Hi all,
It's been a while, but with the long and warm summer period I didn't bother to brew as I knew temp control would be nigh on impossible.
So, with the change of weather, I joyfully dug out my bag, my boiler and my grain, and set about making two batches. A citrus IPA, and an roughly styled APA which used a quantity of Munich - just for the hell of it.
All went well, I hit my numbers, and 2 weeks ago the no chill cubes were emptied into fermentation buckets and the yeast pitched.
Both got off to great starts with a good krausen head formed in the first 24 hours, and now both are starting to clear. I have yet to take a gravity reading, I usually look at that after 3 weeks. But they should be relatively lightweight 4.2/4.5% ABV respectively.
Now this is where things go slightly/possibly amiss...
Short of a fermentation fridge, or space in the garage, I keep the fermentation buckets upstairs in the "box room", this also doubles as a home office. With the radiator off, and the window slightly open, it stays around 16-17C at this time of year. So I can pretty much use it happily to ferment.
Yesterday, with the kids on half term, they were helping Mrs H tidy, and my daughter put something into the box room, and left the door open :-?
I didnt notice this until this morning, but I can be pretty sure that the temp in the room would have fluctuated up to maybe 22C in the evening as central heating warmed the house....
So in short, despite me closing the door and opening the window this morning to get the temp back down to 19C so far, will I be left with a load of fusel alcohols and odd tastes, and am I best biting the bullet and getting a replacement batch underway today in the vague hope of having something drinkable for Xmas and New Years?
As for my daughter, well today is her birthday, so can't be cross with her. Stuff happens.
It's been a while, but with the long and warm summer period I didn't bother to brew as I knew temp control would be nigh on impossible.
So, with the change of weather, I joyfully dug out my bag, my boiler and my grain, and set about making two batches. A citrus IPA, and an roughly styled APA which used a quantity of Munich - just for the hell of it.
All went well, I hit my numbers, and 2 weeks ago the no chill cubes were emptied into fermentation buckets and the yeast pitched.
Both got off to great starts with a good krausen head formed in the first 24 hours, and now both are starting to clear. I have yet to take a gravity reading, I usually look at that after 3 weeks. But they should be relatively lightweight 4.2/4.5% ABV respectively.
Now this is where things go slightly/possibly amiss...
Short of a fermentation fridge, or space in the garage, I keep the fermentation buckets upstairs in the "box room", this also doubles as a home office. With the radiator off, and the window slightly open, it stays around 16-17C at this time of year. So I can pretty much use it happily to ferment.
Yesterday, with the kids on half term, they were helping Mrs H tidy, and my daughter put something into the box room, and left the door open :-?
I didnt notice this until this morning, but I can be pretty sure that the temp in the room would have fluctuated up to maybe 22C in the evening as central heating warmed the house....
So in short, despite me closing the door and opening the window this morning to get the temp back down to 19C so far, will I be left with a load of fusel alcohols and odd tastes, and am I best biting the bullet and getting a replacement batch underway today in the vague hope of having something drinkable for Xmas and New Years?
As for my daughter, well today is her birthday, so can't be cross with her. Stuff happens.