Recommended styles which can ferment out at 70-75* temps.

[bigken462]

Hey guys, not exactly sure if I should post this here or the chit chat forum, but here goes. Mods, if you stumble across this and it need to be moved, please do so since i'm not exactly sure where it fits best.

My fermentor chamber/freezer will be tied up from now to the end of May. I just put in 10 gallons Thursday and those will be in there for a while fermenting out - at least a 3-4 weeks. Because I will need this freezer to chill down beverages for a crawfish boil in late May, I won't be able to start any new brew sessions after these are done which will require lower than normal room fermenting temps till the first week of June. :-(

I was wondering what types of recipes/styles of beer that use yeast that would be able to ferment out at average household temps, or a little higher during the early summer months? I keep my house AC set on 70 or so, but during the day, it might get a lil warmer pushing 75.

I don't really want to go back to having to fool with swamp coolers, wet towels and fans etc and the added stress of ruining my beer because of increased temps. All the reason I purchased my freezer for. Lol.

Not being able to brew for 6 weeks is going to suck. What's my options to feed the brewing addiction till I can get my freezer back in service for brewing.

 

[MedicMang]

Saison would be lovely at that temp. You could even go higher into the 80's with a saison yeast. Sours also prefer the warmth if you dare.


Sent from Cheese Doodle Land.

 

[CA_Mouse]

Farmhouse Ales and Belgian Ales do well in the 70's. Belgian Golden Strong is one of my favorites when I don't have temp controlled environments to ferment in.

 

[pegasus_brew]

I'm more or less in the same boat right now with a lager in my ferm. chamber. I brewed a Saison with WLP670 Sunday. I figured it should do well with an ambient temp in the house is around 62. I let it go at ambient for a couple of days and then wrapped it with blankets to bring the temperature up.

 

[motorneuron]

Without getting too technical or anything, there are plenty of less crazy cooling methods you can use (e.g. carboy in bucket of water or ice, no need for a fan; carboy on porch; carboy next to open window; etc.) that will help shave a few degrees off. But I am assuming you don't want to do any of that at all.

There is a range of Belgian styles that could work if you cool your wort adequately pre-pitch--say, 62F--and then let the metabolism shoot the temperature up. Some of the trappist breweries start out lower and let their temperature free rise. You will definitely get a lot of yeast taste; you would run the risk of getting off notes like phenols, and definitely a lot of ester production. Those are more extreme in a high-gravity beer, so I might recommend making a moderate-gravity Belgian, e.g. a Belgian pale or lower-gravity dubbel. You don't just have to make saison, though you could.

There are also plenty of English yeasts and beers that could work in the low 70s. Pretty much any moderate-gravity English style could work. A mild would be fine with a lot of yeast character, for example, or a bitter.

 

[bigken462]

Thanks guys,

I think I'm going to do a Wisconsin Belgian Red. I'll have to wait and see what the yeast is that is recommended for that recipe. I have a great HBS that has everything I need on hand and a ton of stock to choose from, but they really lack on having a informative website which makes doing research a bit difficult.

Never the less, my next two will be the Belgian Red and I think I'm going to take a stab at BM Centennial Blond.

I really regret not buying a bigger freezer now. Grrrr

 

[beergolf]

Saisons are good for that temp. They are the only yeast that you can just let it rise as fast as you want.

Often the advice to brew Belgians is thrown out here. That advice sometimes is not correct. If you start out at that temp the heat from fermentation can take it into the 80's. Too hot, too fast and you will get fusels. Belgian yeast need temp control for the first few days, then they can be ramped up.

 

[stbnj]

I have had success with bry97 and an ambient temp of 74 for a non Belgium option.