Advice on fermenting temp

[trabfountain]

I've finally got my STC-1000 wired up and ready to go. I want to make PB2's Motueka Slam IPA and will try the Coopers Commercial Ale culture. What temp should I pitch the yeast at and what should the ferment temp be? Next on the list is Coopers Best Extra Stout using

 

1.7kg can Original series Stout

1.5kg Thomas Coopers Dark Malt Extract

500gms Dextrose

Coopers commercial ale culture.

 

Coopers recipe suggests to ferment at 21 degrees. Is this the way to go? Also is there a big difference between using the kit yeast and the commercial ale culture. Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated.

[PhilboBaggins]

Hey trab.

 

I did a couple of brews with the commercial culture. One of them I severely under pitched and had to rack to secondary to wake the bastard up (something I very rarely do [pinched]).

 

My second one I fermented at 20C and it went off like a frog in a sock. I've read elsewhere that if you ferment as high as I did you will get banana type esters, but from the samples I've had it's not been noticeable (thank the 100s of grams of US hops I added [happy]).

 

There is a big difference between the commercial yeast and the dry yeast. The biggest would be the apparent attenuation (AA). Apparently it's around the 80% mark? [w00t]

 

Have at it mate. Once you start faffing about with yeast you'll be hooked.

[MikeyBycrikey]

Pitch within a couple degrees of your ferment temp, couple below is meant to be better as long as your pitching rate is A-ok. As for ferment temp I'd say 18-19

[King Ruddager]

I think the general rule is 18-20 for ales and 10-12 for lagers.

 

I've got an APA brewing at the moment which I've really struggled to keep the temp down on. I think it was at 25 the other day! I don't have the space for a fridge unfortunately and it's just been way too hot weather-wise. Perhaps I should've waited for the hot spell to pass.

[PhilboBaggins]

I think it was at 25 the other day!

 

Any higher and you might be in fusel town. I've got a batch of IPA which I brewed in times before my fridge. The timer on the heat belt stuck and she got too high.

 

Glass of hoppy paint-thinner anyone? [sick]

 

EDIT: I'm still gonna try and drink every drop as a lesson to myself. [pinched]

[GregT5]

...and then have one of your finest to follow it down to really teach yourself a lesson [cool]

[trabfountain]

Thanks guys for your advice, however my plans have changed due to the fact that the Coopers Pale ale has not been in the fridge long enough for the yeast to settle to the point where I can use it. As I'm dead keen to try the new fridge fitted with the STC-1000 I'm going to make Soundawake's Pacific Ale clone but instead of 1kg Dry Wheat Malt I'll use a can of Coopers liquid wheat malt. I would like some advice on the hop use as it will be a first for me. The recipe says 5L hop boil with 500gms wheat malt so would I need to substitute that with 500gms of liquid wheat malt.There is mention of 5gm @ 30 mins, 15gms @ 15 mins etc and finally 15gms @ 0 mins. Also do you then only use the liquid once the boil has finished. A run down on the procedure would be very much appreciated.

The plan is to make the IPA and Stout after this.

 

[Hairy]

500g of liquid malt will get you in the ball park. I never used to weigh the malt; if I was doing a 5 litre boil I would just pour in about a third of the tin.

 

Bring the liquid to the boil and then add the first hop addition (ie. 30 min addition). This will be boiled for 30 minutes.

 

After 15 minutes add the next hop addition (ie. 15 min addition). After another 15 minutes turn the flame off and add the 0 minute hop addition.

 

I would then stick the pot in a sink of cold water to reduce the temperature. You are not doing this to get a cold break but to help get your beer to your pitching temp.

 

After it has cooled somewhat (to get technical [biggrin] ), pour the liquid into the FV through a fine strainer to catch the hop matter.

 

Do the rest of the brew as usual.

[PhilboBaggins]

...and then have one of your finest to follow it down to really teach yourself a lesson [cool]

 

Good to see we're on the same page. [happy]

[trabfountain]

Thanks Hairy. There was one thing I forgot to ask and that is the 15gms Galaxy dry hopped after 4 - 5 days. Do I throw the hops in as is or do I put them in a cloth. There seems to be differing opinions. I always rack my beer to another fermenter and bulk prime so that may make a difference. Also is lifting the lid off the fermenter during ferment to throw in the hops going to cause a problem ?

[Hairy]

There are differing opinions and you can do either.

 

I have never thrown them in loose but others report that if you crash chill it and rack to another FV for bottling then there are no dramas.

 

I used to use a hop sock but now I use ladies stockings, which I boil first for 15 minutes. They are not re-used so I just throw the whole thing in the bin when finished. Its not a problem; I have heaps of them for when I go out on weekends [innocent]

 

Also, no problems opening the lid to add the hops. Just don't take the lid off and leave it open for long periods of time.

 

 

[Guest]

Go comando style they seem to always stick to the side of the FV for me as im bottoling. But every sitsuation is different and what works for one Buffalo Hunter may not for the next [lol]

Good luck [biggrin]

[trabfountain]

Thanks guys for your advice and I think I'll try the stocking method for the dry hop. I've finally made my first brew using hops. To filter the hop boil I used a kitchen sieve lined with muslin cloth which I had boiled. It was a major effort and very slow. Is there a better way ?

[Hairy]

I use a kitchen sieve without the muslin cloth. Only a small amount of hop matter will get through the sieve and it settles out in the FV. It isn't a big deal.

 

It is a fairly quick process.

 

Also, when using the stocking for dry hopping, I add the hops and then tie a knot in the stocking (I use knee length stockings). Make sure you tie the knot further up the stocking to give the hops some room to move around and swell. They swell up a fair bit.

[Guest]

Hi Trabfountain.

 

All great advice by the guys, and here is another option...

 

For my dry hopping, I buy "finishing hops" already in muslin material sachets. Granted they are a weency bit more expensive to buy, but for me the convenience factor & ease of use makes it totally worthwhile. Two of the 3 brewshops I frequent carry them in 12gm, 15gm, & 25gm sizes. As dry hopping primarily adds aroma to your brew, I've been happy with levels up to 50gms I've used so far. If I want more aroma, I generally add a little more than normal in the last few minutes of my hop boil. [biggrin]

 

Unlike Hairy, I don't have the legs for Saturday nights out strolling in the Razza Matazza's, & shaving that often must be a real pain! [pinched] [lol]

 

Given the recent admission of being a member of the receeding hair bear bunch, you must be quite a site Razza Matazzing your way into the Penrith Leagues Club Hairy! [lol] [tongue]

 

Just kidding. [biggrin]

 

Anthony.

 

 

[LordEoin]

I use a kitchen sieve without the muslin cloth. Only a small amount of hop matter will get through the sieve and it settles out in the FV.

+1

it really is very simple, convenient, quick and clean.

I used to use a cafetiere but it seems to have wrecked the fine mesh [pinched]

[trabfountain]

Thank you all for your help. As a result it all went well. Put the brew in the fridge around 10pm last night. And with the help of the STC-1000 temp is a consistent 18 degrees. What a bonus compared to my earlier brewing efforts with temp all over the place, and yet most of the brews tasted ok. So I have great expectations for my first brew using hops. The only thing I did notice was it appeared very dark in colour for a Pacific Ale clone but hopefully a lot of that will settle.