First batch underway, now thinking about next steps

Discussion on brewing beer from malt extract, hops, and yeast.
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crowds

First batch underway, now thinking about next steps

Post by crowds » Wed Jul 15, 2009 9:41 am

So i got my first batch underway on monday when the kids were either at school or at the Grandparents.

It was a bit of a trial as the boiler was on strike and hot water had to be sourced via the humble kettle.
That said I am sure I got everything rinsed well enough post sanitize.

Already marked a few areas where I need to do things a little different for next time. And i would say the little 6ltr stockpan was able to do its job quite well.
In fact I was able to cool it down to <40 c in 15 min (is that quick enough ?) at which point i added it to the FV where there was around 17ltrs of pre treated water waiting. Its going well at the moment and I have a satellite brew in a bottle for taking gravity tests.

With things underway and finding myself in this waiting phase I have started thinking about the next stages and some likely problems I might encounter.
Before I started I took some ambient temp readings of all the places in the house that might be suitable to leave the FV. The coolest place was under the stairs at around 21/22 c (It can peak at 24 on really humid days so I hope we dont get any during the next few days)
I guess this is fine for the primary fermentation but when I rack it off (I plan on trying a few bottles around 10-15 and putting the rest in a keg) should it be stored at a lower temp for conditioning ?
If so, I have no space and no garage (just a garden shed that is currently housing a community of retired gnomes) so converting second hand fridges is a no go. What are my options for cooling ?

I keep hearing about python lines and trim coolers but frankly im not sure if that would be overkill. And Im not sure how that would work... would a keg be cooled by the immersion of the python line into the keg ?

Should I only concern myself with things like this for when it's time to pour a nice cooled pint or is it worth considering as a means to controlling fermentation temps, both primary and secondary ?

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OldSpeckledBadger
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Re: First batch underway, now thinking about next steps

Post by OldSpeckledBadger » Wed Jul 15, 2009 11:24 am

I'm in the same situation as you wrt cool storage. I have a small shed so the beer goes in there for conditioning even though it's theoretically too cold in winter and too warm in summer. For the milds and bitters that I brew it hasn't been a problem so far and the beer tastes fine at room temperature too. If it's so hot that I want a cooler beer, I've got some summer ale in 1 litre PETs which I can put in the fridge as needed. Remember that lager-style beers have to be chilled because they taste disgusting and chilling kills the taste.
Best wishes

OldSpeckledBadger

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