Ferment Temp

[toadskin]

I have returned to home brewing after a 15 year break.

Things have changed as far as what is available but the basics remain the same. I have made two brews now, the first a Coopers pale Ale with 1kg of dextrose and the second a Thomas Coopers Wheat beer with 800gm of the Coopers No 2 kit enhancer. I have a third ready to go, a Morgans Golden Sheaf wheat beer which I intend to use with the Brewcraft Kit Converter 66 (wheat beer).

The first two I brewed at 26 to 30C in my shed although they reached 30C only briefly before I wrapped a wet towel around them and got them back to around the 26C again. They were both made to a volume of 25l because my old fermenter didn't have

The Pale Ale is drinkable, quite hoppy but lacks depth and mouth and won't keep a head for long. The second has only been in the bottle for a week but is already a nice beer with a creamy head, good mouth and rather mild hops. I would prefer more hops. (Suggestions?) It has good basics and I will make it again but with more hops.

After reading the posts here, I have just bought a temperature controller off Ebay and will fit it to a small fridge I have stored in my garage. Hopefully this will help me get some consistency, something my previous efforts lacked.

Is there a good average temperature to set the fridge at or does it vary from recipe to recipe?

In Singapore recently I tasted Erdinger Hefeweizen and loved it. If anyone has a K&K recipe that make something close I would really appreciate it.

 

[boybrewer]

Welcome back to brewing .

As a general rule Ales should be fermented at around 18 - 20* C and the same as wheat beers . Lagers using true lager yeast should be fermented at around 10 - 12* C . There is plenty of reading on this site . I am still learning my way around the site perhaps other posters might be able to point you in the right direction .


Cheers
Mike

 

[manticle]

I have returned to home brewing after a 15 year break.

Things have changed as far as what is available but the basics remain the same. I have made two brews now, the first a Coopers pale Ale with 1kg of dextrose and the second a Thomas Coopers Wheat beer with 800gm of the Coopers No 2 kit enhancer. I have a third ready to go, a Morgans Golden Sheaf wheat beer which I intend to use with the Brewcraft Kit Converter 66 (wheat beer).

The first two I brewed at 26 to 30C in my shed although they reached 30C only briefly before I wrapped a wet towel around them and got them back to around the 26C again. They were both made to a volume of 25l because my old fermenter didn't have

The Pale Ale is drinkable, quite hoppy but lacks depth and mouth and won't keep a head for long. The second has only been in the bottle for a week but is already a nice beer with a creamy head, good mouth and rather mild hops. I would prefer more hops. (Suggestions?) It has good basics and I will make it again but with more hops.

After reading the posts here, I have just bought a temperature controller off Ebay and will fit it to a small fridge I have stored in my garage. Hopefully this will help me get some consistency, something my previous efforts lacked.

Is there a good average temperature to set the fridge at or does it vary from recipe to recipe?

In Singapore recently I tasted Erdinger Hefeweizen and loved it. If anyone has a K&K recipe that make something close I would really appreciate it.

Yes it does vary from recipe to recipe but the above ranges quoted by BB are a pretty good start. Remember that fermentation produces heat so while inside the fridge might be 20 degrees, the actual brew might be a few degrees hotter. Get a good glass stick thermometer and measure a sample of the wort (hydrometer sample in a tube from the tap) as soon as you draw it to see for yourself.

The first few days of active ferment are the most important time to keep temp consistently within range altough consistency across fermentation is preferable. High temps produce esters (some nice, some not nice) but also can push out headache causing compounds and nasty tasting compounds.

For a kit attempt at a hefe, I would buy a tin of coopers wheat malt (or similar - dry extract is also available) and a pale kit tin (maybe coopers lager) or a wheat kit from one of the premium ranges.

Use ianh's kit and extract spreadsheet to calculate if you need any sugar or dextrose to hit the gravity you want. Someone on here will be kind enough to link you to it - otherwise use the google search function at the top right (not the default forum search) and look for 'kit and extract spreadsheet'.

The most important part of your hefe being successful will be using a wheat yeast. I'd recommend wyeast 3068 but if liquid yeasts freak you out at this point, there are some dry wheat yeasts available from good homebrew shops and online sponsors. Absolutely will make the difference.

Finally, while many brews develop well with some maturation time, wheat beers are generally better fresh. Once bottled, start sampling after 2 weeks and see what you think.

 

[toadskin]

Yes it does vary from recipe to recipe but the above ranges quoted by BB are a pretty good start. Remember that fermentation produces heat so while inside the fridge might be 20 degrees, the actual brew might be a few degrees hotter. Get a good glass stick thermometer and measure a sample of the wort (hydrometer sample in a tube from the tap) as soon as you draw it to see for yourself.

The first few days of active ferment are the most important time to keep temp consistently within range altough consistency across fermentation is preferable. High temps produce esters (some nice, some not nice) but also can push out headache causing compounds and nasty tasting compounds.

For a kit attempt at a hefe, I would buy a tin of coopers wheat malt (or similar - dry extract is also available) and a pale kit tin (maybe coopers lager) or a wheat kit from one of the premium ranges.

Use ianh's kit and extract spreadsheet to calculate if you need any sugar or dextrose to hit the gravity you want. Someone on here will be kind enough to link you to it - otherwise use the google search function at the top right (not the default forum search) and look for 'kit and extract spreadsheet'.

The most important part of your hefe being successful will be using a wheat yeast. I'd recommend wyeast 3068 but if liquid yeasts freak you out at this point, there are some dry wheat yeasts available from good homebrew shops and online sponsors. Absolutely will make the difference.

Finally, while many brews develop well with some maturation time, wheat beers are generally better fresh. Once bottled, start sampling after 2 weeks and see what you think.

Thank you both. I'm sure i will get better consistency with fridge controller. I have downloaded Ian's spreadsheet and had a bit of a play with it. Took me a while to get my head around some of the abbreviations.

My local IGA store has a very good range of HB products, for a supermarket. They did have some sachets of a wheat beer yeast but can't recall exactly what it was called. No liquid yeasts though. Years ago I used to re-culture the Coopers yeast out of their Pale and sparkling ales to use. Is that still an option for some recipes?

I have a good glass thermometer so I'll give that a try once I get my fridge set up.

 

[manticle]

Reculturing coopers yeasts is often done and is essential if you want to make any kind of coopers ale clone. The kit yeast is a different strain.

If you can't/don't want to get liquid yeast, look for fermentis. Danstar are another company that package reputable dry yeast. I've never used their stuff and I don't know if they sell wheat yeast but it's worth checking.

Whereabouts are you located? Often fellow brewers are happy to help out if they know where you are.

 

[wobblythongs]

Reculturing coopers yeasts is often done and is essential if you want to make any kind of coopers ale clone. The kit yeast is a different strain.

Manticale is the man but we are talking Erlenmeyer flasks and stir plates to build a cell count and lots of cash. If you are only doing tin can stuff I would take his knowledge and invest $4-5 on a descent packet of yeast and work it out from there.

 

[manticle]

I wasn't suggesting new brewers should be reculturing yeast before mastering basic steps - just responding to this:

Years ago I used to re-culture the Coopers yeast out of their Pale and sparkling ales to use. Is that still an option for some recipes?

 

[mwd]

Manticale is the man but we are talking Erlenmeyer flasks and stir plates to build a cell count and lots of cash. If you are only doing tin can stuff I would take his knowledge and invest $4-5 on a descent packet of yeast and work it out from there.

Don't need anything much to harvest Coopers bottle yeast just a sterile bottle bit of malt extract and a sixpack

 

[toadskin]

Reculturing coopers yeasts is often done and is essential if you want to make any kind of coopers ale clone. The kit yeast is a different strain.

If you can't/don't want to get liquid yeast, look for fermentis. Danstar are another company that package reputable dry yeast. I've never used their stuff and I don't know if they sell wheat yeast but it's worth checking.

Whereabouts are you located? Often fellow brewers are happy to help out if they know where you are.

I'm living at Drummond Cove, 12km North of Geraldton WA.......getting warm here, 40C+ hence organising the fridge bizzo.

 

[Bubba]

Manticale is the man but we are talking Erlenmeyer flasks and stir plates to build a cell count and lots of cash. If you are only doing tin can stuff I would take his knowledge and invest $4-5 on a descent packet of yeast and work it out from there.

I do a great CPA clone with recultured yeast, with kit and also with extract and all I use are a few stubbies of CPA, a wort mix at 1040 gravity and a couple of days covered in glad wrap in a bottle of glass jug. Swirl it every tiem I or SWMBO passes by, and it is spot on every time!

 

[toadskin]

I do a great CPA clone with recultured yeast, with kit and also with extract and all I use are a few stubbies of CPA, a wort mix at 1040 gravity and a couple of days covered in glad wrap in a bottle of glass jug. Swirl it every tiem I or SWMBO passes by, and it is spot on every time!

I love a cold CPA. I'm going to give this a go with re-cultured CPA yeast, a CPA kit and 1kg of Coopers Brew Enhancer No 2. Is that the recipe you use Bubba?