Monday, February 7, 2011

Fermentation

This is a pretty interesting topic.
When I first started brewing I knew so little about the fermentation stage... and now when I look back at it, it seams that I must of went wrong on every level. Horrible. So heres some basic's.

Ales 

  • Temp: 65-75 deg. 
  • Primary: 10 days normally is enough; 2-3 weeks in primary is another option too if you want to skip a secondary stage.
  • Secondary/Conditioning: 7-12 days of cold conditioning (35-40 deg.) helps most of the remaining sediment drop out and give you a clearer, fresher beer. This is important even for dark beers. More time will only improve the beer too.


Lagers 

  • Temp: 55 deg. 
  • Primary: 10 days normally is enough too, depending on how active the yeast is but normally it will take longer then ales. After most of the fermentation is done and I'm a few points away from my TG I raise the temperatures for 2 days to about 65 deg. to preform a diacetyl rest. I would advise to do a secondary since after the diacetyl rest there will be plenty of sediment which is unwanted in the final conditioning stage of the beer. 
  • Secondary/Conditioning: same as ale.

Also I'd advise getting an auto-siphon if you don't already have one because it will make your racking experience literary a million times more enjoyable.

Let me know if theres anything you have a question about or more information you'd like me to add about a certain part in fermenting.

Check out
California Culinary Schools for more info
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