Temperature Questions for Secondary and Beyond

[FATC1TY]

I've search, and perhaps didn't do that good of a job, so I'm gonna re-hash this question.

I've recently started using a chest freezer with a controller on it to ferment in while I'm getting my stuff together to start kegging. It has made a remarked difference on my beers, even being a newer brewer.

With that said, and that same thought. I've heard that early in fermentation is when you really want to control the temp better, and after that you can allow it to warm slightly to help the yeast stay active to clean up after fermentation.

What about secondary? I'm about to keg some beer and will have to lower the temp in my freezer to 40 ish. Will a beer I'm dry hopping or aging on wood or any extra's be in any trouble with cooler temps? Will I not extract as much flavor from say, cocoa nibs, or hops in the cooler temps, or will it harm the beer any?

I don't know if I need to worry about getting another place to let the secondary hang out when I crank temps down to use in the kegerator. I want to keep it in there because it beats the mid 70's the house is at, or the 100's the garage is.

I have a breakfast stout I'm about to age for a little while on some stuff, and wasn't sure if it would be okay in there still with the cold temps. It's fermented out as far as it's going to go, so it's not like I'm stalling it out or stopping it.

 

[theveganbrewer]

Good move on the fermentation chamber. You are correct, the first few days of the ferment are the most important for imparting flavors on the beer. If you're at a point when you're in secondary, you don't have to worry much about the temparatures. This is the guide I go off of:

There are 3 storage temperatures used to lay beer down for maturation and/or storage. Not only will you want store your beers at these specific temperatures, but also you'll want to serve them at the same. Your strong beers (like barleywines, tripels, dark ales) will be their happiest at room temperature (55-60F), most of your standard ales (like bitters, IPAs, dobbelbocks, lambics, stouts, etc) will be at cellar temperature (50-55F) and your lighter beers (like lagers, pilsners, wheat beers, milds, etc) will be at a refrigerated temperature (45-50F). Usually the higher alcohol, the higher temperature and lower alcohol, the lower temperature ... you get the point.

 

[Justintoxicated]

Damn I need to convert a whole room for storing beer then. My Room temp is about 80+

 

[theveganbrewer]

A lot of guys around here store in their basements, and even in 90 degree weather, can get in the 60s down there.

 

[Waynep005]

After I bottle my beer I store it in a closet untill I put it in the fridge. While that is not perfect it does keep the beer in the 70's in the summer and in the 60's in winter. Not ideal but it works and I have had no problems. I have not tried to store a beer for a long period of time yet though.

 

[FATC1TY]

I'm not so much worried about storing beer. I have no basement, and here in Georgia it's hotter than hell these days anyways.

I have bottled beers in a spare room in a case, and covered. They stay room temps while carbing.

I'm just curious if I'm going to have any ill effect by leaving a secondary carboy of a beer I'm dry hopping, or dry nibbing in the case of my stout, in low temps?

I have a stout that will be on bourbon chips, cocoa nibs and coffee for anywhere from a few days, to few weeks. Would it be advised to leave it at room temp to do so, or would I be just fine keeping it in my keezer at 40-45* while it sits on the goodies?

Likewise.. Do you get less efficiency for dry hopping at lower, or higher temps? Is there a sweet spot, or does it not matter, since fermentation is complete?

 

[jbaysurfer]

I don't know about "efficiency" but I'll give you my anectodal take:

Warm or Cool, dryhop temps don't matter as much as time does. Intuition tells me that dryhopping at room temps might get you there faster, but I've dryhopped (routinely) for 2 weeks in a cooler and have experienced fantastic results, whereas, I'd probably only dryhop for a week or so at the warmer temps you're talking about (in GA). I have no science to back up my claims (unless someone smarter then me comes along and shares it), but if you can leave it a bit longer, then cool temps really won't be a problem.

My preferred fermentation for ales is:
Mash and ferment low (for fermenting ales this means 62-63), diacetyl rest (most would tell you if it doesn't have pilsner malt this isn't neccesary) with dryhop for 1 week. Cold Crash another week, and then rack. Works for me. Hope this helps, but my answer to you is: No, no biggie if you have to dryhop it at lower temps, but try to leave it on dryhop longer if you can.

 

[FATC1TY]

So the consensus is that, after fermentation is complete, if you are dry hopping, or sitting the beer on stuff like coffee beans, cocoa nibs, oak, etc, that it doesn't matter if the temp is low, but logic says, which I agree with, that it would happen slightly slower.

Was just curious if I should pull my breakfast stout out of the keezer when I drop the temp for my kegs this weekend and fire it all up, or if I'll be okay in there at 40 degrees sitting on chocolate and coffee beans.