yeast for warm weather brewing

Make a saison with Wyeast 3724 Belgian Saison. It likes it warm...

 

I've read that 3724 stalls out at like 1.030 if you don't ramp up the temps into the mid to high 80's?

 

Yes it does (stall at 1.030) and then it comes roaring back to like at warmer temps after that...

 

Make a swamp cooler and use soda bottles filled with ice to maintain temperatures. I use a coleman cooler with a hole in the top, fill about 1/3 with water add a few 16 oz bottles and bam I got my temp in the mid 60's. just by adjusting the amount of ice filled bottles you can control your temp.

 

US-05 is a great yeast for making IPAs and according to Fermentis this yeast can be used up to 75°F. I have only brewed with US-05 up to around 71°F so I can’t personally vouch for how this yeast performs at 75°F.

Saison yeast strains are generally heat tolerant. My favorite Saison strains are WLP585 and ECY08.

Cheers!

 

I don't go above 80-ish and have never had 3724 stall. Pitch plenty of healthy yeast, oxygenate properly, and provide nutrients. It's still a slow yeast, but in my experience it doesn't quit (or stall) if you take care of it.

 

People have had a lot of success using our Wallonian Farmhouse yeast at higher temperatures around 75-80F. Nathan Smith, who will be speaking at NHC on new hop varieties, gave me a few beers the other day that he brewed with Yeast Bay yeast, and the IPA wort fermented with Wallonian was absurdly good. It had a nice complexity to it.

Cheers!

 

Nick, do you have input on how Saison Blend ‘works’ in the high 70’s/low 80’s? Will this yeast blend produce higher alcohols (fusel oils) at those temperatures?

Cheers!

Jack

 

People have definitely reported using the Saison Blend in the mid-70's (75-76) and have reported good results. This discussion has just reminded me to update the fermentation temperature range for a couple of the yeast based on a lot of data we've been collecting!

 

Unless you plan to do a swamp cooler (2nd choice) or just break down and invest in a freezer/controller (1st choice) then I would steer clear of anything other than saison yeasts or anything mentioned above that might be more heat tolerant. Even with saison yeasts, I would check the specifics of each strain before assuming they'll make great beer all summer long, regardless of the heat. Recall that ambient air temperature is going to be quite a bit less than the temperature inside your fermenter when fermentation is at its peak. So if a yeast is listed as 68-78 that probably means wort temperature, not ambient air temperature.

I sometimes do little extract batches at home where I don't have a freezer/controller setup. When it gets warm, I don't make anything but saisons until it gets cool again.

 

I just used some ECY14 for a saison. My garage is getting warm to say the least. I started the beer down cool around 67* when I pitched it, says to use from 72-85 I think. Let it ramp to 74* held it there for a day or so, and then removed it from the chamber so I could crash a few carboys ( and chill some beer I stored in there ).

It took off, and it still going strong. Not a huge krausen with it, came up, went down, stayed low on the top of the beer and was rippin' away. Smells great, and I can't pick up any fusels from it in my nose or taste of it so far. Very nice yeast, and it's currently at 81* in the garage.

 

The fridge and temp control is the best option but if your like me, I don't have the room for a fridge. The swamp cooler works well too. I use a passive cool box, it's like a homemade cooler. I haven't yet found a cooler that is tall enough for my better bottles so I used a plastic tote and lined it foam rubber. It will hold temps to within a couple of degrees for about 8-10 hours using freezer bricks. It's a middle of the road alternative.

 

I removed the top of my cooler, hinges and all. I made a 1x10 frame and re positioned the the top on top of the frame and cut a hole in the top for the air lock to stick out of. Works really well and holds temp way better than an open box and wet tee-shirt.

 

Ahh.. good idea. Kinda like the chest freezer kegerator modification.

 

I do all of that, and it "stalls" Fluor a week only to take off like nothing happened and reach a low FG. Yeast be finickey.

 

Saison (as above). I like to make strong ones with lots of oats and American hops. I usually ferment with a mix of Wy 3724/3711 and ferment >80 degrees.

 

Ahh.. good idea. Kinda like the chest freezer kegerator modification.


Exactly. took about 30 minutes to modify for several years of fermentation. cost about $6

 

It's wet tee-shirt time again!

seems to me that something funny's going on around here
people laughing and dancing and paying entirely too much for their beer
but we all think it's clean out of sight
and we're ready to boogie cuz the sign outside says it's wet tee-shirt night

-FZ