Franham Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 Hello all, Just having a thought, i've gathered that we generally prefer to keep the temperature of an ale brew between 18 to 20 degrees, however it's advised to try to pitch at a temperature based on the type of yeast; so our typical coopers yeast as at 21 degrees. So my question, as soon as we pitch and close the lid, we should be trying to get the temperature down to between 18 and 20 degrees? Cheers again guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classic Brewing Co Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 12 minutes ago, Franham said: Hello all, Just having a thought, i've gathered that we generally prefer to keep the temperature of an ale brew between 18 to 20 degrees, however it's advised to try to pitch at a temperature based on the type of yeast; so our typical coopers yeast as at 21 degrees. So my question, as soon as we pitch and close the lid, we should be trying to get the temperature down to between 18 and 20 degrees? Cheers again guys Generally you would & once fermentation is finished & the hydrometer readings are stabilised for 2 consecutive days you are good to bottle/keg unless you are planning a Cold Crash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malter White Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 Hi Franham. Popular opinion suggests 18-20C is optimum temp for ales. If you pitch at 21C I think it's best to first ensure you have yeast activity before reducing the temp. You'll see physical changes in the wort to know if the yeast is active eg. it's cloudy and a krausen starts forming. Apparently the temp will increase slightly due to the fermentation process. Personally I can't tell the difference between a beer that's been fermented at 18C or one that's been done at 22C. It's usually if the temp hits the high 20s or more where I've noticed "flavours". Something to keep in mind if fermenting at the lower temp range, it can add a day or so to the ferment period. Cooler yeast works slower than warm yeast. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franham Posted August 23, 2021 Author Share Posted August 23, 2021 good one again guys. i was wondering because although i don't have a an exact cooling mechanism at the moment (i have a inkbird and am expecting a cooling jacket soon, so this will be resolved soon enough, currently using two litre frozen bottles and a heat belt just in case), my brew has bounced between say 21 (22 tops maybe during the peak of fermentation) and 19. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malter White Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 1 minute ago, Franham said: good one again guys. i was wondering because although i don't have a an exact cooling mechanism at the moment (i have a inkbird and am expecting a cooling jacket soon, so this will be resolved soon enough, currently using two litre frozen bottles and a heat belt just in case), my brew has bounced between say 21 (22 tops maybe during the peak of fermentation) and 19. If your brew has been in the 19-22 range your beer is going to be fine. They aren't wild swings in temperature. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franham Posted August 23, 2021 Author Share Posted August 23, 2021 actually a quick question, does anyone think that a pedestal fan would be useful or useless when trying to cool a fermenter? i've used it over the last few days, but i don't think it made much a difference. is it the whole idea of "better than than not" theory? Also was worried that it might manage to blow some sort of particles into the gaps of the coopers fermenter, between the lid and the chamber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malter White Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 3 minutes ago, Franham said: actually a quick question, does anyone think that a pedestal fan would be useful or useless when trying to cool a fermenter? i've used it over the last few days, but i don't think it made much a difference. is it the whole idea of "better than than not" theory? Also was worried that it might manage to blow some sort of particles into the gaps of the coopers fermenter, between the lid and the chamber. Before I got a fridge to ferment in I used a pedestal in conjunction with a wet tshirt or towel over the FV and a tray of water underneath it to keep the tshirt wet. Evaporative cooling or what is referred to as a swamp cooler. I'm not sure what a fan by itself would achieve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classic Brewing Co Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 5 minutes ago, MUZZY said: Before I got a fridge to ferment in I used a pedestal in conjunction with a wet tshirt or towel over the FV and a tray of water underneath it to keep the tshirt wet. Evaporative cooling or what is referred to as a swamp cooler. I'm not sure what a fan by itself would achieve. Years ago I used to have some towels soaking in water & use a fan aimed at the fermenter which was wrapped in the wet towel. It did work to a point but the power meter was whizzing around faster than normal. When I think back what were we thinking water & electricity ? We certainly have come a long way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussiekraut Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 1 hour ago, Franham said: Hello all, Just having a thought, i've gathered that we generally prefer to keep the temperature of an ale brew between 18 to 20 degrees, however it's advised to try to pitch at a temperature based on the type of yeast; so our typical coopers yeast as at 21 degrees. So my question, as soon as we pitch and close the lid, we should be trying to get the temperature down to between 18 and 20 degrees? Cheers again guys I usually pitch at around 21-22 but have the temp controller already set to 18 and let it cool immediately. However you can leave it at 21 for let's say 12 hours to give the yeast some time to multiply a little and then drop it to 18 or whatever your preferred temperature it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 If the wort is warmer than my target fermentation temp then yeah I will set the controller to bring it down straight away. Other times I pitch it cooler, sometimes by several degrees, and it just sits in the fridge and slowly warms up. Both ways work, but I prefer the pitch cooler way. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spursman Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 This is a very simple but thorough explanation of yeast behaviour.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spursman Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 Rest... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky Micky Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 (edited) I have been taking the advice from @iBooz2 Boozer regarding the pitching temps with the yeast. Jump in if I've got this ballsed up Boozer mate but I think you've been suggesting to pitch low - that is whatever the ferment temps total range is - pitch at the lowest point per the instructions on the pack. Both for Ales and Lagers. Edited August 25, 2021 by Mickep 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iBooz2 Posted August 26, 2021 Share Posted August 26, 2021 On 8/25/2021 at 3:10 PM, Mickep said: I have been taking the advice from @iBooz2 Boozer regarding the pitching temps with the yeast. Jump in if I've got this ballsed up Boozer mate but I think you've been suggesting to pitch low - that is whatever the ferment temps total range is - pitch at the lowest point per the instructions on the pack. Both for Ales and Lagers. Yes Mick my preferred lager temperature profile is to pitch low and slow so the yeast goes in at around the lowest preferred temperature on the packet or even a couple of C lower than that then I set the controller to the low end of the range for first few days at least. I do this so esters do not get produced particularly in the early stages of my ferment. I want clean and crisp lager flavours from my yeast. My understanding is that Ester production can be caused in lagers by a couple of reasons. A - Too warm a pitching temperature when in a rush to get it going even when using the recommended or higher pitching rates of yeast. B - Too warm a pitching temperature when trying to make up for a deliberate / intended under pitch of your lager yeast which causes rapid growth of yeast cells because of yeast to sugar ratio. Apparently the little buggers work this out early in the adaption phase. I prefer the low and slow method because if you pitch higher you have to wait, watch it and then drop the temp at the exact right time otherwise it will get away on you and possibly produce some esters. If I pitch low and set my temp to the low end I don’t have to worry about being in the right place at the right time. It’s sort of set and forget. Anyway that is my take on it. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journeyman Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 (edited) On 8/23/2021 at 10:40 AM, MUZZY said: Before I got a fridge to ferment in I used a pedestal in conjunction with a wet tshirt or towel And now we all have to get rid of the "Muzzy in a wet t-shirt in front of a fan" image he's managed to dump on us... Edited August 27, 2021 by Journeyman 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classic Brewing Co Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 11 minutes ago, Journeyman said: And now we all have to get rid of the "Muzzy in a wet t-shirt in front of a fan" image he's managed to dump on us... Ouch !! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journeyman Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 2 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said: Ouch !! Don't blame me... He said it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malter White Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 3 hours ago, Journeyman said: And now we all have to get rid of the "Muzzy in a wet t-shirt in front of a fan" image he's managed to dump on us... Have I mentioned before that I have 3 nipples? It's quite a feature of my wet T-shirt modelling. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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