New Cooling Set-up

[RabMaxwell]

Well i will be testing my new fermentation temperature control set-up tomorrow as my old Maxi cooler snuffed it last month.I also bought a TC10 controller to see if i can take the temperature below 5oc.

[ADDLED]

Nice one

I don't have a fixed installation like yourself and I really can't be a rsed to set up my chiller at the moment. My fermentation temperature control involves brewing while the weather is overcast, putting the fermenter in a cool shady spot outside the back door during the day and bringing it back into the kitchen with the window open at night.

It's slightly below the 22 deg c that the Ringwood brewery ferment there beers at but the yeast sediments out so well there's no need for finings or crash cooling, i'll just stick it outside over night for the 15 deg c diacetyl rest before racking to the keg. It'll be fine as long as it doesn't get all sunny again in the next few days

Chris my Pendle Witches Brew has been in the garage since the weekend, around 18-21deg during the day and maybe 12-15deg at night. Gravity is dropping slow and steady, around a point a day, which is unusual as most other beers have fermented out in around 2-3 days, but this is the first ive done with us05 so maybe thats right.
Is this temp range ok or should i bring it in at night?

[ADDLED]

Tks. What does a lower temp ferment do to the flavour of the beer?

[adm]

Tks. What does a lower temp ferment do to the flavour of the beer?

Probably it'll give it a "cleaner" taste with less of the "fruitiness" that Ale yeasts give - although US05 is pretty damn clean tasting anyway...so I don't know if there'll be much difference!

[Cheshire-cheese]

Nice one

I don't have a fixed installation like yourself and I really can't be a rsed to set up my chiller at the moment. My fermentation temperature control involves brewing while the weather is overcast, putting the fermenter in a cool shady spot outside the back door during the day and bringing it back into the kitchen with the window open at night.

It's slightly below the 22 deg c that the Ringwood brewery ferment there beers at but the yeast sediments out so well there's no need for finings or crash cooling, i'll just stick it outside over night for the 15 deg c diacetyl rest before racking to the keg. It'll be fine as long as it doesn't get all sunny again in the next few days

What is the "diacetyl rest"?

[Cheshire-cheese]

Thanks. I've never knowingly included this step but always include a secondary fermentation in cooler conditions with bubble traps fitted. I wonder whether the yeast takes up the diacetyl (is this an abreviation? Is it not diacetyl-something-or-other?) during this stage

[RabMaxwell]

It removes the diacetyl produced by the yeast after fermentation. Lager brewers raise the temperature after fermentation to increase yeast activity, the Ringwood brewery (and presumably others) lower it to keep its natural carbonation without subduing the yeast too much.

Did you get the temperature down below 5 deg c Rab, and what did you use as chiller after the old one died ?

I am never stuck for long when it comes to temperature control .I bought a job lot of 4 beer coolers so i should never be stuck again but they never had a python pump so i fitted 12 volt caravan pumps.This is the first time using the TC-10 & 12 volt pumps but it's looking good .I think it's cooling even faster than the last set-up whether it will get below 5oc in the summer i am not sure yet.


I have just skimmed the crap from the top of my Themes Valley 3 yeast head smells lovely it looks lonely in there as it's only 60 litres

[RabMaxwell]

I will only need to skim it once Chris i only done it as i wanted to wipe the inside walls of the fermenter anyway.With my full size brews any trub gets removed by my blow-off tube as some of the first head normally goes through into a jug of water.

[RabMaxwell]

Not sure about the cable ties Chris i had to open the pipe insulation up as there are 2 water feeds going & 2 coming back as there are 2 pumps as it controls my yeast fermenter aswell seems to be cooling very well anyway

[RabMaxwell]

As I understand it, most insullation works by trapping pockets of air which in itself is a very poor conductor of heat so in theory, by squashing it out you reduce its effectiveness.

Do you need to have the cable ties so tight ?

Probably not but i like to over do things i was thinking of changing the cable ties for ducting tape but don't have any at the moment. I will try not to squash it too much when raping it round cheers:D

[Cheshire-cheese]

Diacetyl

Removal of diacetyl is one of the reasons some people to prefer to leave the beer in the primary fermenter for a few more days after primary fermentation is over. It will probably occur in a secondary fermenter but there is more yeast present in the primary.

Good point. Mine often spends a week in primary (weekend to weekend brewing) so I suppose for an average strength beer the primary fermentation will be over a few days before.