Learning from mistakes - which mistake did what?

I'll will add that if you are brewing 1 gallon batches then ensure you are brewing at higher volume for Gravity samples. The tube can be kinda larger and if you take a pre boil gravity reading, that can be dumped into the boil if needed and the hydrometer is clean, and then again post boil you're losing volume.

To address you question about sitting on a counter top, the issue is going to be temperature. In the middle to late part of the day the temp is going to rise making your yeast very active. Then at night or morning the temp is going to cool causing the yeast to slow down. Then putting into a cool place after fermentation means the yeast are going to slow down even more. It would be better to have a cool place in the first 2 days and then allow the temp to rise.

Higher temp = more active yeast, too active yeast means excessive esters and phenols.

Lower temp means = less active yeast, less esters and phenols.

If you start high then go low that means your yeast will be very active in the beginning creating "off flavors" and then become dormant so they won't clean up the off flavors.

I start my beers cool and then let rise.

 

I'd be willing to bet the wine fride has a UV filter / film on the glass to not allow UV light in. If not, an easier alternative to using a towel would be to cover the glass with foil, or an awesome poster. 72 - 74 is just too hot for most yeast strains. If that is the only temp you have to work with I would suggest a heat tolerant type such as some of the saison yeast. 66 is actually a good temp for most ale yeast. So I would just do fermentation in there start to finish.

 

The best option is putting the wort in the fridge, 2nd closest and last the counter top. The first 48 hours or so are the most important, as that is when the majority of "off flavors" are produced. Depending on the yeast strain but if the ambient air is in the 70s the wort during fermentation is going to be too high. If you're making an IPA you want a neutral yeast character to allow the hops to shine. If you are fermenting in the 70s that's not good, you want in the low 60s.

For example my last hoppy pale ale using WLP001 I fermented at 62 degrees for the first 4-5 days then slowing ramping up to 66/67. As yeast eat the sugar they become lazy and by increasing the temp keeps them active to finish up the small amount of sugar and clean up off flavors. Now when brewed my saison I started at 72 because I want more yeast character, and finished at 76.

Always start cool and let the temp rise not the other way around.

 

@DeweyCheatem-n-Howe , you said that 66 is the highest that the temp will go. How do you know that? Is there a thermometer in the fridge, is it a setting on the dial? If you have not, I would recommend putting a thermometer in a bottle / vase / container of water and leaving it in your fridge to correlate the temps between the fridge an a thermometer you have calibrated against boiling water or ice water to make sure they are accurate.

 

Have you brewed extract beers yet or did you jump into all grain?

 

This is how I learned "what not to do" as well. I'm still learning from my mistakes as a matter of fact. If there is a brewing club near you, I'd suggest hanging out with them.

 

I'd let it ride man. When fermentation is done, Id' bottle carb them at room temp. If after 2 weeks the first bottle doesn't taste good, just give them more time. My first beer was fermented too warm and tasted fairly bad. A few months later it was pretty good.

 

Keeping in mind that fermentation temp is 6-8 degrees higher than ambient temp, at least when fermentation is very active, I'd set the wine fridge at 58F for the first day, bump it 2 degrees every day until it's at 66.

 

You'll learn from your successes and mistakes. However, if you're having trouble after a few batches trying extract helps minimize the variables. A lot of people start all grain, I started extract and when I started brewing good beers and understand the process I switch to all grain. It was easier for me to understand 5 steps versus 8 at first. Each to their own. Enjoy the process, beer will happen and keep posting on this forum. BA and "how to brew" helped me make great beer.

Cheers!