General homebrew discussion, tips and help on kit and malt extract brewing, and talk about equipment. Queries on sourcing supplies and equipment should go in The Store.
AlcoMoo wrote:Ok. Turning off the heater. I tasted the brew a couple of times - when I've measured SG. Both times it tasted fine. Of course, nothing near finished, but still good nonetheless.
Awesomeness, that's always nice!
So I guess that if I keep my fermenter in the laundry in a house tht is around the 20 - 24*, I probably don't need the heater once I've got the yeast started huh?
Probably not, assuming that the floor isn't sucking heat out of it.
And I'd be looking for somwhere maybe a bit cooler again for lagers??
Definitely. Between 10°C and 15°C is optimal, but you could go up to about 20°C and still get a good beer.
I've got the fermenter sitting on the bench, so it is well away form draughts and the cold floor. Actually, and this might be a no-no, or it might help depending on the situation, it is directly over the dryer - although the dryer vents from the bottom and doesn't blow any hot air directly near the fermenter at all. Again, a reason to hunt out a colder enviroment for a lager.
An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools. (Ernest Hemingway)
AlcoMoo, most of my brews in ballarat have sat around 18 inside. Gas Heating gets turned of at night.
My last 2 brews have been outside in the shed in a fridge, they have been sitting around 10-12deg.
you mentioned you were near colac, so your climate should be similar.
I find it's only really in Dec/Jan when it gets hot, that the brews would need cooling. I'm planning to setup a temp controlled hot box at some point to try and keep a contant temp ( apparantly a light globe works very well), and just try and put enough batch's on before dec/jan so I don't brew in those months.
Ok, just to let you know, my FG is sitting at 1.020. It has not changed in 2 days so I guess that means fermentation is finished for initial stage. I'm getting some more bottles tomorrow and some priming sugar and then bottling on Sunday morning. I'm quite excited!!!!
The final alcohol % is working out to be around the 2.6%. If I wanted a higher % in future stouts, what could I do? I realise that the stout booster was always going to give me a higher FG and hence a lower alcohol %, but if I was going to stick with malt extract for body and taste.....any suggestions??
An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools. (Ernest Hemingway)
Sovereign Gold Stout kit
1kg stout booster (corn syrup and malt extract)
basic yeast (came with kit)
OG was 1.035; FG was 1.020. Brewed at 24*
I just followed the calcuation on the sheet I got [(OG-FG) *0.14 and then add on 0.5 for prime sugar].
Be kind.....this is my first ever brew and I followed the directions to the letter. Next time, I will turn off heater after yeast gets going. The temp in the kit was around 18* with no heating.
An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools. (Ernest Hemingway)
