Is it to cold?

[MattyR]

Brewing an ale and a lager at the mo. and I think it may be too cold in the shed for the ale.Both brews are sitting at about 14-15 degrees.The Ale stopped bubbling after 3 days but the lager is still going.Will the cold weather affect the strength or taste of the brew?Have used safale and saflager yeasts if this helps.
Cheers.

[Clean Brewer]

Lager will be fine, may need to warm the ale up though, maybe wrap a blanket around the ale fermenter.

Check out the specs on the yeasts on these links..

http://www.fermentis.com/FO/EN/pdf/SafaleUS05.pdf

http://www.fermentis.com/FO/EN/pdf/SaflagerS-23.pdf

It shows the temperature ranges both can be brewed at....

[MattyR]

Thanks clean brewer thought the lager would be O.k.But I might need a heat pad or something for the ale as it was 0 here last night,have tried the blanket thing and it works to a point but its just too f*#ken cold.Might have to move north.Anyway Thanks.

[Iron-Haggis]

Best thing to do with an ale is hydrate the yeast before hand, pitch at around 20c and wrap a thick blanket it around it. That way fermentation starts quickly and it doesn't allow the temperature to drop below 15. As fermentation is an endothermic reaction so it creates enough heat to keep itself warm in the blanket during fermentation. You will find brewing at lower temperatures gives you a better beer.

[rwh]

As fermentation is an endothermic reaction

It's exothermic. Creates heat.

If I was you I'd bring the ale inside. Or just switch to brewing all lagers at this time of year.

[Iron-Haggis]

Sorry my mistake, got my exo mixed up with my endo. Been too long since I did Chemistry at school.

[MattyR]

Thanks lads,bought a heat pad to sit under the fermenter too see how it would go.Warmed up to about 20c and looks like it wants to go again but hasnt quite started.Can the yeast be harmed if its too cold for too long?

[rwh]

Nah, not really.

[MattyR]

Just kegged it.Will let u know in a couple of days how it went.Its a Muntons Smugglers Ale,Easy one to make I know,but very very tasty.Its a bit more expensive than the other can kits but it does taste good.Last one I made didnt last long,this is why I was worried about it.If u have some extra cash brew this kit u wont regret it.

[The Brown Bottle]

Gday guys

I'm new to this forum and new to brewing, and intended to start a thread myself today, but this one is so close to what I wanted to ask that I thought I might just jump in and ask a similar question if that's OK.

I am brewing a Muntons Mt Mellick Cream Ale for my second ever brew, with my first being a Coopers Lager that is now bottled and still in its first week of secondary fermentation... and which seemingly went off without a hitch, but this one seems a bit different.

I used one can of Muntons plus one 1.5kg can of Coopers liquid amber malt extract plus a packet of Danstar Windsor Ale Yeast, and man did she bubble aggressively (20deg on the thermometer) for the first few days. In fact it made my lager look lazy, but it really slowed down and by the fourth day had practically come to a standstill... In fact I would have sworn it was no longer fermenting. Not totally convinced of this, I decided to leave it, and yesterday (Day 5) I watched it for ages for a bubble (showing 18deg on the thermometer) and got nothing so I took its gravity and it was 1020, but its starting gravity was 1065 although I took this after pitching the yeast coz I forgot to do it first.

Anyway... Is it possible for ales to ferment fast if they are very aggressive in the first few days, or have I just let it get too cold even though it states 17-21deg as being the optimum fermentation temperatures? After being convinced it had finished fermenting, it bubbled a couple of times this morning while I ate my breakfast, so I'm wondering if I need to warm her up a bit (already has a blanket around it) and see if it increases the level of bubbling, or whether I should just leave it go a few extra days to be on the safe side.

I heard from a friend that the yeast I used is a good one, but can take a while to settle, and I also don't know if using liquid malt extract is different to using dextrose as used in my first brew.

Sorry if it seems like I'm twaddling on about nothing, but I just want a bit of reassurance if possible.

Again... sorry for hijacking a thread, but it seems so close to my issue that it seemed silly to start another one.

Any help from anyone would be very much appreciated.

Cheers

BB

[rwh]

Anyway... Is it possible for ales to ferment fast if they are very aggressive in the first few days

Yes. Mine are often close to finished after four days.

or have I just let it get too cold even though it states 17-21deg as being the optimum fermentation temperatures?

I dunno, you only told me how warm it was when it started, not how warm it is now. But so long as it's above 17°C now, you should be right.

After being convinced it had finished fermenting, it bubbled a couple of times this morning while I ate my breakfast, so I'm wondering if I need to warm her up a bit (already has a blanket around it) and see if it increases the level of bubbling, or whether I should just leave it go a few extra days to be on the safe side.

I'd just bottle whenever you're ready. I normally leave mine for at least a week, if not two, because the beer can only get better and clearer over this time. Have a read about attenuation vs conditioning phases of fermentation. I'd be guessing the odd bubble you're getting right now is likely to just be residual CO2 coming out of solution due to temperature variations affecting the solubility of the CO2 in the beer.

I heard from a friend that the yeast I used is a good one, but can take a while to settle, and I also don't know if using liquid malt extract is different to using dextrose as used in my first brew.

The liquid malt will be different in that it'll finish with a higher SG and taste a bit maltier. Might even be a little sweet, in which case next time try boiling some hops with your malt to balance it out. I think all-malt gives a much tastier beer than dextrose, I virtually never use dex any more.

[The Brown Bottle]

Wow

Thanks for the information and also for that great link.

I can see my work suffering today while I read the info on that site.

Thanks again

BB

[MattyR]

Magnificent taste.Potency unsure,about 4%.Thanks for your help.Cause I thought it was all over for this brew.