Boogie Chillin'

Okay, something I neglected in the post on this latest batch of beer. Temperature control.

The quality of homebrew is impacted significantly by sanitation, which anyone can manage. Then by quality ingredients, especially yeast. The liquid yeasts available from Wyeast and White Labs are superior both in purity and desirability of strain to dry yeasts. Using the appropriate culture for the beer style you're brewing is key, too: if you're making a Tripel, a Belgian Abbey strain is the only thing to use for instance.



Beyond that, temperature is huge. A yeast that will produce the phenolics and esters appropriate to a Tripel at 68º will produce the phenolics and esters appropriate to a burned, dirty diaper at 85º.

Normally, my basement is cool enough that I can avoid the burned-plastic-shit aromas and flavors, but it's been threatening triple digits these days, and since my brewing is a rare phenomena, I wanted it to turn out well.



So I bought bags of ice and propped them against the carboys. The stairwell where I ferment is the coolest place in the house, but that means over 80º with the weather we're having. I used ice to boost the chilling of the wort chiller the night I brewed and event hen my initial wort temperature was 90º.

Thirty pounds of ice with partial contact with the carboy turned out to be sufficient to keep things in the upper 60s, perfect for the Ringwood yeast I used. After the fermentation was complete, and it headed up to 75º and beyond, I'm good with that. 75º is the perfect temperature for a diacetyl rest, which Wyeast recommends for this strain. I don't mind a bit of butterscotch in this sort of beer, but hey.

I remember my first Young's Old Nick was so buttery I was tempted to pour it on popcorn. See also my first Pilsner Urquell on tap.