On Sunday I’m going to brew a Hop Fu like IPA. There’s one thing in the procedure that I’m not sure about: why “seal fermenter”? I’m now a proud kegger, but don’t have a CCT. Is there something I can/should do?
Day 1: Cool wort to ideal pitching temp of 67F, Aerate wort with pure O2 through diffusion stone, Pitch yeast starter or freshly harvested slurry, and Attach blow off tubing Day 2-7: Maintain 67F fermentation temperature via external temp controller Day 8: Remove blow off, seal fermenter (keg or conical only!!) Day 10: Reduce to 60F for diacetyl rest Day 11: Dump trub, harvest yeast slurry, add dry hops, return to 67F Day 14-16: Begin crash cycle, cooling 10F every 12 hours until 37F Day 17: Rack…
My guess is that it’s intended to build up a bit of CO2 pressure which then allows you to drop the temp to 60 and dump the trub without introduction of air (or suck back of sanitizer) into the fermentor.
To me, the directions assume you are fermenting in a conical (hence “dump trub”).
I think the basic gist of the instructions you posted is to dry hop after the beer has been separated from the yeast/trub and do so in a manner that minimizes oxygen exposure. You’ll have to adapt that to the equipment you have available.
Personally, if you aren’t fermenting in a conical, I would rack out of primary and into a CO2 purged keg that contains the dry hops. Rack in whatever method you have available to you that best minimizes oxygen exposure.
Yeah, you nailed it. That’s what I take from his methods, too. Not having a conical myself, I rack into purged kegs that contain the dry hops and minimize O2 any way humanly possible. Been a huge help to me and my beers.
For this IPA I was thinking of several ways to minimize oxygen uptake. Now I’m considering fermenting in a keg, with a blow-off attached to the in-post, and then follow the hop fu procedure. So I assume adding the dry hops to another keg and then push the fermented beer from the first into the second keg under CO2 pressure?
There is benefit in principle in fermenting in any vessel (conical, keg, carboy,etc.) that you can use to close transfer to the serving vessel. Not every brewer has that capabililty. If you do, definitely do it. It’s all about eliminating O2 from the equation.
Edit - However, racking into a purged keg with the dry hops in the bottom works well in a pinch.
I brought this up recently based on seeing the diacetyl rest mention in this recipe. The responses were that a diacetyl rest isn’t necessary with ales.
Yes, diacetyl rests are typically performed around 65-70F, not at 60F. At least, those temps seem to work best for my setup.
And I don’t fully agree that ales don’t benefit from diacetyl rests. Some ale strains produce quite a bit of diacetyl and if not given the proper time at warmer temps (typically bumped towards the last end of fermentation) then the diacetyl will not be fully reabsorbed the yeast. In most cases, an average gravity beer (1.050-1.060) will have no problem cleaning up any residual diacetyl with warmer temps by the end of two weeks in primary. Some strains can and will finish must faster, while others take longer.
I don’t usually call bumping up the temps towards the end of my ale fermentations a diacetyl rest, but rather a conditioning period in which the yeast reduce many unwanted byproducts of fermentation prior to packaging.
The exact temp of a diacetyl rest doesn’t matter. All you’re trying to do is make theye ast more active and they’re more active at higher temps. That said, the directions are wacky…they have you reducing temp for a d rest! If you ferment at 67F, you’re not gonna need the rest!
I’d guess the reason to seal the fermenter is becasue you’re reducing temp and by sealing the fermenter you won’t get suck back.
I don’t mind confusing directions or weird d-rest temps from a “this is what works for me” standpoint. Obviously the results speak for themselves. shrug