I just brewed a batch of pale ale and because my wife and I are on a low carb diet, I decided to try beano. I started with #1 of Crystal 15, added #7 Light DME and used 1.5 oz Falconers Flight Hops for 60 min. finished with .5 oz of Falconers Flight for 5 min and pitched White Labs - American Ale Yeast Blend and added 4 crushed Beano tablets. So far so good…1.050 OG @ 80F. 7 days later I was getting a 1.006 @ 72F (6% ABV?). Although I was NOT looking for a FG that low although I read that Beano would lower carbs but boost ABV. What I am puzzled by is it smells like and tastes like a Belgian. Cloves and bannanas all the way. Unfortunatly, I am not a fan of Belgian beers or Hefs. Is this normal for “Beano” beer? ??? ???
Thank you all in advance for any guidance you can give a poor confused homebrewer!!
I don’t know if the clove and banana has anything to with beano - but 72 degrees is a bit warm and you may get some of those characteristics if you ferment warm. Also, if the room temp was 72 you would have been fermenting closer to 80, which is way too high and almost certainly would be the problem. Another thing to consider is how warm you pitched the yeast.
Normally I cool down to 64 degrees before aerating and pitching my yeast and keep the temp of the fermenting beer around 66-68 for most ale strains.
I’ve used Beano a few times, and even though I wasn’t impressed with the resulting beer, it didn’t have any off flavors. Based on your description, I’d say it’s either due to high fermentation temps or an infection.
I pitched at about 75F (hot day and hard to cool further) and fermented at a constant 72F (I have an old cooler cabinet with a thermostat). I have brewed this same ale before using the same basic ingredients and temps the exception being the Falconers Flight (I was looking for Citra hops) with great results. I am leaning toward the infection idea. I looked at my transfer hose and there was a spot of mold inside even though I thought that I had done a good job cleaning it and disinfecting. I will try to be carefull next time and drop the thermostat a little lower. As far as future Beano brews and lower carbs…well, I guess I will just have to enjoy my regular homebrew and exersize more ;D
I guess the liquid crystal thermometers on the sides of my carboys must be inaccurate. I don’t see anywhere near that temperature difference from my fermenting beers.
When I have used them they have always been very accurate. I always get about 6 degrees increase of a 5 gallon fermenter over ambient temp. I have seen as much as 8.
IMO it is best to cool over night than to pitch at 75 degrees. I would never pitch any beer that warm.
I don’t either. A 2-3 degree increase is the most I’ve ever seen. I suspect that the temperature delta is on an exponential curve based on ambient temperature, IE the delta at 65F will be somewhat less than that at 75.
Interesting - the average temp spike I see it 4-6 degrees on 5 gallon fermentation, and it can get as high as 8. On a 3 bbl fermentation it is much more than that. Regardless, if you pitch at 75 the yeast can kick off before the temp has ever lowered down to proper temps. If the wort has only cooled down to 74 by the time fermentation starts you may see a spike of temp that is unexpectedly high and you can have a hard time getting the temp to stabilize where you want it.
Not sure how you guys measure it, but I’ve got some well calibrated digital meters and I’ve done this my submerging a probe directly in the fermenting wort. I don’t trust those surface things.
I use a thermowell and submersible probe. You can put a fridge thermometer in the freezer and get a good idea what the temp of the ambient air is. My fermentation is consistently 4-6 degreees over ambient.
Also, I have measured my thermowell against the liquid crystal stick on fermometers and they are surprisingly accurate. Never had one been off by more than 2 degrees and more often than not they are spot on.
My experiences is that the vast majority of homebrewers I have talked to on the interwebs over the years echo these exact sentiments. What is surprising to me is to find two people on one thread that have not had the same experience. I guess YMMV applies here.
There could be other factors - what is your fermenter made out of? Plastic is a better insulator than stainless, so it will trap heat. What volumes are you fermenting? Surface area to volume ratios will affect heat transfer. What kind of airflow is present that might alter heat transfer? Is it in a fridge or a freezer or a room? What is the SG, what yeast are you using, and how vigorous is the fermentation?
Ultimately we know that fermentation will cause the temp to rise, and you need to monitor it to find out the difference for your setup and recipe. It sounds like 2-8F is a reasonable range for people who aren’t sure.
For the me the largest effect on temp rise seems to be from the location of the carboy in the freezer.
I check my liquid crystal thermometers against my traceable lab thermometers. Almost all LCs are ± 1⁰ F of the lab thermometers. There is the occasional one that is off. I reject those and throw them away.
I think Tom is on to something. Glass is a pretty good heat insulator. I suspect the LC thermometers are showing a weighted average of the internal and external temperatures of the fermenter. If the fermentation temperature spike is fairly short in duration, the glass may dampen what’s seen on the glass’s outer surface.
FWIW my IR thermometer agrees with the LCs too, but it’s meant for measuring hot lava, not glass fermenters.
Glass may be a good insulator, but it’s got nothing on air, which is 30-40 times better. The temperature of the stick-on thermometer should be very very close to the liquid temperature.