Which end of given temperature range is the most ideal?

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GabrielKnight

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If a kit says to ferment the brew between 18 - 25*C, which would be the perfect temperature?
Is it dependent on the type of brew?
 
Generally the lower the temp the better. It's not brew dependent, it's yeast dependent. 25º C is too high for most yeast strains, (you'll get all KINDS of wacky off flavors from stressed yeast) ideally 21º or lower is perfect.
 
Most kits that will tell you this do so that the meagure amount of yeast they supply ( less than 11g ) will stand a chance of actually fermenting out.

Better is to use a fresh pack of yeast at the bottom temperture range of the yeast used to get less esters and toward the top of the range specified for more esters and or fussels.
 
The downside of fermenting at a lower temp is it takes longer. The downside of fermenting at a higher temp is off flavors. I'll take a delay over bad tasting beer every time.

Tom
 
I'm just going to pile on and confirm that lower temp is better. I'm a relative noob with 17 brews behind me, and the best beers I have made were all fermented at 55 degrees Fahrenheit (12.7 Celsius) or lower.
 
Thanks for the replies.

If you were doing a strong beer, like my 12% barley wine? A bit warmer (<>21*C) to make sure it keeps going or still try a bit lower?
 
for big beers, I like to start on the really low end and then let it warm up a bit (though just into, say, the middle range of the temp range given; again, it depends on the specific yeast strain) once fermentation has slowed to help drive the full attenuation and dry the beer out as much as possible
 
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