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2nd Brew - Dark Monk question


smidsy

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Hi All,

I put my yeast in at 20C instead of the recommended 18C, there was some minimal foaming, and Im just wondering if this is normal.

I cant regulate the temperature, and its sitting in my kitchen on top of the fridge, I also put the yeast in at 20C, as I was already at 23 litres, and couldnt add any more cold water, and figured I was a bit stuck, and had to go ahead.

Its day 3, koisen collar still on, and foaming only went up an inch or 2, and seems to have settled.

I understand on a 6.5% brew it should be a good bit higher ?

I messed up the first brew, the european lager, as I didnt let it settle for long enough(followed instructions of 7 days brewing, but tilted the vessel to get the beer into the bottle quicker[doh!]), so it was very heavy or rich. Tasted better after I abandoned the bottles and returned to them after 6 months.

Anyway, Is my dark monk ok ?

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i have the dark monk fermenting at the moment. the krausen didnt really explode like i was thinking. im now 10 days in and its been fermeting at 19 degrees controlled. i pitched at around 21 from what i can remember. 

took the lid off a few minutes and it smells unbelievable. cannot wait to bottle it 

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just did a gravity test. sitting at 1.017 so just under the 1.016 that is recommended. had a sip of it and my word its good. its a dark version of Leffe blonde which is one of my favourite beers. well done Coopers, nailed it 

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Thanks guys, sounds reassuring, but I have no temperature control, and live in WA. It was at 24C last night at midnight. How important is temperature control, cause being honest, if its important, then there is no point in me trying, cause im relying on ambient.

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I agree with Ben. Temp control is absolutely essential for good beers. What you are wanting is constant/stable temperature. Even if it's a couple of degrees higher than the optimum temps, if it's stable it's still gonna be better than fluctuations. If it's still hot over there you could try wrapping the FV in a wet towel, or partially submerging it in water in a tub and use frozen bottles of water to keep the temp down.

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Hey Lads,

Im from the SW of WA and it’s starting to get cool over night here. I was ambient temp brewing for about maybe 6 brews and although the beer was beer, it went from ok to great with the use of a chest freezer and temp controller. 

In fact I went to all grain before temp control which now I see I should have gone the other way but don’t let that dis outage you. I’m also lucky enough to have a room in my house that doesn’t fluctuate that much. It’s kinda like a cellar. 

So I guess what I’m saying is, have a crack, try to cool it a bit and keep those temps from fluctuating and you’ll get beer. 

Captain

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks guys, I have an old little fridge in the shed,  Im guessing it would fit, and a temp controller could work out for the next brew, its 50 bucks though, thats a bit pricy.

On the Dark Monk, when I brewed the European lager, I followed instructions and bottled after 7 days or so, then read the forum, where people said wait 3 weeks. It was a heavy beer, and I think waiting for more settlement would have helped.

Is it the same on the Dark Monk, its been 14 days now, im in no hurry, should I wait longer ?

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15 minutes ago, smidsy said:

Thanks guys, I have an old little fridge in the shed,  Im guessing it would fit, and a temp controller could work out for the next brew, its 50 bucks though, thats a bit pricy.

On the Dark Monk, when I brewed the European lager, I followed instructions and bottled after 7 days or so, then read the forum, where people said wait 3 weeks. It was a heavy beer, and I think waiting for more settlement would have helped.

Is it the same on the Dark Monk, its been 14 days now, im in no hurry, should I wait longer ?

$50....... when you get it and have a beer that was temp controlled you’d pay 200 for it. 

Honestly. Temp control is THE main ingredient in yeast stability and making better beer.

Captain

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2 hours ago, PaddyBrew2 said:

Take a reading. Think mine finished at 1.014 after 2 weeks.  

Im the same, I think Ill bottle tomorrow.

When bottling, do you just bottle to the tap level, and throw the rest out ?

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2 hours ago, The Captain1525230099 said:

$50....... when you get it and have a beer that was temp controlled you’d pay 200 for it. 

Honestly. Temp control is THE main ingredient in yeast stability and making better beer.

Captain

I have 2 dark monks to brew, so ill finish my current one, and do the next as temp controlled. I assume there is only a way of cooling by plugging the fridge in, heating isnt an option is it ? Although, heating probably isnt needed ?

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9 hours ago, smidsy said:

I have 2 dark monks to brew, so ill finish my current one, and do the next as temp controlled. I assume there is only a way of cooling by plugging the fridge in, heating isnt an option is it ? Although, heating probably isnt needed ?

Hey mate,

temp controllers come with a heating socket and a cooling socket.

Plug ya fridge/freezer into the cooling side and a heat belt on the heating side. 

Place the temp probe under some insulation like thick stubby holder and tape it to the outside of your fermenter.

Captain

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14 hours ago, smidsy said:

Im the same, I think Ill bottle tomorrow.

When bottling, do you just bottle to the tap level, and throw the rest out ?

$hit no. I tip it to the side and take most of it until the trub is evident. Usually it’s a bit more cloudy than the rest but still tastes good 

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I have all the ingredients for this and was going to make it soon.

I see the recipe says to crack the grain and let it sit overnight.

I usually steep my grain in 75C water for 30-40 minutes. I presume that will be OK for this brew too.

I'm never sure if I can brew on a certain day or not. Leaving it overnight would mean I'd have to get it going on a certain day.

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1 hour ago, Graculus said:

I have all the ingredients for this and was going to make it soon.

I see the recipe says to crack the grain and let it sit overnight.

I usually steep my grain in 75C water for 30-40 minutes. I presume that will be OK for this brew too.

I'm never sure if I can brew on a certain day or not. Leaving it overnight would mean I'd have to get it going on a certain day.

Cold steeping grains helps with smoothness of the roasted qualities. 

Basically makes it less astringent. 

If your hot steeping it’s not going to be a massive difference it’ll just be a little roastier....... if that’s a word.

Captain

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 17 May 2018 at 12:35 AM, smidsy said:

Thanks guys, sounds reassuring, but I have no temperature control, and live in WA. It was at 24C last night at midnight. How important is temperature control, cause being honest, if its important, then there is no point in me trying, cause im relying on ambient.

I also need to rely on ambient temperature , my FV lives in the bath. In summer wet towels and a fan helps drop the temperature.

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