Warm weather styles

[drtomc]

Hi All,

Just getting back in to brewing after a break.

I'd like to brew a couple of batches to get my stocks up, but without a brewing fridge, the temperature at this time of year isn't ideal. I'll brew some Saison, which likes the warm. What other yeasts/styles are good for brewing warm?

T.

 

[mje1980]

How warm are we talking? As in how warm will the ferment be?. Irish ale is supposed to be good up to 22, maybe even 24. I've only used it at 18, but it's a great yeast, fast fermentor,drops clear quickly and has a great flavour profile.

 

[Scorched_Dog]

Irish ale is always good! I've fermented successfully up to around 24-25.

 

[drtomc]

I'm not sure how warm my garage will be - qualitatively, pretty warm. I'm planning to do a Saison first, since it's happy, indeed likes, high 20s, and record the temperature.

How is a german wheat beer likely to go?

 

[Scorched_Dog]

Saison is a winner! As far as I know, it depends on the yeast that you choose and whether that will cope with the warmer temperatures.

 

[jyo]

If you can keep your temps lower than 24', you could knock out a Belgian Blond with Wy 3522 Belgian Ardennes. It is better at lower temps, but it will get you there at 24'.

 

[manticle]

Some belgians and even some uk, depending on how hot and whether you can keep the temp low for the first 48-72 hours.

I say no to wheat.

 

[drtomc]

Cheers. I have a carboy of water with a thermometer strip on it, so I'll monitor it for a week or two while the Saison is fermenting, and see how bad it is. I guess any ester driven style is going to have more luck.

 

[Spiesy]

If you can keep your temps lower than 24', you could knock out a Belgian Blond with Wy 3522 Belgian Ardennes. It is better at lower temps, but it will get you there at 24'.

Yuck. I won't use this yeast again. Purely personal, of course, but not a fan of what this yeast spits out - and from memory I fermented this on the cooler side.

 

[Bribie G]

I'd also recommend Wyeast Irish Ale. In Bill Yenne's book "Guinness, the 250 Year Quest for the Perfect Pint", where he actually lived at the brewery for months, he describes the process where they let the beer warm to nearly 25 degrees during fermentation and you'd have to say that the Irish version (love it or not) isn't over estery. Also there are PDFs out there describing the old Park Royal Guinness brewery in London that operated until the 1970s and they did exactly the same procedure.

I'd bet you'll be safe in Melb, even in your odd heatwave you can do the wet towel and fan trick or wrap the FV up with some 2L frozen water bottles and swap twice a day.
Ed: especially so in Vic where your heat comes down from the interior and is dry so anything evaporative works extra well, compared to say Cairns.

 

[Midnight Brew]

In terms of wheat it depends what you like. I've had a wheat at an ambient of 23C so inside the fermenter was most likely 25C and it pushed bubble gum flavours with a very faint banana background. Not everyones pot of beer but can be pleasant. That was Wy3068. If you can get a saison started before this weeks Friday/Saturday should go alright. Will be uncontrollable on those days without some sort of cooling aid.

 

[Weizguy]

I have fermented weizen up to 25°C, but it needs to be bottled within a day of reaching f.g. or it starts to throw fusels and the possibility of acetic taints.

Much better if you can evaporatively cool the ferment (wet towel and a fan).

W1187 brews a nice ale and seems not to mind high temps (range is 18-23°C)

 

[schtev]

I would say no to any kind of weizen, last time I did one in warmer temperatures it had a terrible fusel alcohol flavour that took months to fade.

Saison is a great bet though. I recently made a split batch of Bullshead Summer Saison, half with Wyeast 3711 and half 3726. I did the 3711 at 24C in the fridge ferm chamber and it's come out lovely. The 3726 is a seasonal farmhouse ale strain that I did at room temp, which is up to 30C in Brisbane summer! It has come out fantastic with no trace of any off-flavours.

 

[jyo]

Yuck. I won't use this yeast again. Purely personal, of course, but not a fan of what this yeast spits out - and from memory I fermented this on the cooler side.

Bummer. Has to be one of my favourite yeasts.

 

[Blind Dog]

i used a flexible tub ($5 from bunnings) with the fermentor sitting in it filled with water (plus a dash of bleach) cooled with salted water frozen in old fizzy drinks bottles, swapped am and pm, last summer before I got my fridge sorted. Brewed bitters, apas, a hefe and a couple of steam beers. They were all decent, and some really good. Temp fluctuations could be fairly high, although a lot less than if I had done nothing. A fridge is definitely one of the best $140 ($70 fridge, $70 plug and play temp controller) I've spent

 

[drtomc]

Yeah, maybe it's time I got a fridge. I already have the controller.

 

[Dunkelbrau]

You can get them for free on Gumtree.. Honestly, just check it at random times during the day and something should come up quick.

I did it for a week and paid around 20 bucks.. First in, best dressed!

 

[skb]

I have what I am sure is a stupid question. I love saison's ( only had about 5 all great) and looking at brewing one given it is warm weather time.. My question is about cross contamination, are saison yeasts like a sour blend that contain elements that can contaminate my equipment so I need to have dedicated kit. ? Or are they just normal and I don't have to worry as long as I follow my normal protocols.

 

[manticle]

Do your normal thing as per normal.
Normally.