Averagely Perfect Saison - Poll #43 - Fermentation Temp Approach

@VikeMan: A little help please. Not sure I understand the difference between "ramp up to a target" and "step increase to a target". Could you elaborate?

 

For practical purposes, the difference between ramp and step is how quickly you want to get to the final temp. I'm thinking the saison strain wants to start in the high 60s and finish in the low 80s. Over what time frame?

 

I brewed a lot of saisons last summer because I was busy and my setup wasn't such that I could keep temps low enough to use other yeast strains. Every time I pitched at about 68F in the evening and by noon the next day we were looking at about 80F. They all turned out great.

I'm not sure if that counts as a ramp or a step, but I voted ramp.

 

I think I voted ramp in error, I believe that allowing the temperature to free rise to the desired level would be step? I don't think a slower rise would be beneficial for any reason that I can think of. Are people thinking something else or just confused?

 

Why not exponential, log, or sinusoidal time dependence possibilities? Seems like the choices are kind of limited here.

 

Whatcha think about a hyperbolic temperature rise?

Cheers!

 

So......the difference between a ramp up and step up is the amount of time? Where is the line in the sand?

For those doing ramp ups, how are you achieving a long linear transition from one temp to the next?

 

The classic way to achieve a linear transition is to pitch at a lower than intended fermentation temperature and permit the heat producing action of the yeast to bring up the temperature of the fermenting beer. The heat producing action (an exothermic reaction) will typically raise the fermenting beer about 5 degrees above ambient. If you want the fermenting temperature to be greater than about 5 degrees above ambient than some sort of heating will need to be employed (e.g., putting a heat belt on your fermenter).

Cheers!

 

Not a good approach, we would never achieve the final temp

 

Folks.. think about it this way..

Pitch at a certain temp.. lets all say.. 66*... and then you do nothing to it but keep it at room temp, say 70*.. That would be ramp.

Step, we pitch at 66*.. give it 5 days, raise it to 69, hold it for a few day and then allow it to rise to whatever temp it is sitting at.

Ramp=less work.
Step= you need temp control.

 

As a tamper with temp control I can also do incremental steps every 12 hours from any temp up to any temp. Just bump the temp up 1℃ before work, and after dinner.

 

I see what your saying. I asked because I have never seen ramp up and step up differentiated in this manner in any of the homebrew forums or publications. In my usual manner of bickering over petty semantics, you could switch over and after in the selections and it would change the meaning of ramp up vs step up(but that's beside the point).

If a temp in the 80s is selected can free rising/ramp up achieve that high of an exothermic reaction? Especially considering the low OG of 1.045. I imagine if a pitch temp of 68 is selected and a target temp of 80 is also selected than some external temperature influence will be needed.
Say you live somewhere hot and your ambient is ~80 I could see chilling down to pitch temp and then letting rise back to ambient. However, my house is mostly 60-65 ambient year round.