New Brewer - BPAA

Good afternoon, I have a quick question. I started my brew last Wednesday 20 July 2016, and placed the wort in the garage out of the way, its dark in there. It stated store the beer in a dark warm location. Well I live in florida where it gets into the 90s during the day, and maybe down to 77 at night. After chatting with one of the NB personnel on the webpage, I brought it inside. The house thermometer runs between 72 - 76 depending on the day, some parts of the house are cooler than others. Is the first 40hrs of time spent in the garage going to have a huge impact on the beer? I haven’t seen any bubbles last two days. Thanks!

At 90 deg it fermented out already. Probably bottle it and move on. Unless you have temperature control you should just brew in the colder months down there. Way to hot

Rog, That sucks. I hope it doesn’t come out to bad. I think ill let it sit till Friday and bottle it. Temp in the laundry room varies between 72 - 75. The next batch will go in my closet and ill make a swamp cooler for it. I finished it Wednesday evening around 1930. and I moved it indoors Friday around 0900. I still get some bubbles if I push on lid, but I have not seen any come through all on their own.

now that its sitting indoors is it possible to throw another packet of yeast into the brew?

Ok just tested the garage with my thermopro thermometer, its 81 degrees. will 38hrs to be exact at that temperature kill the beer? I am currently testing my chest freezer, that I haven’t turned on in about 6yrs, on its warmest setting. hopefully that’s mid 60s for future brews.

You’d just be wasting yeast to pitch it again. In the 80s it probably finished in less than 24 hours. Best thing you can do now is just Bottle it and hope for the best.

You’ll need a temp controller to use your chest freezer for fermentation. NB sells the Johnson controllers. They’re plug and play and work very well. I have one. I also have a docooler temp controller that I bought from amazon.com much cheaper. You just need to attach a cord to it and it’s a bit harder to setup but works great. https://www.amazon.com/Docooler®-Temperature-Controller-Thermocouple--58~194°F/dp/B00F05UI8O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469384339&sr=8-1&keywords=docooler+temp+controller

Your beer may not be lost depending on what you brewed and which yeast you have used. Some belgian yeasts like a warm fermentation. Most other yeasts won’t produce a good flavor profile over 72°F.

A swamp cooler utilizing a wet towel and a fan can reduce the temperature of the fermenting wort by up to 6° to 8°F when the ambient temperature is up to 74°. This is for for low to moderate OG beers if the wort is in the upper 50° to low 60°F range when the yeast is pitched.

The temperature of the fermenting wort can be further reduced by adding plastic soda bottles of ice to the swamp cooler. This is a picture of my basic swamp cooler set up when the ambient temperature is 66° to 68°F.

You might want to look into a temperature controlled fermentation chamber living in Florida. Something like a dorm room refrigerator or small chest freezer that your fermentor will fit into. A STC-1000 or something like a Johnson control ( http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/brewing-equipment/fermenting-equipment/fermentation-temperature-control ) can be used to control the temperature of the fermenting wort.

Just looked at the Johnson control. Does the freezer just plug into the Johnson and the Johnson into the wall. Then the Johnson runs the freezer when necessary? I threw my bbq temp gauge inside the freezer and the warmest setting still got cold enough to no longer be read which is less than 35degrees. It is a 7.5cu freezer. If it realy is that simple to plug a Johnson into the wall and freezer into the Johnson. I am probably going to order one today.

I brewed the Block Party Amber Ale, and I used the dry yeast that came with it.

Once bottled how cool does it need to be? same as fermenatoin? or is 70s g2g?

Yes, you just plug the freezer power supply into the Johnson control. The control overrides the freezers controls to establish a certain temperature. You do need to fasten the temperature probe to the outside of the fermentor and insulate it from the ambient temp inside the freezer. You want the control to monitor the wort temp not the ambient temp of the freezer.

Bottle conditioning beer takes warm temperatures. 70° to 75°F is good. Too cool and the yeast can’t eat up the priming sugar to produce CO2.

The dry yeast with the Block Party Amber Ale was most likely US-05. Let it finish and clear in the fermentor for 15 to 21 days. Take a hydrometer sample and taste to see what you have.

Post back with the final gravity and what the sample of your amber ale tastes like. Chill the sample after reading the SG before tasting.

thanks

hit up a local brew supply company in fort Walton. they recommended the inkbird temperature control. cost $38. Went ahead and ordered one on amazon. I also peeked at the beer. Looks very calm in there now, you can tell where the yeast rose and has since fell. I think Ill just let it set until Friday and then ill bottle it.

Even though it is most likely fermented out don’t skip SG confirmation.

Order all necessary items needed to accomplish this. It arrives tomorrow. And will check again Friday before bottling

Check with Jim and Deborah at Hopheads on Racetrack Road. They can walk you through the brewing process. They can also refer you to the clubs in the area.

I also recommend you read “How to Brew” by John Palmer. There’s an older free version on-line at: howtobrew.com.

The idea of starting beer at high temp then cooling it to the desired fermentation temp has been pretty well disproven. Most brewer prefer to: (1) chill the beer to about five degrees F less than the yeast manufacturer’s published minimum temperature for pitching, (2) let it warm to approximately the minimum published temp for the fist few days, and (3) warm to the maximum temperature to finish - finish means the specific gravity is the same for two or three successive samples taken two or three days apart (4) let the beer sit for a further week so the yeast can eat the undesirable by-products of early fermentation (5) cold crash to 35F for a few days to encourage clearing.

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Just took a reading with my new hydrometer. It looks like 1019. Kit should it should have started around 1043. . 3.15abv according to the calculator on brewersfriend

A SG of 1.019 is high for most finished beers. Let it sit in the primary.

Is it possible it’s still working it’s magic after spending the first 38hrs in the garage where Temps were 80 93 degrees. Then moved indoors for 4 1/2days in 72 -75 Temps before finally getting in a 65degre enviorment.??? This is my first batch, and I’m glad I made so many mistakes…I meaning learning opprotunities.

The yeast can still be working on the wort. Temperature fluctuations can cause stalls. Don’t rush it. Plan to keep it at 65° for at least a couple of weeks. If your brew has been damaged more time in the primary will not cause more ill effects. Take a hydrometer sample in five days to check the specific gravity and for your first taste.