Autumn Seasonal Beer Punkin' Ale

[D_Nyholm]

Took a gravity reading yesterday. It was already down to 1.012. I racked to secondary to try to keep it at 1.012. My batch last year fermented all the way down to 1.008.

My question is, if you are recommending people skip racking to secondary all together, how do you keep the batch from fermenting too low?

Last years batch definitely had some solvent / hot alcohol notes in there...

I racked to secondary and threw both carboys in my ferm chamber, set at 50 deg F to cold crash and cease fermentation. My plan is to let it sit in there for a week or so, then bottle and set on the shelf to condition for a month or so....

If you are trying to stop fermentation, racking to secondary and cold crashing will not do it. When you bottle, you will end up with gushers or even bottle bombs if it isn't complete. You will need to actually kill the yeast if it isn't done.

I would let the batch go until it is done and not take those chances. How long has it been at 1.012? How long has it been in primary for?

 

[peterj]

If you are trying to stop fermentation, racking to secondary and cold crashing will not do it. When you bottle, you will end up with gushers or even bottle bombs if it isn't complete. You will need to actually kill the yeast if it isn't done.

I would let the batch go until it is done and not take those chances. How long has it been at 1.012? How long has it been in primary for?

+1000! You should never stop fermentation early. As long as there are fermentable sugars and yeast in the beer, they will eventually consume all that they can. If that happens in the bottle you will get overcarbonation and possibly bottle bombs.

You need to control attenuation on the front end with mash temp, yeast choice, etc. Then help the yeast attenuate as much as they can.

 

[atimmerman88]

2013 version

Doing well.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Reno_eNVy]

NICE! How old is it at that point?

 

[atimmerman88]

Bottled 9/14 so nearly a year


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[AndMan3030]

If you are trying to stop fermentation, racking to secondary and cold crashing will not do it. When you bottle, you will end up with gushers or even bottle bombs if it isn't complete. You will need to actually kill the yeast if it isn't done.

I would let the batch go until it is done and not take those chances. How long has it been at 1.012? How long has it been in primary for?

I brewed it on 9/23 - 1.064

racked on 9/28 - 1.012

I know if I mashed higher I would see it stopping around 1.014 - 1.016 on its own. My mash was at about 152 on average. I am only trying to avoid this brew drying out. I got a lot of hot alcohol from this one last time when I let it sit in the primary for a month (finished at 1.008).

At this point the fermentation has slowed due to the racking and the cold crashing. I plan on letting it sit in the keezer at 50 deg F for a couple weeks, then bottling.

with it being at 1.012 I am not too worried about bottle bombs. When I prime I will use slightly less priming sugar. I plan to leave these on the shelf for a month or so after priming.

I will post my results.

 

[Bono09]

Transferred my batch to the secondary today. Smells delicious and is a nice darker orange. Very happy with it. Can't wait to bottle then drink. Looks like it'll be just in time for the beginning of Oct.

 

[mkyl428]

I'm making my first batch of this today. A couple questions, I am having a hard entering this time entering this into Brewtarget according to what I get from what I can enter it says this will be cloyingly sweet is that true? My hops are only 4.1aa instead of 4.5 so that will make a bit of difference in my IBUs but IDK what the pie spice brings to the table either.. I have some Target pellets I was thinking about adding maybe .25oz @60min but what do you think? or should I just leave it alone and only use the 2oz of 4.1 Hallertau?

 

[tedcadigan]

Has anyone tried Danstar Windsor with this recipe? I'm getting a FG of 1.009 with US-05 when I plug the recipe into Brewtoad. Have Notty, Windsor, US-05 and White Labs Irish Ale yeasts in inventory right now. Any thoughts/opinions are greatly appreciated.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[waltzbrewingco]

So this is day 7 in the primary and I would say fermentation has stopped. Krausen is mostly gone and there is very little air lock activity. During fermentation I'd say first 4 days temp would fluctuate with ambient temperature between 72-74°. I have the primary sitting fairly close to an air vent in my house so when he AC kicks on its keeping the beer cool. Now that fermentation has stopped the temp has dropped to the 60s. Sitting around 64° right now. Again my wife plays with the thermostat, but its never below 73°. I suppose the question is, dioes the fermentation process produce that much heat? I mean yeast its a living organism using energy and converting sugar into alcohol, all the while growing and eating... is this normal for temp to fall like that? This is my third home brew and I didn't notice this before

 

[madcore]

Day 7? My air lock hasn't had activity since day 3 or 4. But the activity you could hear the air lock thought the freezer going off when it was


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[waltzbrewingco]

Well Ibhadbstrong activity day 2-5. Its very seldom now any air comes through the air lock.

 

[thefolkmetal]

Well Ibhadbstrong activity day 2-5. Its very seldom now any air comes through the air lock.

Have you taken a gravity sample? Airlock activity doesn't matter at this point if you're where you need to be as far as gravity goes.

 

[mkyl428]

Brewed this up yesterday added 5 grams of Target @60min Smelled amazing especially after i added the pie spice! I'm excited for this one.

 

[waltzbrewingco]

Have you taken a gravity sample? Airlock activity doesn't matter at this point if you're where you need to be as far as gravity goes.

Going to take a sample later his week.

 

[waltzbrewingco]

Not sure what my target final gravity should be. And final gravity is before bottling right? Won't gravity change after bottling?

 

[thefolkmetal]

Not sure what my target final gravity should be. And final gravity is before bottling right? Won't gravity change after bottling?

What was your original gravity? If you feel in line with the recipe, as long as you're art or under 1.020 you are in good shape. Your gravity should not continue to drop after you bottle (though it'll change a little, if you consider how you're adding sugar which gets fermented out, but that should be a zero sum game).

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Going to take a sample later his week.

It's always best to let the yeast do their thing. The more you fiddle with it and try to get samples, the higher chance you have of exposing it to oxygen and micro-baddies. For most beers I usually do my first sample after two weeks. But for this beer I just leave it alone for at least two months.

Not sure what my target final gravity should be. And final gravity is before bottling right? Won't gravity change after bottling?

What was your original gravity? If you feel in line with the recipe, as long as you're art or under 1.020 you are in good shape. Your gravity should not continue to drop after you bottle (though it'll change a little, if you consider how you're adding sugar which gets fermented out, but that should be a zero sum game).

Please be careful what advice you post. If you think it should stop at 1.020 and you bottle once it hits that, but still continues lower, you can have bottle bombs.

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS confirm fermentation has stopped before you bottle. As long as your gravity reading one day is the same as it is a few days to a week later then you can go ahead and bottle.

 

[waltzbrewingco]

Good advice. Original gravity was 1.064. I am going to rack to secondary next week. Figure ill take the sample then.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Good advice. Original gravity was 1.064. I am going to rack to secondary next week. Figure ill take the sample then.

Perfect

 

[peterj]

I know if I mashed higher I would see it stopping around 1.014 - 1.016 on its own. My mash was at about 152 on average. I am only trying to avoid this brew drying out. I got a lot of hot alcohol from this one last time when I let it sit in the primary for a month (finished at 1.008).

At this point the fermentation has slowed due to the racking and the cold crashing. I plan on letting it sit in the keezer at 50 deg F for a couple weeks, then bottling.

with it being at 1.012 I am not too worried about bottle bombs. When I prime I will use slightly less priming sugar. I plan to leave these on the shelf for a month or so after priming.

I will post my results.

You say you're going to use less priming sugar, so you're expecting it to drop lower than 1.012 in the bottle. Since the yeast is going to consume all of the fermentable sugars at some point, it's going to end up at the same final gravity whether it happens in the bottle or the fermenter. But if you let it go in the fermenter then you don't have to play a guessing game with carbonation and risk over or under carbonating it. Just because you're putting it into the bottle at 1.012 doesn't mean that is the final gravity if there are fermentable sugars left.

 

[peterj]

During fermentation I'd say first 4 days temp would fluctuate with ambient temperature between 72-74°. I have the primary sitting fairly close to an air vent in my house so when he AC kicks on its keeping the beer cool. Now that fermentation has stopped the temp has dropped to the 60s. Sitting around 64° right now. Again my wife plays with the thermostat, but its never below 73°. I suppose the question is, dioes the fermentation process produce that much heat? I mean yeast its a living organism using energy and converting sugar into alcohol, all the while growing and eating... is this normal for temp to fall like that? This is my third home brew and I didn't notice this before

Fermentation is an exothermic reaction, meaning yes, it generates a good bit of heat. At the height of fermentation the beer can be as much as 8°-10°F warmer than the ambient temperature. 72°-74°F is a bit warm for most ale yeasts and may give you some off flavors. US-05 is fairly forgiving and with the spice flavors in this beer you'll probably be ok, but I would shoot for around 68°F (beer temp) next time.

 

[val214]

Just finished my mash in and it already smells delicious.




Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[thefolkmetal]

Please be careful what advice you post. If you think it should stop at 1.020 and you bottle once it hits that, but still continues lower, you can have bottle bombs.

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS confirm fermentation has stopped before you bottle. As long as your gravity reading one day is the same as it is a few days to a week later then you can go ahead and bottle.

Yeah, I definitely worded that badly. From the sounds of it, he has a stuck or finished fermentation, so I was approaching it from that angle without thinking it through. I'll be more mindful of that in the future!

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Yeah, I definitely worded that badly. From the sounds of it, he has a stuck or finished fermentation, so I was approaching it from that angle without thinking it through. I'll be more mindful of that in the future!

Fair enough. I'm just trying to be cautious. You can never really know the experience level of others.

 

[val214]

Missed my OG by 5 points. Oh well.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Peruvian802]

I overshot my OG on this one again this year. I did a BIAB pour over sparge and just raised my volume a bit but still ended up at 1.070.

 

[madcore]

Yah after chilling I pitched and the wife knocked over my sample sooo I didn't get a OG sweet. . .


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[boicutt]

I look forward to tasting this! Tried steeping a bit less special roast and added some victory to compensate. Hopefully I didnt mess it up. Briess state it can be steeped but I assume I won't get as strong of a biscuit taste as if it was mashed! Thanks for the recipe! Hit 1.069!

View attachment 218242

3 weeks later and a 1.012 FG this tastes amazing. Cant wait to taste this conditionned and carbed!

 

[dsaavedra]

I brewed this today. I brewed a half batch and used 4lbs light DME, and halved the rest of the ingredients. OG was 1.073 and I ended up with about 2.75 gallons in the fermenter, so I think this one will be right on the money if it ferments out as it is supposed to! It smells delicious, like gingerbread. It has a beautiful dark orange hue that really lights up in the sunlight!

Sunlight:

Indoors: