Questions about fermenting at high temps and others...

[blue27343]

Well, I just put my first batch in the primary the other day and now am doing my first posting. I helped one of my friends bottle and brew once before and had a great time so i thought i would give it a shot myself. First of all, I used a kit for an american wheat that had 2 -3.3lb cans of LME, 1 oz of hops and a Wyeast i cant remember the name of. The guy at my brewshop at home (I am in college and go back and forth every few weeks between school and home) suggested that I use whirfloc tabs to help clear it up, while the guy at the brewshop at school insisted that wheats were supposed to be cloudy and it was a horrible idea to use them. Anyways i ended up using them and was wondering if they would affect the flavor or any other characteristics. Second, unfortunately, the a/c is busted and the brew didnt cool to the suggested max fermentation temp of 75f for about a day, but has since remained there.... read that high temps can add a fruity flavor and create ester(sp) alcohols... any guesses as to how much/ if any this 24 hour period will change my brew? my last question was a rather simple one... I pushed the airlock fully into the bucket (directions said to just insert and fill with water) and in hindsight realized that this might create a thin layer of air on the top of the bucket, because co2 is heavier than air, has anyone heard of this creating problems or had anything go wrong in a similar situation? i would appreciate any help... would put some more details up but i am quite tired and it is 2:30 am....
anyways, cheers.... thanks again -matt

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Word of advice. Break your post into paragraphs. Makes for much easier reading.

Wheats traditionally are cloudy, but I still use whirlfloc (irish moss). It will not effect flavor in any way, Just helps settle the cold break (proteins).

Unless your fermentation started right away (was the airlock bubbling like mad?) then you are probably OK with the temp being a bit high for the first day. If the fermentation was going strong while the wort was that warm you will likely have some esters.

Is this a heffe or an American style wheat beer? What yeast were you using? Was the fermentation going string during that period?

yeast need o2 for the first 24 hours of fermentation so I wouldn't worry about that layer of o2.

 

[david_42]

You'll have to post the yeast you used, simply because yeasts have different working ranges.

 

[blue27343]

It didnt start bubbling until the next day, when temps were around 77 degrees F, and i am still not sure of the yeast type, but it came in a true brew american wheat kit. (i threw out the bag and trash night is on wednesday

thanks for the help

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

You'll probably be ok. Maybe slightly fruity.

Was this a wyeast liquid yeast? or a dry yeast? you mentioned wyeast earlier.

 

[blue27343]

it was a dry yeast...

 

[boo boo]

Actually at the beginning of fermentation is the time to especially have your fermenting temps in check as that's when respiring yeast produces fusels and esters.

 

[BarleyWater]

The guy at my brewshop at home (I am in college and go back and forth every few weeks between school and home) suggested that I use whirfloc tabs to help clear it up, while the guy at the brewshop at school insisted that wheats were supposed to be cloudy and it was a horrible idea to use them. Anyways i ended up using them and was wondering if they would affect the flavor or any other characteristics.

You want the cloudiness from yeast, not proteins which is what wirfloc clears out, you are fine here.

the brew didnt cool to the suggested max fermentation temp of 75f for about a day, but has since remained there.... read that high temps can add a fruity flavor and create ester(sp) alcohols... any guesses as to how much/ if any this 24 hour period will change my brew?

You can pitch the yeast at around 80 or so, and long as fermentation really hadn't kicked in until the next day, you will be fine, otherwise, you will probably still be fine. Esters are the fruity flavor created by high fermentation temperature, fussels are alcohols created by high fermentation temperatures. Wheats generally can tolerate these warmer temps better than most beer styles, but you really want to stay around 70 degrees.

a thin layer of air on the top of the bucket

The yeast uses up the air to aid in reproductiion during the period of time before fermentation really starts (when you see bubbles start cioming through the airlock). Any air that could possibly still be in there will never get down to the wort.
RDWHAHB (relax, don't worry, have a homebrew) once youhave some ready.