With 2011 coming to a close, I revisited the goals I set for the year:
Brew my APA again and see if I can replicate it. It’s been a while since I brewed it so I may need to brew it twice this year to see if I have consistency.
Make a mead and a cider – I think I can do those both this year.
Figure out fermentation. I am going to leave that open ended, but there are learnings about the fermentation process that I need to gain this year.
This short list should be easy to accomplish in 2011.
So I didn’t brew my APA again but I did brew a Harvest Ale that was similar to the one I brewed before. Maybe I can pass that along to next year.
I did make a mead and a cider. Done and done.
As for fermentation, I applied two things to my process that I think have helped my brewing over all. The first thing was making good healthy starters before the brew day and the second thing was getting the aeration process down. I have seen a big difference in my beers since I have done that. Fermentation temperature is the next challenge I have to lock in. When making lagers, it is easy since I can put the fermentor in the fridge and lock in the temperature. For ales, it varies wildly based on the air temperatures each season brings. Winter is too cold and summer is too hot. Spring and Fall are hard to predict.
For 2012, here are my resolutions:
- Brew 3 lagers as a part of the Masters of Lagers project. As a part of it, I will upgrade my wort chilling equipment.
- Brew some recipe twice to see if my process can replicate beers.
- Get a system to maintain fermentation temperatures for all beer types and for any season.
Brew On Brew Dudes, Brew On! See you in 2012.
jason
hey John – I’m relatively new to home brewing but am hooked and upgraded from extract to all-grain after my 4th batch. let me share with you my fermentation setup – I think it might help.
I picked up a tiny chest freezer on craigslist (for only $50!). I made sure it was big enough to hold a carboy or my fermentation bucket and a space heater that i had laying around. I’ll use a temperature controller to have the freezer turn on, say at 69 or 70 degrees, and the space heater to automatically turn on at 64 or 65 degrees. even with +/- 2-3 degrees variability the heater and freezer shouldn’t be competing with each other and running at the same time, and the temperature inside the freezer will always be great for the yeast.
I’ll swap out the space heater with a fermentation blanket at some point – this was just a way for me to make it work with what I have on hand already. of course, in the warmer months the heater will be unnecessary. given how well it’s insulated, neither the heater or freezer actually run that often.
brew on!
John
Thanks Jason. I was thinking I would need to buy at least two things. I will probably get another temperature controller and a FermWrap heater. With those two items, the fermentation temperature issues I have in the winter should be fixed.
Mike's Neighbor Jeff
Rather than grab a FermWrap, I recently bought a two feet of Flexwatt heat tape from Reptile Basics. It seems to have the same wattage and size as the FermWrap, but it’s a LOT cheaper. I got two flexwatt setups for $32 (with shipping), while the cheapest FermWrap I could fine was about $30.
I’m using it for the first time right now on a Hefeweizen. I’m controlling the temp with a PID temp controller I built for sous-vide cooking. It’s been able to amp up the temp by 8-9 degrees above my cellar temp. No fires yet! I’ll find in out a few weeks if it was worth the effort.