Summer beers

[brewhaha_rva]

I started brewing last fall and love it. I've probably brewed 15, 5-gallon batches at this point. Most have turned out really well (minus the hefe-disaster that I won't talk about here). I've been pumped about that. I've moved on to all-grain brewing from extract, which I've really liked as well.

Partly that's because my basement stays rather cool for nine months out of the year, never creeping above 72. But Richmond summers are coming and I don't want to stop brewing. Any suggestions for styles of beer that can withstand higher temperatures during the summer months? I think the basement will probably get into the low 80s in the afternoons, though that's just a guess and it probably will stay well below that most of the time.

Thanks in advance!

 

[TheJasonT]

Saisons and some Belgians like the high 70's and low 80's.

 

[Cider123]

I have a petite siason in the fermenter right now. They ferment well in the 70's to 80's range. The petite version has a lower abv than its regular siason beers, and light for the summer. A French lawnmower beer.

Opps, Jason beat me to it

 

[RM-MN]

Your basement is going to be too warm for most ale yeasts as they like to throw off flavors and make fusel alcohol when fermented too warm.....so make a simple cooler and keep brewing what you like. A big tub of water to limit the temperature swings and absorb the heat of fermentation and some plastic bottles of water frozen that you can add from time to time to keep the temperature down. Insulating outside the tub will help too. You only need to control that temp for the first 3 to 5 days as the ferment is going strong. Once it slows you can let the beer warm up and it will be fine.

 

[beergolf]

Saisons and some Belgians like the high 70's and low 80's.

Saisons work at those temps. 3711 is a good choice, 3724 is a little more difficult to work with, but gives great flavor. The new dry Belle Saison is a very good choice. The guy at my LHBS did a batch to try to push the limits to see what would happen. He pitched at 100 and kept it there. I tasted some last week and there was no trace of fusels. I use Belle Saison in th70's-80's and it works great. It seems to be a very good, versatile yeast.

Be careful about fermenting Belgians at those temps. It keeps getting thrown out there that Belgian yeasts like it hot. This is not totally true. They create fusels when started out too hot too fast. Belgian yeast like to be pitched cooler and held there for a few days, the. they like the warmer temps to finish up. You need a way to control temp for the first few days. A simple swamp cooler will work. The volume of water will help stabilize e temp and you can keep it cool for the first few days by simply adding some frozen water bottles.

When I first started brewing I took the advice that a lot of people put out there that Belgians like it hot. i did a BDSA and put it in a room that was 75 degrees. the brew got hotter than that. That brew had very hot fusels that never really went away. I will never do at again.

 

[brewhaha_rva]

I have to say, I love how knowledgeable and responsive people are on this forum. I was thinking about using the Belle Saison. I think I'm going with 9 lbs of Pilsner, 1 lb of Wheat and .5 lbs of Vienna. Mash temp 154, 90 min boil, 1 oz at 60 min of Styrian Goldings and 1 oz of Tettnanger at 15 mins. Belle Saison yeast. I'll let ya'll know how she turns out.

 

[beergolf]

I have to say, I love how knowledgeable and responsive people are on this forum. I was thinking about using the Belle Saison. I think I'm going with 9 lbs of Pilsner, 1 lb of Wheat and .5 lbs of Vienna. Mash temp 154, 90 min boil, 1 oz at 60 min of Styrian Goldings and 1 oz of Tettnanger at 15 mins. Belle Saison yeast. I'll let ya'll know how she turns out.

Mash a little lower for a Saison so it will dry out. I usually do 148-150.

Recipe looks good. You will like that yeast. It is rapidly becoming one of my go to yeasts.

 

[Cyclman]

Dubbels can ferment high, and I think they're awesome with foods grilled in the summer.

A keg bucket with frozen water bottles is cheap and easy to ferment at cooler temps, if you can replace the bottles daily. I've even fermented lagers this way, with the SWMBOs help when I'm at work.