Temp.

[Stoo]

Hi all. 

Just wondering if 12 C temp is too low for a can of English bitter ?

Seems like it's moving around in the FV but not much happening on top.

Been down 3 days now...

Stu

[Classic Brewing Co]

10 minutes ago, Stoo said:

Hi all. 

Just wondering if 12 C temp is too low for a can of English bitter ?

Seems like it's moving around in the FV but not much happening on top.

Been down 3 days now...

Stu

Wow, I would have said between 21c-27c is better however it would depend on what yeast you used. If you have temp control I would crank it up otherwise wrap the fermenter in blankets and

try & keep it warm.

https://www.beer101.diybeer.com/english-bitter#:~:text=While your brew ferments try to keep the,at the lower end of 21°C - 27°C.

Edited May 23, 2023 by Classic Brewing Co

[DavidM]

Temp control is King

Brewing is fun, cheap, and can produce good beers

But you need Temp control to make it better and easier.

[Stoo]

I see so many posts about yeast temps, I don't know what to believe.

Some say 10 - 16 for lagers and 14 - 20 for ales, right up to 28 degrees. 

Brew day was on 16 but has dropped down to 12.

Will try to move it to a sunny spot  and wrap in a blanket.

[Kegory]

34 minutes ago, Stoo said:

I see so many posts about yeast temps, I don't know what to believe.

Some say 10 - 16 for lagers and 14 - 20 for ales, right up to 28 degrees. 

Brew day was on 16 but has dropped down to 12.

Will try to move it to a sunny spot  and wrap in a blanket.

It all depends on the yeast. What did the recipe say? What yeast did you use?

[Stoo]

The yeast that was in the lid. Standard coopers I'd say.

[ChairmanDrew]

I use a heat pad that I bought secondhand. Does a fine job at regulating the temp. But others here recommend a simple heat belt, which from the sounds of things does just as good a job and is cheaper. Also wrap your fermentor in an old blanket or something for insulation.

[Kegory]

I haven't had a can of Cooper's English Bitter so I don't have any notes on the yeast that comes with it but with the yeast that's come with the cans I have had I've had a krauzen form within 36 hours.

If you've gone 72 hours without anything much happening on top it does sound like it's too cold.

Edited May 23, 2023 by Kegory
Spelling

[Kegory]

1 hour ago, Stoo said:

 

Will try to move it to a sunny spot  and wrap in a blanket.

I don't think you want it in the sun unless you've got something blocking the light.

[ozdevil]

personelly i would be fermenting  the bitter like an ale   at around 18-22°c  

i wouldnt put your brew in  direct sunlight  unless you can cover it   like others have said 

buy either a heat pad or heat belt   ,   this will help in getting the temp up in cooler months

further to this  a temp controller  such as an inkbird or  rapt temp controller  

alot of us have picked up 2nd hand fridges  cheaply  and  turn them into fermentation chambers  using a temp controller


buying the fridge and temp controller  +heat belt has its advantages  

1.  you can keep constant temp and be consistant
2.  you have full control  over your brew
3. you have the ability  to cold crash
4. some temp controllers such as the rapt and inkbird controllers allow you  to change temp from work or if you are away from the brew
5 you can create profiles more specificlly with the rapt temp controller which will bring you more automation dfuring fermentation

however  i would be looking at not using the yeast under the tin and start looking at other yeasts   as they provide much more info with  tolerences of what that yeast strain consists of

you can even brew to 35°c  with certain yeast strains like kveik yeast

[Stoo]

Just an update. 

I added some ale yeast I had in the fridge to some sugar and warm water, waited till it was activated and added it to the breww. Bloody thing has taken off.

Thx for all the comments and will take it all on board.

Stu...

[Classic Brewing Co]

It looks like my Heat belt has decided to cark it, I have tested it every way I know how, next week I am buying an Ink Bird with Wi-Fi so a new heat belt won't break the bank.

My Eclipse XPA is wrapped up for a few more days, so no CC for this one. I will keg it on Friday.

[jackgym]

On 5/23/2023 at 7:19 PM, Stoo said:

I see so many posts about yeast temps, I don't know what to believe.

Some say 10 - 16 for lagers and 14 - 20 for ales, right up to 28 degrees. 

Brew day was on 16 but has dropped down to 12.

Will try to move it to a sunny spot  and wrap in a blanket.

The general rule is around 12c for lagers and 18c for ales using the correct yeast.

Just repeating that you need temperature control for decent beer.

[Stoo]

On 5/23/2023 at 8:45 PM, Kegory said:

I don't think you want it in the sun unless you've got something blocking the light.

It's in the laundry which is warmer than where it was. Wrapped in its blanket and out of direct sunlight.

Temp is constant 16 C. 

Still moving around doing its thing.

 

[ChairmanDrew]

10 minutes ago, Stoo said:

It's in the laundry which is warmer than where it was. Wrapped in its blanket and out of direct sunlight.

Temp is constant 16 C. 

Still moving around doing its thing.

 

I'm curious, where do you live that the temperature got that low?

[Kegory]

39 minutes ago, ChairmanDrew said:

I'm curious, where do you live that the temperature got that low?

Dunno where @Stoo is but I'm in Melbourne and I haven't recorded 16 degrees in my brew room for a month although the forecast this week is for some top temps of 17 and an 18.

[ChairmanDrew]

5 hours ago, Kegory said:

Dunno where @Stoo is but I'm in Melbourne and I haven't recorded 16 degrees in my brew room for a month although the forecast this week is for some top temps of 17 and an 18.

Makes sense. We've had it pretty mild so far going into winter, with temps of like you say about 17-18. I always think of it being warmer in Oz than here in NZ. . But I do remember previously visiting Melbourne for example in the winter, and it certainly wasn't what you call warm. So I guess the temps could drop quite a bit if your fermentor was in a cold, dark corner of the house.

[Kegory]

1 hour ago, ChairmanDrew said:

Makes sense. We've had it pretty mild so far going into winter, with temps of like you say about 17-18. I always think of it being warmer in Oz than here in NZ. . But I do remember previously visiting Melbourne for example in the winter, and it certainly wasn't what you call warm. So I guess the temps could drop quite a bit if your fermentor was in a cold, dark corner of the house.

Yeah, Melbourne can get quite chilly in Winter. My brew room is not dark but it is in the colder part of the house. I've recorded a few 7C overnight lows in the last month. More of those to come.

I'm gonna try a few lagers in July/August, take advantage of the ambient temperatures.

[Brauhaus Fritz]

15 hours ago, Kegory said:

Dunno where @Stoo is but I'm in Melbourne and I haven't recorded 16 degrees in my brew room for a month although the forecast this week is for some top temps of 17 and an 18.

I am in Sydney and my room dropped to 14.5 degrees. But with my cooling bag (frozen milk bottles for temperature control and my heat belt and box (I am in the process of insulating a bigger box with Styrofoam.) I can ferment at both ends (hopefully) in the same time (top cold fermenting temperature, middle room temperature, bottom warm). Don't simply rely on outdoor temperatures. It dropped to 10 last night, but indoors it stayed nearly 5 degrees warmer.

[Kegory]

3 hours ago, Brauhaus Fritz said:

I am in Sydney and my room dropped to 14.5 degrees. But with my cooling bag (frozen milk bottles for temperature control and my heat belt and box (I am in the process of insulating a bigger box with Styrofoam.) I can ferment at both ends (hopefully) in the same time (top cold fermenting temperature, middle room temperature, bottom warm). Don't simply rely on outdoor temperatures. It dropped to 10 last night, but indoors it stayed nearly 5 degrees warmer.

I've got a couple of those silver In/Out thermometers. I don't entirely trust them but they are a somewhat useful guide.

I've got boxes, bands, and I'll be introducing a fan and a wet towel today as the outside temperatures have unhelpfully decided to rise this week.

[yab]

I am in Canberra and thought I could try to brew a lager in winter without temperature control. I filled my fermenter with water and put it in the laundry (coldest room in the house) but couldn't get it to drop below 14. I gave up on that idea, but it made me realise I could pretty much brew ales in every season except a hot summer and keep a fairly steady temperature with a few basic controls (ie. choosing a good spot for the fermenter and using a blanket in winter).

[Classic Brewing Co]

2 hours ago, yab said:

I am in Canberra and thought I could try to brew a lager in winter without temperature control. I filled my fermenter with water and put it in the laundry (coldest room in the house) but couldn't get it to drop below 14. I gave up on that idea, but it made me realise I could pretty much brew ales in every season except a hot summer and keep a fairly steady temperature with a few basic controls (ie. choosing a good spot for the fermenter and using a blanket in winter).

Well in fact you can brew Ales at a higher temperature if you use yeasts like this.

LALBREW VOSS™

Kveik is a Norwegian word meaning yeast. In the Norwegian farmhouse tradition, kveik was preserved by drying and passed from generation to generation. Kveik is the original, traditional dried yeast! The LalBrew Voss™ strain was obtained from Sigmund Gjernes (Voss, Norway), who has
maintained this culture using traditional methods since the 1980’s and generously shared it with the wider brewing community. LalBrew Voss™ supports a wide range of fermentation temperatures between 25 – 40°C (77 – 104°F) with a very high optimal range of 35 – 40°C (95 – 104°F). Very fast fermentations are achieved within the optimal temperature range with full attenuation typically achieved within 2-3 days. The flavor profile is consistent across the entire temperature range: neutral with subtle fruity notes of orange and citrus.

https://www.lallemandbrewing.com/en/united-states/product-details/lalbrew-voss-kveik-ale-yeast/

[Brauhaus Fritz]

5 hours ago, Kegory said:

I've got a couple of those silver In/Out thermometers. I don't entirely trust them but they are a somewhat useful guide.

I've got boxes, bands, and I'll be introducing a fan and a wet towel today as the outside temperatures have unhelpfully decided to rise this week.

Did compare the reading of its probe with my calibrated thermometers and it seems to be accurate. Bought it at Jaycar 

[Kegory]

3 hours ago, Brauhaus Fritz said:

Did compare the reading of its probe with my calibrated thermometers and it seems to be accurate. Bought it at Jaycar 

Yeah, I've got the same ones. The temperature reading itself is ok, it's readings are within the margin of error of itself, the Inkbirds and the hand held thermometer.

It's the memory that's sometimes a bit flaky. I've seen it display a current temperature and then when I've checked the maximums and minimums the minimum temperature was higher than the displayed temperature, and then when I put it back into current temperature it displayed what had been the recorded minimum temperature not the significantly lower one that I'd seen a minute before.

Still, they're affordable enough to get two and they're not critical equipment, just a monitoring device.

[Kegory]

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