re: Homebrewing: In-Process Thread

Need some advice from the experienced brewers about consistent temps during primary fermentation.

We currently have a pale ale on tap in our kegerator that we might finish pretty soon because we like it so much. The problem is that we use our kegerator as a fermentation fridge when we are not serving out of it.

I'd like to brew this weekend so we can leave a beer in a fermentor while we are out of town for the holidays (2 weeks), but the kegerator may not be empty by Monday (although the challenge might be accepted...).

If the beer stays at room temp (which will fluctuate mostly between 65 and 75) for about 10 days in the primary, what kind of negative impact could we see? I could set it in a bath tub with a swamp cooler, but if the temp drops outside, I'm not going to run my heater to keep my carboy temp up, so room temp could get down to ~60ish. There would just be no easy way to keep the temp constant over that time period although I could probably keep it in a decent range (60-70) with a swamp cooler.

Hopefully we would finish the pale ale by the time we would leave for the holidays and we could put the porter in the kegerator for the rest of fermentation.

FYI - this would probably be a porter from Northern Homebrew since a friend gave us a kit he didnt want to brew LINK

how much do you estimate is left of the pale ale?
Do you have any empty growlers?

When I was ready to empty the keg of saison I had, I knew there was less than a gallon left, so I filled a growler and put it in the fridge.

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Should I leave it under pressure or just charge it to keep a seal and then disconnect the CO2?

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No need to keep it under pressure, just disconnect the CO2.

Only thing to remember is that CO2 comes out of solution MUCH easier at room temperature. So when you go to put that keg back on tap you will want to chill it back to serving temp before taping/pouring or you will get all foam.

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Reindeer may drink it.

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Touché

Hydrometer readings are a good excuse to taste the beer's progress as well!

Yes. delicious research. For science, of course.

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Fwiw this coffee stout is EXCELLENT after 3 days in the keg. Exactly what I was going for (nose and notes of coffee but still in balance with the stout malts).

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I have a question regarding cold crashing. I expect that a beer I put in the fridge in the morning would be at the same temp as the fridge by that night, about 12 hours later. This would be good for kegging, but is that not enough time for really cold crashing it and having the solids drop out?

Each time I've cleaned a keg after emptying it, I have had stuff in the bottom of it, and just figure that unless I stored the beer in the fridge for weeks before kegging it that I will always have that. (not that it is hurting anything)

I have a DIPA in a fermenter now that I planned to put in the fridge Friday morning, then keg that night, and start drinking Saturday night. However, I'm considering leaving it in the fridge until Sunday before kegging it. I'm not sure, in the end, it will make any difference other than when I can start drinking it.

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Put it in the fridge Thursday night. Keg Friday night. Drink Saturday night.

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I brewed an oatmeal stout this weekend. Bubbling away! I am considering adding bourbon soaked oak chips to the secondary, but I have heard a little goes a long way with oak chips. I have done oak soaked in rum for a porter but only added the rum. Anyone have any experience with oak chips?

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I've used them a few times. Put them in a mason jar with the bourbon for 10-14 days. Dump the whole jar into your beer after primary fermentation is completed. Leave for about a week. Taste periodically to see if it needs more or less time.

Sounds like a good beer to me!

Question: What is the best kegerator setup to buy at an affordable price? Looking into them for Christmas, and was looking for a dual tap kegerator. Looking for one that is complete, so all i have to do is put together and plug in.