Get Ready for Summer | Yeast Health & Temp Control

matt elliot 2017 ASH president
Matt Elliott, 2017 ASH President

Whoa Nelly, here comes summer!

Summer is apparently already upon us as we begin to top 90 degrees across the Valley, so make sure you are ready to fight back with proper fermentation control!

Happy yeasts produce happy beers, so let them party and reproduce all night long within their recommended temperature ranges. This attention to detail will also help you to avoid those fruity esters or undersirable phenolics in your final product.

If you’ve never worried about your yeast health, well, it’s one of the biggest steps you can make going from Mr. Beer to Dr. Beer. Personally, I just have a Johnson controller (not a paid advertisement) hooked up to a chest freezer I found on Craigslist, but you can always scale up to a temperature-controlled conical fermenter.

Brewing with a Conical Fermenter: March General Meeting Topic

Keith Mycek will have more to say about brewing with a temperature-controlled conical at the March General Meeting at Brewers Connection in Tempe on Mar. 21. I’d like to thank Keith in advance for all the time and effort he’s put into preparing this technical presentation. I’m looking forward to learning more about what Keith has learned by using this piece of brewing equipment.

Call for Meeting Topics | What do you want to learn?

In April, Warren Earle is on deck to present insights into aeration and oxygenating your homebrew. I appreciate Keith & Warren for volunteering and sharing their homebrewing knowledge with the club.

Now that I am done praising people, it’s time to ask for others to chip in.

  • Do you have a meeting topic that you would like to present?
  • Want feedback on a calibration beer to share with the club?
  • Any fantastical gadgets or experiments you can’t stop talking about?
  • Or just have suggestions because you live with the constant crippling fear of public speaking?

Contact the board, and we will do our best to include you, your calibration beer or your preferred topic at an upcoming general meeting.

Cheers, and Happy (belated) St. Patrick’s Day!