ericmark
Regular.
I am not really a good brewer always use kits and in the main either Geordie or Youngs Scottish brews. The Youngs version asks for 1.5 kg sugar and the Geordie 1 kg of sugar but I normally use 1.5 kg in both.
I use an old fridge/freezer in the attached garage to brew in with thermostat control of temperature sensor pressed against side of fermentor under a sponge so measuring brew not the free air.
At around 10 days I transfer to clean fermentor and after around another 10 days I bottle in pop bottles which then go in the freezer compartment for 10 days both compartments held at around the 19 to 20 degrees C. Then into shed until required for drinking.
I say this to show it is a bit like a production line very little alters brew to brew so I expect to get nearly the same results in every brew.
However Christmas came and it was due to be bottled on Christmas day which did not happen and in new year I started medication which required no alcohol so I forgot about the brew and it just sat there at 20 degs until the 7th March when I thought I should bottle never bothered transferring to remove sediment. Last bottle had loads of sediment in it so put that one to one side, and three days latter tried it. It was no near as sharp as normal it had not got the normal slightly bitter after taste I know is due to over doing the sugar.
So question is why, or more to the point what do I need to do for it to happen again. Clearly leaving in fermentor for 3 months instead of 3 weeks would have rather a serious impact on my stock levels, but if an extra week can do it then that's not so bad, is it due to not transferring after 10 days?
Last year I stopped brewing in the summer, also stopped the year before, but last year the result was running out of stock which had over summered in the shed, and it would seem shed is not warm enough in Winter for the brew to condition, which is why I started using the freezer compartment to condition beer before storing.
I have been conditioning at 20 degs not really sure if that's the right temperature? With the sensor on the fermenter and insulated I have noted my old data is flawed. For first couple of years I relied on the stick on temperature stick and found at 16 degs it stopped, at 18 degs fermented OK to start with but tended to slow up near end, at 20 degs worked A1, at 24 degs nasty after taste.
However strip still on fermentor and in the fridge with sensor pressed hard to fermentor under a sponge to insulate I found the stick on strip gives an average between brew temperature and air temperature so once getting good readings I found 18 degs is nearly stalled 19 degs works well from start to finish, 20 degs speeds it up a bit, and it has never hit 24 degs so not a clue what would happen. It was quite a surprise started again in Sept and we had a hot spell, but in spite of garage at 26 degs beer in fridge stayed at 20 degs fridge part never used. Clearly average day and night was not exceeding 20 degs and in a fridge change is very slow. So I can near enough guarantee my brew was at 20 degs all its life.
I use an old fridge/freezer in the attached garage to brew in with thermostat control of temperature sensor pressed against side of fermentor under a sponge so measuring brew not the free air.
At around 10 days I transfer to clean fermentor and after around another 10 days I bottle in pop bottles which then go in the freezer compartment for 10 days both compartments held at around the 19 to 20 degrees C. Then into shed until required for drinking.
I say this to show it is a bit like a production line very little alters brew to brew so I expect to get nearly the same results in every brew.
However Christmas came and it was due to be bottled on Christmas day which did not happen and in new year I started medication which required no alcohol so I forgot about the brew and it just sat there at 20 degs until the 7th March when I thought I should bottle never bothered transferring to remove sediment. Last bottle had loads of sediment in it so put that one to one side, and three days latter tried it. It was no near as sharp as normal it had not got the normal slightly bitter after taste I know is due to over doing the sugar.
So question is why, or more to the point what do I need to do for it to happen again. Clearly leaving in fermentor for 3 months instead of 3 weeks would have rather a serious impact on my stock levels, but if an extra week can do it then that's not so bad, is it due to not transferring after 10 days?
Last year I stopped brewing in the summer, also stopped the year before, but last year the result was running out of stock which had over summered in the shed, and it would seem shed is not warm enough in Winter for the brew to condition, which is why I started using the freezer compartment to condition beer before storing.
I have been conditioning at 20 degs not really sure if that's the right temperature? With the sensor on the fermenter and insulated I have noted my old data is flawed. For first couple of years I relied on the stick on temperature stick and found at 16 degs it stopped, at 18 degs fermented OK to start with but tended to slow up near end, at 20 degs worked A1, at 24 degs nasty after taste.
However strip still on fermentor and in the fridge with sensor pressed hard to fermentor under a sponge to insulate I found the stick on strip gives an average between brew temperature and air temperature so once getting good readings I found 18 degs is nearly stalled 19 degs works well from start to finish, 20 degs speeds it up a bit, and it has never hit 24 degs so not a clue what would happen. It was quite a surprise started again in Sept and we had a hot spell, but in spite of garage at 26 degs beer in fridge stayed at 20 degs fridge part never used. Clearly average day and night was not exceeding 20 degs and in a fridge change is very slow. So I can near enough guarantee my brew was at 20 degs all its life.
