Fermentation Temps

[bruteforce]

For the homebrew scale, I really don't think fermentation temps are that big of a deal within reason. The brewers I know who keep their house somewhere between 66 and 74 produce great tasting beer that places well in competitions regularly. More specifically, I don't think fermentation at room temps vs exactly a certain temp makes the difference between a great beer and a dumper. Just a good and a great beer.

Sure, if you ferment at 50 or 90 you might have some issues. But hell, I had a fermentation chamber fail on me and a lager ferment at 76 and it came out pretty well. It's a little fruity, but certainly drinkable. So, what do you think?

 

[flars]

Paying attention to the fermentation temperature is the most consistent method of producing good beer.

 

[okbecker]

Within reason, I think the beers will more than likely turn out fine. Though a 66F beer and a 76F beer are 2 different beers. One may be good and one may be great. If reproducing a beer you enjoy is not that important then temp control may not be an issue and if a good beer is good enough then have at it.....though for me - Temp Control is incredibly important and not going away.

 

[radwizard]

Consistency is very important to my brewing. You are right though, it all does make drinkable beer. Temp. control makes my stuff much better, without a doubt

 

[wobdee]

For a overly hoppy IPA or roasty Stout you probably won't be able to tell much difference but for a clean crisp Lager temp control is critical.

 

[bruteforce]

For a overly hoppy IPA or roasty Stout you probably won't be able to tell much difference but for a clean crisp Lager temp control is critical.

Point taken. The lager I made that fermented hot you can tell that it fermented hot. It's still a pretty decent beer, but some flavors that aren't to style. My main point was that I don't think that perfectly dialed in temp control is the difference between a great beer and a dumper, just good and great.

 

[ss4ivan]

It may not make as big a difference on some peoples systems but for me temp control made a big difference. I used to ferment in a cool room in the basement where room temp was 63-65F. The temp swings from hot fermentation imparted a lot of off flavors that had to be conditioned out for months. Not saying they were dumpers because I still drank them all. But the quality of beer I get now after I have temp control is like night and day. I can now go grain to glass in 2-3 weeks with clean commercial quality beer IMO. I have even gone as far as brewing a 10 gal batch where half was temp controlled and half was sitting at room temp. Temp control beer came out clean and the non temp control came out with esters/fruity aroma. Definitely different beers.

 

[kombat]

If you do everything else perfectly (sanitation, aeration, pitch rate), I suppose you could produce very drinkable beer at temperatures on the outer ends of the yeast's tolerance range (indeed, Brulosopher has done just that). However. If you're sloppy/lazy with your temperatures, chances are you're going to be equally lackadaisical about aerating/oxygenating your wort, rehydrating your yeast or building an adequately-sized starter, and so on.

My goal is to make the best beer possible, and in my experience, temperature control makes a palpable difference in the resulting beer.

 

[g-star]

I have no interest in making beer that is "good enough". I want to make great beer every time, and precise fermentation control is critical towards that goal.

 

[jddevinn]

I'm not trying to make "nestar: drinkable beer" I am making good consistent beer this means temperature,sanitation,O2,ect control.

 

[beergolf]

Temp control is very important. For example when I first started brewing, I heard the " Belgian yeast like it hot" mantra that many repeat without any real world experience. So I brewed up a BDSA and placed it in a 75 degree room. When fermentation took off the temp of the brew got into the 80's. Guess what? Major fusels. I could have sold that to NASA as rocket fuel. Fusels do not age out, so that brew was basically undrinkable. Luckily that beer works great in cooking. I use it to braise duck legs and thighs and it is awesome. So a not drinkable beer has it's use, but not what I was looking for.

So just fermenting at room temp will not work for the best brew you can brew. Controlling temps also allows you control flavor. and attenuation. I almost always start my ferments at the low end of the yeast recommended range and then often slowly ramp it up as fermentation slows. This gives me the flavor profile I am looking for most of the time. IN the winter time my basement stays right aroud 60degrees. This works great for a lot of beers, but not for something like a saison using 3724.

So you cannot say that just throwing a beer in the ambient temp works all the time.