Just throwing this out in case anybody is interested in the brew process details. Made a double batch of British India Pale Ale. The brew cam probably seems a bit silly, but it's actually very useful. I'm able to monitor the brew for boil overs and such, and greatly reduces the amount of time I have to spend babysitting. I definitely need to ceiling mount though. Northwest Brewer Gold LME - 15lbs Citra hops - 2oz - 60min EK Golding hops - 2oz - 10 min Fuggles hops - 2oz - 5 min Coopers dry yeast x4 Starting gravity - 52 11 gallons Total cost: $48.60 Price per 12oz: 41 cents Boil started at 4PM, ingredients laid out... Rolling boil at 51 minutes, sterilizing tools. Had been upstairs eating so it likely had been gotten to a full boil in 40 minutes or so. That induction cooktop is a beast... Getting ready to add, a close-up of the ingredients... Adding the first 9 lbs of pale malt extract... Back to a boil, time to add the Citra hops... 45 minutes have passed, time to add the E.K Golding hops... 5 minutes to go, time for the Fuggles hops... Boil's done, time to add the last 1/2 of malt extract at "knockout", aka when I cut the heat. This reduces the amount of caramelization and keeps the beer lighter in color. Cooling the brew pot in the utility sink. Just filled will tap water and drained 3 times, brought the temp down to about 80 degrees. Took about an hour, I'm debating wort chiller. But the reality is I was in the next room watching the Muppet Movie with the kids, so it's not really cramping my style. Measuring the gravity... ...pitched the yeast and into the fermenters it goes. About 3.5 hours total, and the amount of actual labor was probably more like 45 minutes. Had to rig a blow-off this morning as my airlocks were getting clogged. Smells great in there, won't know how she tastes until the 1st week of December.
Thanks djsoulriot. You and Mattdev helped make it happen! But yeah, the beard is an essential part too.
Agreed, I'd love to! I figure I'm probably 2-3 months away though. I need to get some bottling gear, plus I don't want to embarrass myself. What tastes great to me at this early stage would probably taste like swill to more experienced brewers.
Just wait until you move to AG . I thought that the extract brews I made were amazing until I started AG brewing. The first beer I ever made is still the best I've ever done, though.
So guys, at what temperature do you ferment ales, and what are your favorite yeasts? My furnace room is at 68.5f, and the internal temps of the fermenters is generally in the 70-72f range. Just tossed some Safale 04 in another double batch of IPA, and I'm worried this might be a bit warm for that yeast. Coopers is rated up to 80f, which is what I've been using thus far. Looks like a nice big chest freezer is probably in my immediate future...
MSP- I personally only have experience using White Labs products, but based off them, they typically have brief podcasts that describe the different yeasts they create as well as great product summaries that detail ideal fermentation temperatures and ideal beer styles per yeast. Each yeast is different, but based on style and quantity of yeast being pitched, the ideal temperature range can be quite wide. Living in the desert, half of the year Im fermenting on the warm side, and for the most part I don't have many problems with it, granted you give the yeast time to clean up after itself and ample conditioning time in the refrigerator. Ultimately, I wouldn't fret about yeast fermenting in the 71 range whatsoever.
Yep, it's almost always going to depend on what yeast I'm using as well. Although I typically stick with Wyeast and Fermentis for the most part. I've probably used S-04 and S-05 more than anything else and I really enjoy the flavors of both. I ferment pretty much everything in a chest freezer since our basement is incredibly inconsistent. It keeps the warmer fermenters nice and toasty and the lagers nice and cool. Although I did try to push a quad up to 83f but I could only hit 78. I might try and rig up some sort of heater.
Thanks for the info guys, I'll keep you posted. This will be an interesting experiment with yeast actually, as I have four identical batches except for two I used Cooper's yeast and the other two got Safale 04. Same ingredients, same fermentation conditions, etc.
