too hot to brew??

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joe_r_harvie
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too hot to brew??

Post by joe_r_harvie » Sat Aug 03, 2019 7:52 am

Heh, since June 1st I have lost 4 of 11 batches. I had the same problem last summer in the major heat wave we had. I am confident it is the heat as I have little for temperature control and it has been really hot. A couple of the batches were drinkable but had a sour note and the other two were too sour. Struggling to get my boils chilled down to 80 degrees as my well water is warmer too and my fermentation area is 90 degrees plus. It is not my gear or sanitation as this only happens in warm weather and I have replaced everything. Wondering if anyone else is having the same problem and if anyone knows a simple solution. Ice bath? I can't be the only one suffering in this heat!
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Re: too hot to brew??

Post by GAM » Sat Aug 03, 2019 8:29 am

Kevek (SP) yeast. Under pitch and you should get 4+ batches from a vile.

Swampcooler may work for a couple of degrees drop.

Beg, borrow, steel or buy a second fridge.

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Tim Gregory
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Re: too hot to brew??

Post by Tim Gregory » Sat Aug 03, 2019 8:51 am

I don't brew much in the summer but you could Make saison.

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Re: too hot to brew??

Post by McGruff » Sun Aug 04, 2019 8:45 am

Check kijiji for free fridges. I got one and took the inside of the door apart and it fits my 14 gallon conical. A cheap temp controller and you are in business.

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Re: too hot to brew??

Post by joe_r_harvie » Sun Aug 04, 2019 3:18 pm

Thanks, I'll try the swamp cooler and if that doesn't work will look at changing yeasts and or getting a fridge.
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Re: too hot to brew??

Post by BrewG » Mon Aug 12, 2019 7:57 am

I just tried the Kveik yeast. This yeast seams great for summer brewing. Mines still in the fermenter so can say yet. It’s supposed to produce clean beers up to 100°f. Maybe give it a whirl it may be the only way to produce good beer in the summer without some type of fermentation temperature control.


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Re: too hot to brew??

Post by HotBreak » Wed Aug 21, 2019 7:04 am

I have had the same issues with heat this summer in my garage. Averages 21-22 degrees ambient with the occasional spike from putting a car inside or leaving the door open. Had some horrible off flavours that led me to dump a 30 gallon batch.
I just brewed up a batch with Kveik yeast yesterday and am hoping for a nice clean ferment.
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Re: too hot to brew??

Post by PMackie » Wed Aug 21, 2019 8:01 am

I am finding the harder part being cooling wort. The ground water is just so damn warm right now. I took a temp after letting it run for a few minutes and it was still 20 degrees.
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Re: too hot to brew??

Post by Naboo » Wed Aug 21, 2019 11:05 am

PMackie wrote:
Wed Aug 21, 2019 8:01 am
I am finding the harder part being cooling wort. The ground water is just so damn warm right now. I took a temp after letting it run for a few minutes and it was still 20 degrees.
I had the same problem with my last brew. I'm thinking of running the hose through a bucket of ice water prior to the chilling coil for the next batch as I've heard that works well

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Re: too hot to brew??

Post by wcturnedec » Wed Aug 21, 2019 11:20 am

PMackie wrote:
Wed Aug 21, 2019 8:01 am
I am finding the harder part being cooling wort. The ground water is just so damn warm right now. I took a temp after letting it run for a few minutes and it was still 20 degrees.
Do as the Aussies do, get an HDPE cube and use the "no-chill" method. It's a little tricky for hoppy beers due the extended period of time the hops would be in contact with the hot wort but I did it for simple Belgian table beer and it worked out great!
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Re: too hot to brew??

Post by PMackie » Wed Aug 21, 2019 11:53 am

Both of those are great idea's. I might try running my hose through the ice water first on my next brew since its a hoppier Pale Ale and I don't want to do the cube method with that beer.
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Re: too hot to brew??

Post by BrewG » Thu Aug 22, 2019 10:02 pm

HotBreak wrote:
Wed Aug 21, 2019 7:04 am
I have had the same issues with heat this summer in my garage. Averages 21-22 degrees ambient with the occasional spike from putting a car inside or leaving the door open. Had some horrible off flavours that led me to dump a 30 gallon batch.
I just brewed up a batch with Kveik yeast yesterday and am hoping for a nice clean ferment.
Hey Let me know how your kveik beer turns out.. Its the first time ive used it. I'm anxious to try mine... I'm going to package it this weekend. Its been about 22-25c in garage the whole time! I used hornindalel on a pale ale. I'll report back!

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Re: too hot to brew??

Post by BBrianBoogie » Fri Aug 23, 2019 7:36 am

I'll put in a vote for brewing with the seasons. I mostly do Saison type stuff this time of year. I'll switch to some English things soon, before lagers start up again in Nov/Dec.

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Re: too hot to brew??

Post by mumblecrunch » Fri Aug 23, 2019 11:04 pm

I definitely brew less in the summer although I don’t have the same excuses as my ground water stays pretty cool (no idea why as I’m on Halifax water too) and I have a ferm fridge now. Habit maybe?

I did a “tropical” session IPA a month or so ago that turned out okay. I wanted a hazy lower ABV IPA that had tropical notes without a fruit addition. Grist was heavy on flaked wheat and oats with some golden naked oats in the mix as well. I used about 180g each of Vic Secret and Enigma with a 5 minute addition, whirlpool, and two dry hops. The key was supposed to be the Omega Tropical IPA yeast (OYL-200). I mashed at 69°C to try to leave some residual sugars but that yeast is a monster and took it down to 1.004 fermenting at ambient temperatures (max ferm temp was 25°C but it rode at about 24°C through the heaviest part of fermentation). The beer is good but it’s dry as hell and I wish it had just a little more body.

All this was to say that there are other yeast options out there besides the Kveik for warm weather brewing. I also did a red for Canada Day with Mangrove Jacks Liberty Ale (either the same as S-04 or another Whitbread B variant, depending on who you believe) that I specifically allowed to ferment warm for some fruity esters. I’ll probably follow Boogie’s lead on trying some British styles in the fall with that technique. I’ve also got some Omega SaisonStein’s Monster (OYL-500) that will be the base for my next iteration of Short Division.

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Re: too hot to brew??

Post by HotBreak » Wed Sep 11, 2019 10:27 am

My Pale ale brewed with Kweik turned out quite nicely actually. took about 4 days to chew through 35 Gallons of 1.055 wort down to 1.011. Nice body, the hops came through and zero off flavours even at 25-30 degrees C. My Grain bill was almost all pilsner malt as I had an extra bag kicking around and there was only the slightest hint of sulfer akin to what you would get from a nice pils.
Even though I just picked up a massive fridge for a ferm chamber, I will probably still use this yeast again, especially for fruity IPAs.
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