HenrikF Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Hi all Soon i'll have my brewfridge up and running[love] , and so i have a small question for you guys: what is the most optimal time to let the beer ferment? I believe i once read something like 2 weeks at 18-20 degrees, and then 1 week cold conditioning, but is that then 5 degrees or 10? Thank you in advance and keep up the good work[biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Its really quite subjective to the yeast you use, cooler ferment/pitching temps results in less ester formation, higher = more. For ales i ferment at about 17 letting it slowly rise to 20 by the end of the ferment to help keep the yeast active amd help them clean up. times are also quite subjective, if your yeast chomps through in 4 days then there is little point in keeping it going for 2 weeks.. But as a rule of thumb, when its reached terminal gravity + 4 days or so. CC temps for me these days is 4'c for a week, generally, any temp which is below the activity temp amd will make the yeast floc is ok, I used to get it down to 0 - 1 nut have changed my methods a little. Yob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 For most Ales I leave in primary for around 12-14 days, even though fermentation would have ceased between days 6-8. I then CC at 2C for 2-7 days pending when I can be bothered to keg/bottle it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LloydT Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Do you need to bring the temp up prior to bottling Bill? or is there still enough yeast floating about for secondary ferment when bottling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Bringing the temp back up defeats the purpose of cold conditioning. Don't worry about the yeast, yes it goes to sleep during the CC but bottles have no problem carbing when rested at the normal temps. It may take an extra day or two maybe but that's it. I've never had any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Bringing the temp back up defeats the purpose of cold conditioning. Not really - I cold condition for a clearer beer and have the same results whether it comes up to temp or is bottled cold. I don't disagree with all that you are saying Bill just the "defeats the purpose" bit. But that is just my opinion (but I'm usually wrong according to my wife [biggrin] ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 OK I concur.... defeats the purpose statement maybe a bit 'over the top' but I was just trying to emphasize why that it is not necessary to raise the temps. If you are going to raise them up say 5-10C for example then, as far as I'm concerned, why not CC at that temp to start with? Nevertheless, it is time and temps that will clear your beer regardless of whether one CCs or not. All Cold conditioning does is speed up the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty A Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Cold Conditioning is also used by some brewers to get the CO2 into the beer a lot faster when you keg. It defeats the purpose to let the the beer warm up as the colder the beer the quicker the CO2 gets dissolved. [innocent] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien E1 Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Cold Conditioning is also used by some brewers to get the CO2 into the beer a lot faster when you keg. It defeats the purpose to let the the beer warm up as the colder the beer the quicker the CO2 gets dissolved. [innocent] Provided, of course, you're force carbonating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Cold Conditioning is also used by some brewers to get the CO2 into the beer a lot faster when you keg. It defeats the purpose to let the the beer warm up as the colder the beer the quicker the CO2 gets dissolved. [innocent] Provided, of course, you're force carbonating. This is regardless of whether you force carb or not. The colder the solution then the faster/easier the gas will enter. [rightful] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty A Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Cold Conditioning is also used by some brewers to get the CO2 into the beer a lot faster when you keg. It defeats the purpose to let the the beer warm up as the colder the beer the quicker the CO2 gets dissolved. [innocent] Provided, of course, you're force carbonating. This is regardless of whether you force carb or not. The colder the solution then the faster/easier the gas will enter. [rightful] Obviously the solution would need to be warmer for the sugar to eat the yeast tho. So you would have to warm up the cold conditioned beer for the yeast to eat the sugar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Cold Conditioning is also used by some brewers to get the CO2 into the beer a lot faster when you keg. It defeats the purpose to let the the beer warm up as the colder the beer the quicker the CO2 gets dissolved. [innocent] Provided, of course, you're force carbonating. This is regardless of whether you force carb or not. The colder the solution then the faster/easier the gas will enter. [rightful] Obviously the solution would need to be warmer for the sugar to eat the yeast tho. So you would have to warm up the cold conditioned beer for the yeast to eat the sugar. Except if you're using C02 to carb and not added sugars [wink] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty A Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Cold Conditioning is also used by some brewers to get the CO2 into the beer a lot faster when you keg. It defeats the purpose to let the the beer warm up as the colder the beer the quicker the CO2 gets dissolved. [innocent] Provided, of course, you're force carbonating. This is regardless of whether you force carb or not. The colder the solution then the faster/easier the gas will enter. [rightful] Obviously the solution would need to be warmer for the sugar to eat the yeast tho. So you would have to warm up the cold conditioned beer for the yeast to eat the sugar. Except if you're using C02 to carb and not added sugars [wink] Just thought I better make the quotes go a little longer [biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamB8 Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Cold Conditioning is also used by some brewers to get the CO2 into the beer a lot faster when you keg. It defeats the purpose to let the the beer warm up as the colder the beer the quicker the CO2 gets dissolved. [innocent] Provided, of course, you're force carbonating. This is regardless of whether you force carb or not. The colder the solution then the faster/easier the gas will enter. [rightful] Obviously the solution would need to be warmer for the sugar to eat the yeast tho. So you would have to warm up the cold conditioned beer for the yeast to eat the sugar. Except if you're using C02 to carb and not added sugars [wink] Just thought I better make the quotes go a little longer [biggrin] They're called pyramid quotes and frowned upon. [innocent] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenrikF Posted June 21, 2012 Author Share Posted June 21, 2012 So if we go back to the original question[bandit] Would this be the way to go: 1-2 weeks ferment at 18-20 degrees and then lower the temp. to about 10-11 degrees for about a week then bottle? The reason i'm asking is, my brewfridge (given to me by the inlaws) can only go down to about 10-11 degrees, or will there be no purpose in that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 So if we go back to the original question[bandit] The original question was answered with by Yob in the original reply [bandit] Essentially any temp below that recommended for fermentation will cause the yeast to flocculate, so yes, 10-11C will be better than nothing for an ale. You'll generally only need up to a week for fermentation and then a few days to a week for CC and clearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I'm thinking I'll leave the heat belt switched off on my fermenter now that it's finished fermenting, until I bottle it. It should have the same effect since the overnight temps are in the single figures and even during the day the brew doesn't really warm up if it gets cold overnight. I do have one question though, why is it that the yeast settles out in the bottles after a few days, even at higher temps, but in the fermenter it stays in suspension? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenrikF Posted June 21, 2012 Author Share Posted June 21, 2012 So if we go back to the original question[bandit] The original question was answered with by Yob in the original reply [bandit] Essentially any temp below that recommended for fermentation will cause the yeast to flocculate, so yes, 10-11C will be better than nothing for an ale. You'll generally only need up to a week for fermentation and then a few days to a week for CC and clearing. Sorry, didn't catch that[biggrin] Will see if i can't get a better working fridge some day..[annoyed] thx all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 I do have one question though' date=' why is it that the yeast settles out in the bottles after a few days, even at higher temps, but in the fermenter it stays in suspension?[/quote'] Yeast will also settle out in the fermenter just the same as bottles. The process is a lot slower simply because of the mass of liquid more in the fermenter than a bottle. Give it the time it needs and it will be the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 I'm thinking I'll leave the heat belt switched off on my fermenter now that it's finished fermenting' date=' until I bottle it. It should have the same effect since the overnight temps are in the single figures and even during the day the brew doesn't really warm up if it gets cold overnight. I do have one question though, why is it that the yeast settles out in the bottles after a few days, even at higher temps, but in the fermenter it stays in suspension?[/quote'] Do you have a temp controller for the Heat Belt? If so plug the fridge into it and it will do any temp you want. If you dont have one... get one [rightful] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 I thought that might have been the case Bill. Cheers. I'm assuming you mean to plug it into a brew fridge Yob? I don't actually have one.. not enough room unfortunately. [lol] The heat belt does have a temp controller thingy on it, unfortunately for some reason the only bloody measurements on it are "warm" and "cool". I don't think it's really designed to be used on FVs, however with a bit of trial and error I've found a setting that keeps the temp around the 18C at all times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Cold Conditioning is also used by some brewers to get the CO2 into the beer a lot faster when you keg. It defeats the purpose to let the the beer warm up as the colder the beer the quicker the CO2 gets dissolved. [innocent] Provided, of course, you're force carbonating. This is regardless of whether you force carb or not. The colder the solution then the faster/easier the gas will enter. [rightful] Obviously the solution would need to be warmer for the sugar to eat the yeast tho. So you would have to warm up the cold conditioned beer for the yeast to eat the sugar. Except if you're using C02 to carb and not added sugars [wink] Just thought I better make the quotes go a little longer [biggrin] They're called pyramid quotes and frowned upon. [innocent] They look more like Ziggurats than your standard Egyptian type pyramid. If they didn't want you to use them then they wouldn't have given you the functionality to do it. I will now await the email from the moderator telling me to cease and desist [crying] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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