It's A Question Of Timing

[michael_aussie]

WEEK 1: I ferment at 18-19 degrees for the first week.
WEEKS 2 and 3: I then ramp the temperature up to 22-23 degrees and give it 2 weeks.
WEEK 4: I then ramp it down over a few days to 1 degree, and leave it there for a week.

QUESTIONS
Do you have any suggestions/comments about my time-table.
Working on a 4 week ferment/cc, would I be better off to give it more/less time at any of the steps?

 

[ben_sa]

I guess it depends on what yeast you are using?

Are you kegging or bottling?

Personally, I use S04, US05 and Nottingham, all in the same way

Primrary ferment for 10-14 days at 15-18.C

Transfer to keg with gelatine, And Roberts your mothers brother.... NO secondary here... Generally clear as megaswill in 5 days or so...

Edit: I should have added, i only brew ales... for now. ONce i start on lagers im sure my process will change

 

[amiddler]

WOW!! A 2 week diacetyl rest. I would be cutting this 2 week rest out all together for ales then 1 week C/C. If you chose to do a lager 2 weeks in primary at 10-12'C then a 24H diacetyl rest followed by 2-3 weeks at 1-2'C.

Drew

 

[michael_aussie]

I guess it depends on what yeast you are using?

Are you kegging or bottling?

Personally, I use S04, US05 and Nottingham, all in the same way

Primrary ferment for 10-14 days at 15-18.C

Transfer to keg with gelatine, And Roberts your mothers brother.... NO secondary here... Generally clear as megaswill in 5 days or so...

Edit: I should have added, i only brew ales... for now. ONce i start on lagers im sure my process will change

I use
Safale US05
Safale US04
Nottingham
and kit yeasts

I've never used any clearing agents (also never had any clarity problems).

I only brew Ales (Dark, Reds and Stouts).

WOW!! A 2 week diacetyl rest. I would be cutting this 2 week rest out all together for ales then 1 week C/C. If you chose to do a lager 2 weeks in primary at 10-12'C then a 24H diacetyl rest followed by 2-3 weeks at 1-2'C.

Drew

Since I read at AHB that I should let my yeast "mop up the shit", I have always brewed for 3 weeks. I only started elevating the temp to 23 after Ross suggested to me I try it with his FWKs.
Since I read at AHB that CC would improve my beer I've done this for at least a week.

 

[raven19]

I tend to ramp up the ferment temp towards the end of ferment, in the last 10% or so - but depends on yeast, pitching rate, temps, etc., etc...

 

[felten]

I follow a similar plan but my time frames can be a little arbitrary sometimes depending on laziness. I always ramp up the temperature in roughly the last 1/3rd of fermentation, and keep it there for an extra ~week after FG has been reached. And then I'll usually CC for another week, maybe longer, depending on the beer. And bottle.

I think 2 weeks at elevated temperatures might be a little overkill. If the beer has finished fermenting in the first week, and you don't pick up any off flavours (diacetyl, acetaldehyde), then I reckon you could start cutting your time down by a week or more; depending on the beer OFC.

 

[michael_aussie]

I follow a similar plan but my time frames can be a little arbitrary sometimes depending on laziness. I always ramp up the temperature in roughly the last 1/3rd of fermentation, and keep it there for an extra ~week after FG has been reached. And then I'll usually CC for another week, maybe longer, depending on the beer. And bottle.

I think 2 weeks at elevated temperatures might be a little overkill. If the beer has finished fermenting in the first week, and you don't pick up any off flavours (diacetyl, acetaldehyde), then I reckon you could start cutting your time down by a week or more; depending on the beer OFC.

ty for your comments guys.

So given a 4 week cycle... if
1 week primary ferment
2 weeks elevant temp .. rest and mop the shit up
1 week down to 1 degree for CC
isn't the ideal break up then what is??

10 days
4 days
2 weeks?

1 week
1 week
2 weeks??

 

[TasChris]

ty for your comments guys.

So given a 4 week cycle... if
1 week primary ferment
2 weeks elevant temp .. rest and mop the shit up
1 week down to 1 degree for CC
isn't the ideal break up then what is??

10 days
4 days
2 weeks?

1 week
1 week
2 weeks??

For the average ale ferment Itry and do
7 days in primary
rack and then leave for 3 days at ferment temp
then raise temp by approx 2 deg for 4 days
then CC for 7 days at 2 deg.
then keg.
Not fussed if I cant/don't follow the routine

Cheers
Chris

 

[parrja]

For ales with S04 I do :

2 weeks in fermenter at 18 to 20 degrees - pretty much set and forget.

1 week as cold as I can get it.

And then into the keg which I allow to warm back up to around 20 and age for ideally 8 weeks (if I can wait that long).

So I'd say you're doing the right thing but can probably reduce the time in the fermenter to 3 weeks (or even less) without any negative impact. Let it mature in the bottle/keg away from all that crap at the bottom of the fermenter.

 

[michael_aussie]

For the average ale ferment Itry and do
7 days in primary
rack and then leave for 3 days at ferment temp
then raise temp by approx 2 deg for 4 days
then CC for 7 days at 2 deg.
then keg.
Not fussed if I cant/don't follow the routine

Cheers
Chris

i have never racked ... i guess i'm lazy
without racking your timetable is roughly

10 days primary
4 days extra 2 degrees
1 week cc

For ales with S04 I do :
2 weeks in fermenter at 18 to 20 degrees - pretty much set and forget.
1 week as cold as I can get it.
And then into the keg which I allow to warm back up to around 20 and age for ideally 8 weeks (if I can wait that long).
So I'd say you're doing the right thing but can probably reduce the time in the fermenter to 3 weeks (or even less) without any negative impact. Let it mature in the bottle/keg away from all that crap at the bottom of the fermenter.

once i keg, I've kept the beer cold....
is there a benefit in storing at 20 degrees ??
does it age better at 20 degrees rather than 2 degrees?

 

[Cocko]

I see it like this Michele,

Timing is important but relates to each brew/yeast and each ferment, on its own merits...

Sure temp control brings a very close regularity to 'timing' BUT surely if you are mixing up your recipes they will need different 'routines' to get them home..

As in Lagers and their complete different needs... but still, if you are brewing the same brew be it lager or ale, a 'routine' approach is important in my eyes.

That said, if you are talking 'rule of thumb'? I only brew ales and goes;

10-14 primary - yeast dependant - still take FG readings and obviously watch ferment etc..

Crash chill - if the fridge is spare - for 2-3 days max.

If fridge not spare, KEG. Crash chill in keezer for at least 2 day.

Fitler from keg to keg, then carb - as in carb [force] before it goes away again - drink a glass in about an hours time... if good wait till I need to tap it, run it at serving pressure to maintain/equalise carbing.

Side note: You brew kits so the filtering process will not benefit your brews the same way.

2.14 US cents.

 

[Wolfy]

I'm with both felten and Cocko on this one.
My timing depends mostly on my getting off my ass to do stuff (which can add weeks or longer to the following schedule), and what is being brewed.

For most ales (with new yeast/style) I allow about 1 week to propagate the yeast, 2 weeks for fermentation, and then a couple of days to chill and drop out the yeast.
However, my culture of Coopers yeast works super quick so I know I can ferment that for 5-7 days and it will be finished.
But on the other hand I have a couple of lagers in the fermenting fridge, that I will not even bother checking the gravity before 2 weeks of fermenting, and then they'll need to sit in the fridge to lager for a few more weeks after that.

 

[parrja]

once i keg, I've kept the beer cold....
is there a benefit in storing at 20 degrees ??
does it age better at 20 degrees rather than 2 degrees?

Wish I knew the answer to that one. Yeast works quicker at warmer temps, but then cold conditioning also has a good effect. Love to do a side by side test one day...

 

[stux]

I tend to do beery stuff on the weekend, so my process us in weeks

A good ale ferment is done and dusted in 4-7 days so I do 1-2 weeks

And a lager would be 2-3 weeks, ramping up to d-rest after high krausen drops back in

I then leave it until my next weekend 'conditioning'

For an ale I'll crash chill a few days before kegging

For a lager I'll do the same thing but don't mind waiting 1-4 weeks depending in how busy I am.

I'm happy to slow carb in the keg fridge and don't mind the beer CCing under gas

 

[mje1980]

WEEK 1: I ferment at 18-19 degrees for the first week.
WEEKS 2 and 3: I then ramp the temperature up to 22-23 degrees and give it 2 weeks.
WEEK 4: I then ramp it down over a few days to 1 degree, and leave it there for a week.

QUESTIONS
Do you have any suggestions/comments about my time-table.
Working on a 4 week ferment/cc, would I be better off to give it more/less time at any of the steps?

I mostly brew 3-4% UK ales. I brew them til they're done ( 4-6 days mostly ), then keg, gas, and drink!. My only exception are 6% plus beers, which i usually bottle. With them i wait til they're done, then give them a few more days in the primary to make sure, then bottle. Super hoppy beers ( 10 minute APA's etc ) i'll do the same, but after kegging i give them a week or two to mellow/meld together.

The hydrometer is the best tool for judging when its ready.

 

[michael_aussie]

i have never racked ... i guess i'm lazy
without racking your timetable is roughly

10 days primary
4 days extra 2 degrees
1 week cc



once i keg, I've kept the beer cold....
is there a benefit in storing at 20 degrees ??
does it age better at 20 degrees rather than 2 degrees?

Wish I knew the answer to that one. Yeast works quicker at warmer temps, but then cold conditioning also has a good effect. Love to do a side by side test one day...

after reading Tony's "Never Ever Again With Us-05/1056" thread that focussed on diacetyl ... I wondered about this question again...

once i keg, I've kept the beer cold....
is there a benefit in storing at 20 degrees ??
does it age better at 20 degrees rather than 2 degrees?


After I have chilled .. and I then have a period (say 4 weeks) to mature the beer in the keg .. should I do that at 2 degrees or 20 degrees?

 

[felten]

If the yeast is finished with the beer and has cleaned up all it's going to clean up, then no. Storing it warm won't have any benefits over storing it cold.

Chemical/yeast activity does speed up with warmer temperatures, but so do negative things like staling (diacetyl can increase over time through staling) and autolysis.

It might not have a huge impact over a 1 month period but cold storage of finished beer is best unless, you're looking to promote wild yeast/bacteria activity during storage for lambics and such.

 

[michael_aussie]

If the yeast is finished with the beer and has cleaned up all it's going to clean up, then no. Storing it warm won't have any benefits over storing it cold.

Chemical/yeast activity does speed up with warmer temperatures, but so do negative things like staling (diacetyl can increase over time through staling) and autolysis.

It might not have a huge impact over a 1 month period but cold storage of finished beer is best unless, you're looking to promote wild yeast/bacteria activity during storage for lambics and such.

ty Felten .. that is very clear. I will contnue to store my "maturing" kegs in a fridge.