How critical is fermentation temp?

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Thirsty
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How critical is fermentation temp?

Post by Thirsty » Fri Apr 14, 2017 10:05 am

Putting in a batch using London classic esb which calls for teams in the 18-22 range. Monitoring my brew space for a few days it looks like I can only maintain 16.5-17 naturally. Wondering How critical is this temp range before I look into ways of heating the fermenter ?

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Jimmy
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Re: How critical is fermentation temp?

Post by Jimmy » Fri Apr 14, 2017 10:08 am

I haven't used that yeast so not familiar with the optimal temp for that particular strain.

With that being said, you'll be better off at the 16.5-17 room temp. The fermentation process will actually increase the temperature of the wort during active fermentation - so you'll likely end up in that 18-22 degree range!

I'd avoid heating the fermenter if it were me.

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amartin
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How critical is fermentation temp?

Post by amartin » Fri Apr 14, 2017 8:03 pm

Yeah, I wouldn't heat it either.


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oceanic_brew
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Re: How critical is fermentation temp?

Post by oceanic_brew » Sat Apr 15, 2017 9:58 pm

In my experience the best luck I've had brewing with that yeast is using the fullers fermentation schedule.

I start off at 62, it free rises to 68 and then when fermentation is almost complete I drop it back to 62, the yeast flocs out and I'm in the keg in less than 10 days with a delicious English flavor. If I let it free rise and then let the beer completely clean up after itself I'm not as happy with the results.

You obviously can't have that amount of control in your situation but I think you'll be able to come close, leave it on the cold floor if you can, rouse the fermentor often once you start to see signs of it losing its vigor and then just leave it for 3-4 days after that. If the sample looks clear and tastes decent then you're golden. If you want you can leave the beer on the yeast and it will clean up or you can capture some of the esters by locking in the flavor by cold crashing and kegging/bottling.


Good luck

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Re: How critical is fermentation temp?

Post by oceanic_brew » Sat Apr 15, 2017 10:04 pm

I should mention (even though you didn't ask) that people have problems with stalling with this yeast, traditionally some styles were brewed with crystal Malts and also table sugar, the table sugar helped with fermentation, and the crystal malts helped to retain body and sweetness.

I use both in my dark milds, and I believe the table sugar helps with getting the attenuation I want since I forcible chill the beer from 68 to 62 before fermentation is complete, something that most Brewers are taught not to do with this yeast... or any yeast.

It's a balancing act

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Re: How critical is fermentation temp?

Post by Thirsty » Sun Apr 16, 2017 8:37 pm

Thanks for the info. Fermenter temp has been staying about 2 degrees warmer than the room temperature of about 17 so seems fine but it is slowing down now after about 60 hours and cooling down. Planning to transfer to secondart tomorrow and let it sit till it mostly clears.

Agree on this yeast not finishing well. Previously kits finishes around 1.020 after about 3 weeks in primary. Started at 1.053. That batch was cloudy as hell and was basically gone by the time it cleared in the keg so going to transfer to glass secondary this time so I can keep an eye on it. Might get it good and cold for a few days before keg this time too. Never messed with gelatin and stuff before.

This is a festi brew esb kit with dry hops BTW and the yeast came with the kit so not much to it.

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Jimmy
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Re: How critical is fermentation temp?

Post by Jimmy » Sun Apr 16, 2017 9:01 pm

Way too early to transfer to a secondary, and no need to transfer to a secondary at all. Also, a secondary won't help with the final clarity of the beer.

You could hook the heat belt up at this point, and it may help the beer finish if that yeast is known to stall out.

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Re: How critical is fermentation temp?

Post by Thirsty » Mon Apr 17, 2017 9:39 am

Hehehe...so much (conflicting) advice :) I'm happy to have it though and will experiment more in the future.

This being my 3rd kit after not brewing for 20 years, I am following the instructions of the store owner and the printed instructions included in the kit by festibrew. I tried skipping secondary with the last one based on reading forums and wasn't happy with the result so I figured I better just RTFM :)

There's so many variables even with a simple kit that you are left wondering why when things don't turn out

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Re: How critical is fermentation temp?

Post by chalmers » Mon Apr 17, 2017 10:09 am

The kit instructions are based on a fear of the dead yeast imparting some off-flavours, but at the vessel size and fermentation duration of many homebrewers, that is unnecessarily cautious. Better to reduce the number of transfers and exposure to air to keep things from getting infected or oxidized.

I would say that secondary fermentation can help with clarity, depending on how you are doing things now, but agree that you can get a clear beer from solely primary fermentation. Keep your racking cane a few inches above the trub as you move the beer, and it should be fine. Chilling the fermenter overnight before transfer (crash cooling) also helps to settle lots of particulates.

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