pot, but I had found it worked just fine as along as I kept my carboys covered. Enter the problem. One day while adding dryhops to the two batches I had in there..I neglected to recover the carboys. A couple hours later I realized..and ran back hoping the light hadn't kicked on yet..but sure enough..it was already on, and I had no idea how long (probably not more then 15 minutes or so..as the chamber doesn't cycle all that often..it's pretty efficient)
So yeah..it got skunked.
To the two people who took me up on my offer and wanted to taste it...I haven't tossed the beer....because it wasn't skunked that badly. It's really only noticeable in the aroma of the beer, and the taste is actually pretty decent. If you really want to taste the skunked beer, I'll still honor my promise..but if you're over it, I don't mind saving the shipping. You can reply here or via PM.
All said and done, apparently, if you pitch at 100F but get your temp under control ASAP, you'll probably be ok.
RDWHAHB ;-)
It turns out that the pitch temperature, HSA and any other questions that this batch brought about were all answered in the RDWHAHB style..it all worked out fine. The beer would actually be my best so far...except for I skunked it.
How you're wondering? Well, my ferm chamber uses a 40W bulb as a heater. I have been meaning to build a little heat sink/shade with a small terricota pot, but I had found it worked just fine as along as I kept my carboys covered. Enter the problem. One day while adding dryhops to the two batches I had in there..I neglected to recover the carboys. A couple hours later I realized..and ran back hoping the light hadn't kicked on yet..but sure enough..it was already on, and I had no idea how long (probably not more then 15 minutes or so..as the chamber doesn't cycle all that often..it's pretty efficient)
So yeah..it got skunked.
To the two people who took me up on my offer and wanted to taste it...I haven't tossed the beer....because it wasn't skunked that badly. It's really only noticeable in the aroma of the beer, and the taste is actually pretty decent. If you really want to taste the skunked beer, I'll still honor my promise..but if you're over it, I don't mind saving the shipping. You can reply here or via PM.
All said and done, apparently, if you pitch at 100F but get your temp under control ASAP, you'll probably be ok.
RDWHAHB ;-)
Remember that sulfur smell you mentioned in post #27. That sulfur compound is present in the odor of a skunk and that might be what you smell. If so it will go away with more time in the bottle.
It's very difficult to skunk your beer with and incandescent light because it takes UV to skunk it and an incandescent has very little of that in its spectrum. Have you ever sat under an incandescent light to get a tan? Not likely because it would take months.
It's very difficult to skunk your beer with and incandescent light because it takes UV to skunk it and an incandescent has very little of that in its spectrum. Have you ever sat under an incandescent light to get a tan? Not likely because it would take months.
Just an update on my All Cascade brew, I kegged it and it has been carbing. I pulled the first pint on Saturday and a few buddies helped me go through most of the keg. Needless to say, it was pretty much amazing. I need to get the stuff to brew this again. The bitterness was perfect me for me. So the 4oz of hops worked well for my taste. However, I may dry hop next time to add a bit more punch in the nose feel from the hops. Other than the slight lack of aroma, the flavor was awesome. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I have mine! It will definitely be a steady brew in my pipeline.
![Craft A Brew - Safale S-04 Dry Yeast - Fermentis - English Ale Dry Yeast - For English and American Ales and Hard Apple Ciders - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [1 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fVGNh6JfL._SL500_.jpg)
Yea, I'm positive that 15 minutes near a 40W incandescent bulb won't be a problem. Not only does an incandescent have very little power at the blue end of the spectrum, but glass (your carboy) naturally filters most of the UV light anyway. So, you'd need a strong source (i.e., sun) AND a lot of time to cause a problem (if the problem is even real - never experienced it myself).
Oh, and I'll pass on the skunky beer. But I bet it gets a lot better if you just leave it alone for a while. Cheers.
Oh, and I'll pass on the skunky beer. But I bet it gets a lot better if you just leave it alone for a while. Cheers.
HopHeadGrady
Well-Known Member
I left my Coopers DIY (clear plastic) fermenter on a basement table with the light coming in through a window for 5 days. Beer tasted great. It wasn't direct sunlight by any means, but it was sunlight. I suspect something else. Put it in a green bottle and it's status quo I guess ... lol
Different situation. My beer is skunked. There's no mistaking that odor. Probably because mine was in a chest freezer with a highly reflective interior finish, and the bulb was inches away from the carboy. I don't know how long the light was on..but the odor is a calling card.
Everything I've read, and experienced tells me it is far easier to skunk beer then you may realize. I'm glad your experience worked out for you.
Also, I'm kind of a beer snob, and I don't dig on sharing beer that I wouldn't drink. I've got a friend who'll take it off my hands, but I didn't get into brewing to drink a bunch of bad beer, so I'll just stoke my less discerning friend out.
Well, I kegged it and will wait it out for exactly this reason. If it doesn't go away I will bro out a friend.
FTR, my nose is pretty good, and the sulphur odor actually abated and was distinctly different then the skunk odor.
3-methylbut-2-ene-1-thiol is the chemical and it's very very close to the exact same chemical skunks use to defend themselves. We have lots of skunks around here so unfortunately I've grown very familiar with it over the years.
So several of you don't think it's skunked. I don't feel like shipping skunky beer, but I guess you'll just have to trust the guy who has smelled and tasted it.
It actually tastes fine..but my wife is my double blind taster--she's fantastic she knows nothing of beer, and has given me "buttered popcorn" (DMS) and "nail polish remover" (to warm in fermentation) without prompting. I never once told her what happened, and before her first sip she said "it reminds me of skunky high school beer that sat in the sun all day".
I appreciate the feedback from everyone and will indeed just leave it in the keg to see if it abates in time. I'm not going to waste more hops dryhopping it though unless I find it's no longer detectable.
It actually tastes fine..but my wife is my double blind taster--she's fantastic she knows nothing of beer, and has given me "buttered popcorn" (DMS) and "nail polish remover" (to warm in fermentation) without prompting. I never once told her what happened, and before her first sip she said "it reminds me of skunky high school beer that sat in the sun all day".
I appreciate the feedback from everyone and will indeed just leave it in the keg to see if it abates in time. I'm not going to waste more hops dryhopping it though unless I find it's no longer detectable.
You're right, if you want to chill it in one pass.
But if you are recirculating it back to the boil kettle, running it full speed is best. This should chill it faster. This is probably better for reducing DMS also.
Awesome. Thanks. I didn't know if recirculating was adviseable or not, but it's nice to know its MORE adviseable then slowing the rate.
FWIW, I did a Pliny AG clone yesterday, and thank God I didn't try and run it through the plate chiller...I'd have never gotten it clean. There was so much trub in the bottom of the brew kettle that it clogged my hop screen, my strainer, my bigger strainer (with courser openings) and even the entire opening of my ball valve.
I basically was reduced to taking the wort, 2 cups at a time, pouring it through two different strainers, cleaning out the 1st of the two strainers of the trub, and repeating. Ironically, I used a coil chiller and chilled it very quickly only to experience a solid hour of trying to seperate it from the trub and get a somewhat clean(er) wort into the fermentor. There will be no yeast harvesting/washing from this batch..but I already scooped some off the top so I'm good.
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