Wilko beer kit temperatures

[Neil72]

Hello everyone.
I'm new to this forum and to home brewing.
I recently purchased a Wilko sweet newkie brown kit and need some advice on the temperatures stated in the instructions.
4-6 days at 18-20 degrees which I can achieve fairly easily. Then 14 days in a "cool place"
This is where I could do with some advice.
I live in an apartment with no garden for a man shed to store the beer for 2 weeks so was wondering if I could put it in a fridge I was given for chilling beers.
The fridge runs at about 4 degrees on minimum setting and has a freezer compartment.
Would this work or ruin the final result.
Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Thanks.🍻

 

[terrym]

Hello everyone.
I'm new to this forum and to home brewing.
I recently purchased a Wilko sweet newkie brown kit and need some advice on the temperatures stated in the instructions.
4-6 days at 18-20 degrees which I can achieve fairly easily. Then 14 days in a "cool place"
This is where I could do with some advice.
I live in an apartment with no garden for a man shed to store the beer for 2 weeks so was wondering if I could put it in a fridge I was given for chilling beers.
The fridge runs at about 4 degrees on minimum setting and has a freezer compartment.
Would this work or ruin the final result.
Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Thanks.🍻

Not sure why they recommend you put your beer in a cool place after so short a time.
My suggestion is to give it two full weeks in the FV, to ferment out, clean up, and start to clear, and then another few days in the cold place which is your fridge since you have it. I put my beers through a similar process.
Then up to two weeks to carb up in the warm, followed by another two weeks or so in the fridge to finish clearing and help conditioning.
I have not done this kit but would guess that it will not come good (i.e better than just drinkable) for another six weeks or even longer.
Kit review here if you haven't found it
http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=52005

 

[SaigonBlaze]

Hi Neil,

Welcome to the forum. Short answer: Yes.

Longer answer: Temperature is an important factor in fermentation and conditioning / cleaning up the beer, which happens after the initial fermentation has died down. Whilst rigorous control can play a very necessary part of fermenting and conditioning some styles, and this is often down to using a particularly niche or finicky yeast.

Personally, I would leave the initial fermentation at 18 - 20C a bit longer than 4 - 6 days. Perhaps 8 - 12. Whilst primary fermentation may be mostly done by day 4, I'm guessing that you don't have a hydrometer (no need for one yet, with kits) so you won't be able to measure the alcohol content and be happy that the primary fermentation is over. The extra time won't cause any harm. Remember that fermentation causes heat to be generated, so if your ambient temp is 18C you'll find that the yeast are actually bringing the temperature of the fermenting beer up by several degrees. This isn't strictly necessary if you have somewhere that's slightly cooler than the rest of your house (like a spot under the stairs), but until I invest in proper temperature control, I just put some water and an ice pack into my boiling kettle then put my fermentation vessel into that, and change the ice for the first 4 days.

The benefit of leaving it a little longer is that it makes sure you get the right flavour for an ale. Putting a beer into a fridge around 3 - 4C is referred to as 'cold crashing' and done to improve clarity by helping all the yeast and other bits clump together and sink. It's important that you do this after the fermentation is complete, not before. Yeasts create different compounds at different temperatures and by lowering the temp to 4C you might introduce flavours that you'd rather avoid. Lagering, the process of storing and fermenting lager at very cold temperatures (along with the use of certain yeasts), is what contributes to a lager's distinct flavour.

It's good to see a kit recommending a longer rest, I've seen in the past kits recommending bottling after less than a week of fermentation. Don't do that!

 

[Gerryjo]

Hi and welcome to the forum 👍
Agreed with above and you'll find on the forum the general rule of thumb is 2+2+2
2 weeks in the fermenter@20
2 weeks in secondary fermenter @20
2 weeks conditioning bottles/keg.

Sent from my ALE-L21

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
I've got a milk stout fermenting with Nottingham yeast, which is known to work quickly. After a week the gravity had fallen almost to the final level, yet I'm leaving it until two weeks have passed before I cold crash it. Normal fridge temperatures are ideal for cooling at this stage, and leave it for a few days - as long as your patience allows!

 

[Neil72]

Hi everyone.

Wow, what a response from you all.
Thank you so much for all the advice.
Luckily I haven't started the kit yet so i will be taking on board all your advice and following it to the letter.
I purchased a complete starter kit minus the beer kit.
I even invested in a temperature controlled heat mat for them chilli nights.
Thanks again everyone for taking the time to share your knowledge, I very much appreciate it.

 

[Neil72]

Hi!
I've got a milk stout fermenting with Nottingham yeast, which is known to work quickly. After a week the gravity had fallen almost to the final level, yet I'm leaving it until two weeks have passed before I cold crash it. Normal fridge temperatures are ideal for cooling at this stage, and leave it for a few days - as long as your patience allows!

Hi Bigcol49.
Is cold crashing only done with stout or can it be done to lagers and ales?

 

[Gerryjo]

@Neil72 cold crashing is used on all as it allows the yeast to drop out of suspension with other by products aiding the clarity of your beer.

Sent from my ALE-L21

 

[terrym]

If you want to get the yeast to drop quickly and clear your beer then 'cold crashing' - I hate that term- works well.
However it's less important for stout because you usually can't see through it anyway!

 

[SaigonBlaze]

The above two are spot on - many brewers with access to fridges do it for all of their styles. The only thing to add is that you want to let the yeast settle down and get your primary fermentation out of the way before cold crashing, to avoid undesirable flavours that develop in very cold, slow fermentation.

 

[Headlands]

If you want to get the yeast to drop quickly and clear your beer then 'cold crashing' - I hate that term- works well.

I don't know why you hate that term, it is very nearly the recognised Brewing industry phrase.

'Crash cooling' is perhaps more accurate.

 

[terrym]

I don't know why you hate that term, it is very nearly the recognised Brewing industry phrase.

'Crash cooling' is perhaps more accurate.

At my age it's my prerogative that there's a lot in life that I can choose to 'hate', whether logical or sometimes illogical, borne out of a lifetime's experience of dealing with, observing, reading about and listening to what is basically rubbish in many forms. Rarely, however, do I impose my views on others, but I am entitled to observe and comment.
So I 'hate' - which is a bit strong I agree - the term 'cold crashing', since it appears to me it's gimmicky and the reason for that is probably originates from the former colonies on the other side of the Atlantic. It smacks of the latest 'fake news' term currently being bandied about.
However the term 'crash cooling' which you have suggested makes much more sense to me, however small the detail changes, and I shall use it in future when describing the process in question.

 

[Neil72]

Hello again everyone.
The advice you've all given is magic.
I finally got round to calling in on my mate who suggested I tried home brewing about 3 weeks ago.
He had his first wilko refill kit on the go and told me all the details.
After chatting to him earlier he said the instructions are as follows.
4-6 days in FV at 18-20 degrees.
Ready when bubbles stop coming to the top or a steady reading of under 1008 on the hydrometer over a couple of day's is achieved.
Put into a keg or bottles with recommended sugar or carbonation drops.
Put in a warm place for 2 days.
Put in a cool place for 14 days.
He put it in his fridge for the cooling part, hence my original post before I started mine.
We both tried a bottle and the results where fairly disappointing to be honest. It had a home brew twang and not much fizz. Was drinkable but nowhere near what he was hoping for.
So my question to you experienced home brewers on his behalf is, once yeast is exposed to that kind of cold can it be woke up, or is it dead?
Thanks folks.

 

[terrym]

@Neil72http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/member.php?u=18215
The simple answer is that the instructions fall way short of what is required to produce a decent beer. Principally because they don' t allow enough time for all stages of the home brewing process from start to finish
That's why myself and others have suggested time cycles which should produce something worth drinking.
So its really nothing to do with the fridge storage.
Your friend may find that the twang may disappear with time, so my suggestion is to forget about the brew for at least another month then open one to see if its improved. Chances are it will have. And if your friend's beer is flat and he/she put the correct amount of priming sugar in it, it hasn't had been given long enough time to carbonate properly in the warm, But leaving it in a warm place for a 7-10 days should be enough to get the yeast to finish off the carbonation process.
If you and your friend follow the advice given on here about time cycles (and forget the instructions) you should then produce better beer.
However, do bear in mind that you are brewing a cheap basic kit and perhaps shouldn't have too demanding expectations of what you produce.

 

[Neil72]

@terrym.

Thanks very much for the good advice.
I never considered that there could be a big difference between different brands of beer refills.
I just thought all kits would be more or less the same and wilko's was a good deal, but I'm learning that basically you get what you pay for, less money, less quality.
I'm going to use the Wilko kit but ignore the instructions totally and follow the times suggested on here.
It does beg the question of how Wilko can get there instructions so far out though.
I might email them to find out, but won't hold my breath for a reply.
I'll update the post in a couple of months and let everyone know how my first batch is coming along.
Thanks again everyone for all your advice and suggestions, hopefully I'll achieve a decent beer ready for them summer days ahead.

 

[MyQul]

At my age it's my prerogative that there's a lot in life that I can choose to 'hate', whether logical or sometimes illogical, borne out of a lifetime's experience of dealing with, observing, reading about and listening to what is basically rubbish in many forms. Rarely, however, do I impose my views on others, but I am entitled to observe and comment.
So I 'hate' - which is a bit strong I agree - the term 'cold crashing', since it appears to me it's gimmicky and the reason for that is probably originates from the former colonies on the other side of the Atlantic. It smacks of the latest 'fake news' term currently being bandied about.
However the term 'crash cooling' which you have suggested makes much more sense to me, however small the detail changes, and I shall use it in future when describing the process in question.

What about calling it cool/cold yeast precipitation, as that's what your actually doing. You could even call it lagering, as afaik theres no time limit (whether short or long) on what's defined as lagering

 

[terrym]

@Neil72
I just thought all kits would be more or less the same and wilko's was a good deal, but I'm learning that basically you get what you pay for, less money, less quality.
One can kits are cheapish to buy but unless you boost the with hops and extras like steeped grains can be a bit hit or miss. However they do offer more experienced brewers the opportunity to do their own thing e.g. https://uk.diybeer.com/brewing-info/recipes
So called premium kits should contain everything you need and although they are usually more expensive should deliver a better product out of the box. Although not a favourite of mine Wherry is a good kit to try but needs the yeast changing since the kit yeast is unreliable. Festival do a good range and the Youngs American range is also well thought of.
It does beg the question of how Wilko can get there instructions so far out though.
Manufacturer's kit instructions are geared to getting you to believe you can brew drinkable beer in days, rather than weeks or even months. Most of them are the same. To get much better results more experienced brewers usually ignore them and do their own thing, which is a lesson you have taken on board. :thumb:

 

[Neil72]

@terrym

I bow to your knowledge of home brewing.
Thanks very much for the link to the recipes website, I found it very interesting reading.
And thanks for the suggestions on good beer kits, as soon as I get some more spare time I'll have a good look at what they offer.
I'm normally a lager drinker these days but did drink ale and bitter when I was younger.
If anyone can recommend a good solid lager for me to try I'd appreciate it.
Many thanks yet again.

 

[Leemond]

Hi and welcome to the forum 👍
Agreed with above and you'll find on the forum the general rule of thumb is 2+2+2
2 weeks in the fermenter@20
2 weeks in secondary fermenter @20
2 weeks conditioning bottles/keg.

Sent from my ALE-L21

Where does the cold crash fit in to those 2 week periods?

And how do you transfer to secondary fermenter? Siphon?

(Still a noob :))

 

[terrym]

Where does the cold crash fit in to those 2 week periods?

And how do you transfer to secondary fermenter? Siphon?

(Still a noob :))

The 2+2+2 'rule' actually more normally applies to weeks in the fermenter, then carbonatating after packaging, then conditioning and maturing.
However it is only a basic rule of
So for example you can leave it longer in the FV if it suits, which will give you clearer beer for packaging with or without racking off to another FV with crash cooling at the end if it's what you want to do, next two weeks in the warm to carbonate is normally more than enough, and finally some beers can be drunk young at two weeks after packaging but many need two months or even longer before they come good.
And siphoning is one way of transferring beer from one FV to another or to bottles/PB, but some use FVs with taps at the bottom.