Hot Fusel Alcohol Issue

[klamz]

So my first attempt at making a winter warmer ended up having harsh fusal alcohol using Wyeast 1056 and mashing at 148f. My original gravity is 1.072 and final 1.011. I did not oxgynate/aerate I just shook my carboy and fermented at 68f. I made a yeast starter with a sufficient amount of healthy yeast.


My question is will the addition of oxygen after pitching the yeast reduce the amount of fusal alchohols? After 6 weeks in the bottle they are still flat! I think the yeast are extremely unhealthy due to the lack of O2. I hope that if I rebrewed this again exactly the same way but with Oxygen I will get less fusal and shorter lag time for bottle conditioning.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[Darwin18]

Your fusel alcohols are likely a result of high fermentation temperatures. When you say you're fermenting it at 68 F, how are you doing this? If you're putting it in a location of your home that seems stable to you then you should be aware that it will likely experience wide temperature swings throughout the day and night. Also the actual temperature of the fermenting beer is going to be several degrees higher than ambient air temperature. In my experience time doesn't make fusel alcohols go away - they've been there to stay for me.

 

[klamz]

Your fusel alcohols are likely a result of high fermentation temperatures. When you say you're fermenting it at 68 F, how are you doing this? If you're putting it in a location of your home that seems stable to you then you should be aware that it will likely experience wide temperature swings throughout the day and night. Also the actual temperature of the fermenting beer is going to be several degrees higher than ambient air temperature. In my experience time doesn't make fusel alcohols go away - they've been there to stay for me.

68f being the internal temp not the ambient. I use the thermostrip on the carboy. for me Temp is not the problem. I'm just looking to see if its the lack of oxygen for such a strong ale.

 

[KCBrew]

With 1056 at 68F you should not be getting fusels, it may be esters that were produced and amplified by low pitch rate and lack of oxygen at the start? I guess you said you had a nice yeast count, so it is hard to say what the problem was.

Do you get a headache/lightheaded after a pint of the beer? That is a good way to distinguish esters vs fusels. In general I would pitch at a lower temp to reduce fusels/esters. As an aside, 1.072 to 1.011 is not a particularly strong beer in terms of having to really change your technique (outside of ensuring a strong pitch), or yeast alcohol tolerance for carbonation.

 

[eastoak]

With 1056 at 68F you should not be getting fusels, it may be esters that were produced and amplified by low pitch rate and lack of oxygen at the start? I guess you said you had a nice yeast count, so it is hard to say what the problem was.

Do you get a headache/lightheaded after a pint of the beer? That is a good way to distinguish esters vs fusels. In general I would pitch at a lower temp to reduce fusels/esters. As an aside, 1.072 to 1.011 is not a particularly strong beer in terms of having to really change your technique (outside of ensuring a strong pitch), or yeast alcohol tolerance for carbonation.

you certainly can get fusel alcohol with 1056 or any other yeast fermented too hot.

 

[40watt]

Yes, but 68 degrees is not too hot.

 

[Darwin18]

68f being the internal temp not the ambient. I use the thermostrip on the carboy. for me Temp is not the problem. I'm just looking to see if its the lack of oxygen for such a strong ale.

You would be tasting esters if oxygenation was way too low. Those taste a lot different than fusels. Fusels are usually the result of fermenting too hot. I'm not trying to bust your process, but going by a ferm stripe on the outside of the carbon isn't always reliable. How exactly are controlling ferm temperatures?