attempt #2 at a Summer/Session Ale. Posting it out of pure boredom. Doesn’t seem to fit into a category…let me know if anyone has any thoughts about that.
70% 2 row
20% Munich 10L
5% crystal 40
5% flaked oats
11 g magnum 60 min
21 g amarillo 10 min
14 g cascade 0 min
14 g simcoe 0 min
Mashed at 156
OG 1.045
IBUs 22
SRM 7.0
S04 yeast
Looks tasty. Might have a heavier body than desired for a summer/session ale. Especially mashing at 156 and using S04, which is less attenuation than say US05. Definitely looks like it’ll taste good though.
First go around it finished at 1.007 I think. That was mashing at 154 which got me 83% attenuation from S04 I think. I got a higher OG this time around so I am hoping to get less attenuation and keep the ABV around 4.5%
Wow
Hoping to get under 80% attenuation for this attempt but not sure to what degree a 2 degree change in mash temp will really change…
when is the last time you calibrated your thermo at mash temps?
Try 162*
I was going to try mashing above 158 but was worried I wouldn’t get enough attenuation. Most of my beers finish low so I am used to it. I think I don’t mind light bodied beers and most of my beers don’t fit with guidelines anyway.
How do you calibrate a thermometer at mash temps?
that’s the tricky part. You have to get access to a thermo that is to be trusted in the 150-170 range and check it against that. Usually this means a NIST certified old school glass and alcohol model.
It may or may not be worth it. I personally have not done this with any of my thermos I just play around till I figure out the mash temps that work for me with my equipment. I calibrate at boiling on occasion and once in a great while at 32* but that’s kind of a pain in the butt too.
I have never calibrated my thermometer at mash temps. It is accurate at freezing and boiling temps but I do realize it is used mainly for mash temps…
I got very frustrated with digital thermometers. They never lasted long and always seemed to die at the worst time. The $ spent on digital thermometers in the past two years could’ve bought me a nice thermapen. Too late for that now. I switched to an alcohol and glass lab thermometer and I really like it. Wonder how many I’ll break before get frustrated and I switch back to digital! 
I’ve been using a lab thermometer for over 20 years, and I’ve only broken one. I like the fact that they are accurate. Just need to be careful.
Beer finished at 1.011 and 4.5% ABV. When compared to my first attempt, the increase in body is definitely noticeable but so is the yeast character. My pitch temp was higher than it should have been which is disappointing. I am hoping with some carb and cold conditioning, it will taste a bit cleaner…
I’m like you, I’ve had so many different digital thermometers. They seemed to drift or get damaged from water/steam. I finally went and bought a Thermoworks RT600C (Amazon.com) and I’ve been completely satisfied with it. When I bought mine it was closer to $30 but now it is on sale for $19.
If mine ever dies I’ll buy a thermapen, but I’m not sure mine will ever die. I’ve replaced the battery in mine 2 or 3 times because I forget to turn it off, it looks like they have updated it to have a 1 hour auto off.
Two weeks in the keg. Still not completely carbed. Has a very “English” character from the yeast. I must have fermented this one too high. The amarillo and simcoe are completely masked by the yeast and the aroma is malty, bready, fruity (banana-like). It drinks like a completely different beer that doesn’t come of as 4.5% ABV.
As I have noticed in a lot of my beers, the early mouthfeel is strange. I believe this is due to using flaked oats quite often. In my experience, this will change quite a bit with a couple of more weeks in the fridge.
Very different from my first attempt. I prefer the first attempt unfortunately. I can definitely see the difference between S04 fermenting warm vs cool. On this batch I remember having issues getting my pitch temp down. May need to think about going back to US05 exclusively because it is so forgiving. I will only use S04 when I can really control the temp and keep it 65F or below.
You’re right, definitely a fermentation temp issue. Ever use the swamp cooler method ? I did it for years before I got the used fridge/temp controller combo. It’s a little tedious switching out frozen water bottles but it works well. And it’s budget friendly.
I got the temp down overnight in a temp controlled fridge and it seem that most of the active fermentation took place at 68F. The main issue was not getting the wort chilled enough. The combo of not having a great wort chiller and warm ground water got me. I am thinking that maybe stressed yeast is another possibility. I think it took about 36 hours to take off.
Now that it is cooling down I am hoping to avoid this issue for a while…I am hoping the beer continues to change and develop but it appears that the damage is done. At least it is drinkable.
I am thinking about keg hopping it but don’t know if it is worth it. I have probably drank close to 1/4 of the keg already from obsessive tasting…damn my impatience is back
Yeah summertime ground water temps are a freaking challenge. What I do is to put a sanitized frozen water bottle (or 2)in the kettle once the cooling levels off, to get the extra few degrees of cooling I need. I stir thoroughly to shorten cooling times anyway, but it’s extra important here, to avoid temp stratification. I cool 2 or 3 degrees below my target fermentation temp, to account for the temp spike around high krausen.
I got the same dissappointing taste from S-04 that fermented a little too warm. Terribly fruity, and not in a good, belgian sort of way. Probably some diacetyl too.
A bucket or carboy fits in one of these with the lid open and you can put ice packs around it. I got a beer down to 55F once doing this. (oops). I wrap some towels around the top to hold the cool in.
And it’s blue!