Bad Batch Complete!

[whiskeyfoot]

As it turns out, the temperatures in my apartment are NOT good for beer. Most of the replies from my last post (newbie mistake!) all leaned towards that exact fact, so it really wasn't a BIG suprise, though it did suck to wait 5 weeks for bad beer! The average temperature in my apartment, even with the A/C on was about 80 degrees according to my thermometer. The thermometer on the side of my carboy also read around 80 degrees too.

The taste is....bad. I'm not sure how to categorize it. Foul? Hard to swallow? hahaa
It definitely had potential but o-well...on to the next batch.

I've pondered how to keep the temps down, and most of the replies i had were the 'swamp cooler' style, using a pan and a shirt or towel to pull water
up over the fermenter creating a sweat to lower the temps.
My only issue with that was the fact that i live in a 450 square foot studio
apartment, and didn't want to add to the humidity level that was already in the tiny place.

I've opted to 'insulate' the cupboard that i keep the fermenter in, and
have been swapping frozen gallons of water in the morning and night, and
it has maintained a steady 65-68 degrees. So hopefully, the next batch
wont suffer such brutality!
Thanks for the advice!!
-J

[BrewDog]

Yes, temp control is key in brewing good beer, right behind sanitation.

That'll work just fine. Google "Son of Fermentation Chiller" if you haven't already done so.

Good Luck!
HTH-

[Beer Martin]

Yes, temp control is key in brewing good beer, right behind sanitation.

That'll work just fine. Google "Son of Fermentation Chiller" if you haven't already done so.

Good Luck!
HTH-


The large ice bath method is the precursor to the fermentation chiller, which is the precursor to dedicated temperature regulated refrigeration.

If you get lazy and decide not to keep up with the ice you could try choosing a crazy Belgian style that would do better at higher temperatures. 80 is still high, but not off limits for some beers. You could try to make a Saison or Biere de Garde. Sour beers also do ok at higher temperatures.

You might be able to get away with some smaller English beers as well. Like making a 1.032 gravity English bitter. the English yeast will produce more esters than usual, but it will finish with the sugars before it's over the top. A low gravity English mild might work too.
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[whiskeyfoot]

Big thanks on the advice! I'm thinking that I'll just keep experimenting
with my 'chamber' before i do the next batch to make sure things go well.
I'm not ready for anything too crazy, batch-wise.

I came up with a theory in my head, that I'm going to try a 'clone'
beer. One of my favorite day-to-day beers is good ole Sierra Nevada
Pale Ale, and I'm familiar with it's flavor. My theory would be to
try making it, and contrasting it with the real thing, and make adjustments
on each batch to 'dial in' what I'm going for.
I figured it would teach me how to do different things and learn
how to adjust each ingredient.

At least it makes sense to me! hahaa

[Mikegobrew]

There's a link on here in the recipe section (do a search) for a SNPA clone that a guy named Beerfan posted on Northernbrewer's forum. The brewmaster at SN helped and gave the hop schedule for it. If you read through the posts they have even converted it for extract brewers. I've brewed the all-grain version a couple of times. Definitely a good brew, I'm not sure it's exactly SN, but it's close.

[whiskeyfoot]

Yeah, tried the beer again this weekend....still the same flavors
overwhelming the beer. Been giving it away to some friends who
don't care either way..hahaa!