Temperature of ales/stouts?

[Noz03]

I'm just wondering what are the best temperatures for English Bitter, Newcastle brown ale and stout? I'm buying wilko brewing products if that makes a difference.

Also, how do average temperatures translate into something I can understand from a weather forecast? For example if the average outdoor temperature is 19 | 7 C*, what would that mean in fermentation temps?

 

[sweetcell]

you want to keep your beer at a constant temp, so fermenting outside isn't a good idea. temp swings too much between day and night.

do you have a basement? temps there tend to be cool and consistent.

a good fermentation temp for an english ale is 63-66*F, or 17-19*C. that isn't the same as air temp, since fermentation produces its own heat. part of the art & science of making good beer is to control temps. if you fermentation space is below the optimum range, you need to apply heat (ex: use a brew belt). if you're above, you'll need to cool (ex: use a fridge, or a swamp cooler - search this board for info on the latter, cheap and easy). any such method depends on being able to monitor the temperature of the beer. a simple way of doing this is to affix an "aquarium strip thermometer" (lcd thermometer) to the outside of your fermenter (example).

 

[Noz03]

Hmm, well I am brewing in doors but I don't have any kind of thermometer at all so I'm never really sure what temps I am at. But it still varies from night and day, also I heard when fermenting the temperature of the liquid raises a few degrees... Basically I am trying to figure out how many kits, and what kind of kits I will bring back from the UK with me next week, but the outside temperatures will already be average 17 | 5 (actually could be anything from 22 or down to 0 in the night, i can never know. And they are going up a few points each week. Am so scared to buy 3 40 pint kits and end up not being able to use em or worse wasting them

Btw this is the temperature calender for my area:
http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/LTBJ/2013/4/19/MonthlyHistory.html#calendar

Do you think it would be possible to brew the beers I mentioned at these temps?

 

[HomeBrewerB]

i have a 6.5 food grade fermentation bucket, i'm unsure about my fermentation temp and was wondering how the fermometer works? can it really tell the temp of the inside bucket through the thick plastic.
and to answer that question^^^ there is no way you will be able to ferment at 20*F, the yeast will stop doing its thing
gathering info from around the website ive learned you wana keep it below 70*F and no lower then around 55*F for certain lager beers
perfect temp is 65-68

 

[sweetcell]

Noz03 - you are generally on the warm side, so i would look into cooling. if you can't dedicate a fridge to maintaining temps, then search for "swamp cooler". essentially you're using an ice bath to cool the fermenter. in terms of what styles you can use, belgian beers are typically the most tolerant of warmth but i don't know if your retailer has any such kits. i would avoid english ale yeasts. american ales would fare better. lager yeast should be completely avoided. if you're going to buy these from a store, perhaps ask the salesperson what they would recommend.

HomeBrewerB - those temp strips work a lot better on glass than they do with plastic, but they do work on plastic too. not quite as well, but they do. you have to take their readings with a grain of salt and realize that if the strip is showing warmer than air temps, then it's probably a few degrees more inside.

and to answer that question^^^ there is no way you will be able to ferment at 20*F

Noz03 is in europe, so he's talking celcius... 20*C = 68*F.

 

[cluckk]

I live in South Texas so my temperature is always warmer than I would like. I keep my fermenters in an interior room (we don't have basements here) that keeps a fairly steady ambient temperature. I place my fermenters into a large tub filled with water in which I float frozen water jugs. I change them every eight hours or so. I vary the number of frozen jugs and even supplement with ice packs depending on the temperature I am shooting for.

As for the right temperature to ferment at, look up the stats on the yeast strain you are using. Then either shoot for the lower end if you want a cleaner fermentation or the upper end if you want more esters.

 

[prandlesc]

Hmm, well I am brewing in doors but I don't have any kind of thermometer at all so I'm never really sure what temps I am at.

If you can't feel your fingers and toes indoors because it's too cold, a lager yeast will be happy. If you feel a little cool indoors, then your ale yeast should be happy - but this will be too warm for a lager. If you are comfortably warm, then you need to cool the fermentation of your ale yeast. If you feel a little too warm to hot, you should be brewing a saison or belgian dubbel.

It is important not to have big swings in temperature. A few degrees is OK, but more than that and you need to control it.

 

[Noz03]

As I'm just a little on the warm side, would wrapping the fermentation in a wet towel and keeping it wet be enough? Maybe just stick a frozen water bottle in on the especially hot days. I really dont want to invest any extra money at all as a) im broke, and b) Ill be moving to Germany in August. Also I am ok if my beer is a 8 out of 10 instead of a 9, as long as its still a good British beer, unlike the crap they serve in Turkey.

 

[prandlesc]

As I'm just a little on the warm side, would wrapping the fermentation in a wet towel and keeping it wet be enough? Maybe just stick a frozen water bottle in on the especially hot days. I really dont want to invest any extra money at all as a) im broke, and b) Ill be moving to Germany in August. Also I am ok if my beer is a 8 out of 10 instead of a 9, as long as its still a good British beer, unlike the crap they serve in Turkey.

You may be able to get away with that approach, and I'd say it's worth a try. Here's another relatively low cost option - https://www.cool-brewing.com/ - not free, but not too expensive, easy to take with you to Germany.

 

[acidrain]

I never saw where you listed the actual yeast strain... that's important.
First thing I would do is look up the yeast strain and temp range of that yeast online. There may be some notes that go along with the strain telling you what happens at different temps. Then begin your ferment at the low side of the range.
Once the bubbles start to slow down (assuming you have a well sealed bucket or carboy that doesn't leak Co2) begin to raise the temp a a degree per day until you're at the high side of the range. Let it rest at the high side for at least two weeks.
Temperature control is something that will make your OK beer into great beer. You can do it on the cheap using wet towels/bucket, or even in the bathtub.
Once you get settled in, think about building a fermentation chamber. It will help immensely.

 

[Noz03]

Thats the thing, none of the kits ever mention the yeast strain or the temperature it should be brewed at, I also cant find any info online about the best temps for English bitter or stout. I'm guessing bitter should go well at higher temps though as its such a strong taste already. Not sure about stout though.

 

[Noz03]

Does anyone know where to buy a saison in the UK? Or maybe some other kind of beer that works up to 25*C? I've looked around but no luck

 

[YeastHerder]

Noz - what kind of container are you going to be fermenting in? plastic or glass? I didn't see that information anywhere..

 

[Noz03]

Plan is 1 kit in 3 recycled 10litre water bottles, lots of head space so I wont need a blow off tube.

 

[prandlesc]

I can't help with the kit, but here's an extract recipe. Take the recipe to a homebrew shop, tell them you're new to brewing and I'm certain they'll help you.

1.00 lb Light Dry Extract
6.00 lb Ultralight Liquid Extract
1.75 oz Hallertauer Hops (60 min)
1.00 oz Williamette Hops (60 min)
0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min)
2.25 lb Orange Blossom Honey (substitute any honey if you can't find orange blossom)

1 Pkg Belgian Style Saison Blend Yeast (White Labs #WLP568)


Here's a pretty good step-by-step instruction link to get you started - https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/pictoral-how-brew-extract-kit-202831/


Here's a description of the yeast. If you can't get White Labs, the homebrew shop should be able to help there, too. The key is temperature range up to 26*C in order to accommodate your warm environment. Have fun and let us know how it goes.