"Correct" Fermentation Temps

That fermentation temperature will not hurt your beer, this yeast strain performs better at the high edge.I figure you have brewed a Belgian style.

 

"Do you guys use the recommended ranges that White Labs provides?" Yes.

You might be interested in this chart of White Labs Belgian Yeast strains vs. fermentation temperature:http://www.whitelabs.com/files/belgianchart_0.pdf

Cheers!

 

They are okay as general guidelines, but the results can vary considerable at different ends of the recommended ranges, and beyond. I say beyond, because the recommended ranges are not gospel. Hell, the White Labs and Wyeast recommendations are often not the same for the same yeast strain.

The temp to choose depends not just on the yeast strain, but also on the style you're brewing and the specific results you are looking for.

 

Belgian yeasts are okay at a bit higher temps. A typical protocol for a Belgian-style fermentation is to start in the lower end of the tolerance (say 64-68 deg F) then allow the temperature to free rise (into 70s is okay, into 80s not unheard of). This allows for a well attenuated and often dry finish. Starting low prevents any fusel or solvent character, while the higher finishing temps result in a nice ester and higher alcohol profile as well.

Be cautioned also that some of these strains (WLP500 being one example) can stall if cooled prematurely. For the most part with these Belgian strains, it's okay to pitch and let 'er rip with relatively less control (within reason of course - 100+ degrees may be a bit too high).

The Chouffe strain your using is pretty great and I expect you'll have a nice beer based on your fermentation schedule.

Btw - this type of schedule would NOT be okay for other yeast strains. You'll want to look into an improved chilling method for making lagers or clean American-style ales.

 

I usually get the best results pitching a few degrees below the recommended range, letting it rise a bit during peak fermentation, and then sometimes venturing to the high end of the range once fermentation seems nearly complete just to ensure a good "clean up." Generally speaking, higher temps will give you more esters (which can be desirable) but also more fusels (which are not).

What happened with your beer is very typical for new brewers who don't yet have the equipment needed to fully manage fermentation temps. The higher temp may give you some off flavors and some fusels, or it might not. (My first beer fermented too hot and tasted like green apples. I drank it anyway.) Either way, I highly recommend getting some sort of set up that enables you to carefully control fermentation temps as soon as you can. It's really one of the most important aspects of brewing.

 

“The ol' swamp cooler method looks like it could work but seems a bit tedious…”

One way to implement swamp cooling is by placing the fermenter in a shallow Rubbermaid type tub/pan and wrap a towel (or T-Shirt) around the fermenter to wick up the water that you place in the tub/pan. Then direct a small fan on the wrapped fermenter to encourage evaporative cooling. You just need to monitor the water level to ensure that it doesn’t ‘dry up’. Is that too tedious?

I should caveat that the above method will bring down the temperature a few degrees (5-10 degrees). It will not bring something at 90 degrees down to fermentation temperatures.

Many homebrewers simply stop homebrewing in the summer time. They do this for temperature reasons but another potential consideration is that the amount of wild yeast in the air is much more in the summertime. Drinking a beer that has experienced a wild yeast infection is often not pleasant.

Cheers!

 

It's not, but many of us brew year 'round and have never had a wild yeast infection. Practice good sanitation and I think you'll be fine.

 

You are welcome.

Summer time brewing does not necessarily result in a homebrew having noticeable effects from wild yeast. There are just more wild yeast in the air which needs to be recognized. There are a number of steps which can be taken to minimize the chances of a wild yeast infection:

· Pitch ‘more’ brewer’s yeast with the hope that they will ‘take over’ and somewhat ‘muscle out’ the wild yeast that are present.

· Properly oxygenate/aerate the wort to give the brewer’s yeast a ‘jump start’; but maybe this helps the wild yeast as well so it is a zero sum game?

· Minimize the time that the wort is exposed to the ambient air; put the cooled wort into the fermenter quickly; oxygenate/areate quickly, pitch the yeast quickly and seal up the fermenter quickly. The less time the cooled wort is exposed to the ambient air the less wild yeast will get into the wort.

Practicing good sanitation is something that you should do for every batch regardless of season.

Cheers!

P.S. I brewed an English Ale in June a few years ago which unfortunately had more wild yeast in it then I desired. There were no perceptible flavors from the wild yeast infection but the resulting beer was more carbonated then I desired. I used very little priming sugar to create a lowly carbonated beer (to mimic a cask ale). That beer ended up being at a normal CO2 level (about 2.3 volumes of CO2). The beer was tasty but just more carbonated then I desired for that particular batch. The wild yeast consumed the Maltotriose (a sugar) in the beer that the brewer’s yeast (Danstar Windsor) did not completely process.

Edit: I should have also have mentioned that minimizing exposure to the ambient air should be practised during the packaging (bottling) of the beer. Wild yeast can get into the beer and if there are any fermentables left the wild yeast will 'eat' them.

 

There's nothing wrong with using an aluminum brew kettle. I would however recommend getting a larger kettle (either SS or Aluminum) so that you can do full wort boils for 5 gallon batches (assuming that's your batch size).

 

Exactly.

ETA: I meant you have it exactly right, not that it's a stupid question.

 

@JackHorzempa has a lot more brewing experience than I do, and I would generally defer to his advice, but I have to say I think his fear of summer-time wild yeast is a little bit idiosyncratic - I haven't heard of anyone avoiding summer-time brewing for this reason. We are talking about a low-probability event in any season. (Lightning deaths are also much more common in the summer, so you should take prudent steps to protect your safety, but I wouldn't let it keep you from brewing outdoors unless a thunderstorm is forecast.) I also think it's a little hasty to blame wild yeast for an over-carbonation problem, where there isn't any other evidence for contamination. Maybe, but maybe not. I haven't found carbonation to be a very precise enterprise. All of that said, his advice about minimizing exposure to the air is good.

One thing that some people do during the summer is brew beers that are more heat-tolerant, such as saisons. @OldSock just published a post on this topic, although he noted that even with saisons you have to pay some attention to the temperature of the fermentation.

 

You do not need to use bleach or anything else to sanitize your brew kettle prior to boiling; it just needs to be clean. Boiling sterilizes the wort and anything else around it. That includes the kettle, spoons, thermometer, etc. You sanitize everything that comes in contact with the wort after the boil.