BeerBorg

Hi! I just purchased and brewed my first kit. I did the Pale Ale that comes with the Brewdemon LBC. When I bottle that batch I'm going to start the Vienna Lager recipe.

In the instructions it says to ferment at 64-82. From what I see on the net most ferment at a colder temp and then condition at around 35-40. Should I follow the BD recipe?

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The BrewDemon Vienna lager isn't actually a true lager. It uses an ale yeast instead of a lager yeast so you will want to use the BrewDemon instructions and ferment it just as you did the pale ale.

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82 seems really high. Are you sure that's the upper limit? I try to stay close to the lower end of the range even if that's not a mistake.

If I recall, the kits often use a very wide temperature range for fermenting. The mid to upper 60's is probably best.
Welcome aboard Steel! Please keep us up on your brewing adventures.

LouieMacGoo wrote:The BrewDemon Vienna lager isn't actually a true lager. It uses an ale yeast instead of a lager yeast so you will want to use the BrewDemon instructions and ferment it just as you did the pale ale.

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Good to know! Thanks for clarifying.

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John Sand wrote:If I recall, the kits often use a very wide temperature range for fermenting. The mid to upper 60's is probably best.
Welcome aboard Steel! Please keep us up on your brewing adventures.

I think you're right. The kits seem to allow for a lot more variability than what I see others say is good.

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bpgreen wrote:82 seems really high. Are you sure that's the upper limit? I try to stay close to the lower end of the range even if that's not a mistake.

I checked again to make sure and that's what it says. Maybe moving my fermenter to a closet would help keep things cooler. I'm in Tennessee so my room temp stays around 72-75 on most days.

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The instructions that come with the kit will let you make beer but many of the brewers here have found that tweaking those instructions will allow you to make better beer. One of our members Yankeedag wrote a good article called Simple Guide to Brewing which is really targeted at brewers such as you that get started with the BrewDemon and Mr. Beer kits. I think you might find that information helpful.

If you want to try to keep your fermentation temps down many have used coolers to put the fermenters in and rotate ice packs (frozen water bottles) in and out of the cooler to maintain a lower temperature. I'm sure others can provide more info about how they've done that.

Lastly We're glad you found us and please continue to ask questions and let us know how your brewing is going!

Hello and welcome to the site. I use a fermenter cooler from Cool Brewing along with frozen water bottles, it keeps the temp down to mid 60's or even lower. I'm currently fermenting a 5G cream ale recipe from Midwest Supplies split into 2 of the BrewDemon LBCs.

TonyKZ1 wrote:Hello and welcome to the site. I use a fermenter cooler from Cool Brewing along with frozen water bottles, it keeps the temp down to mid 60's or even lower. I'm currently fermenting a 5G cream ale recipe from Midwest Supplies split into 2 of the BrewDemon LBCs.

That's an awesome product. That's something I'll definitely look into.

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Where in Tennessee (asks the resident TN brewer)?

You should also condition much warmer than 35-40. For a lager, 70 or higher is recommended. Go 3 weeks fermenting, 4 weeks (or more) conditioning, then refrigerate for at least 3 days.

Welcome to the forum. Everything good has been said. One thing you want to try and avoid is temperature swings. Try to keep the temps even as possible.

swenocha wrote:Where in Tennessee (asks the resident TN brewer)?

Chattanooga

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Whamolagan wrote:Welcome to the forum. Everything good has been said. One thing you want to try and avoid is temperature swings. Try to keep the temps even as possible.

Is there a point when temp swings should worry me? As in 5 degree fluctuations are OK but 10 degree are bad?

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