Pitching Hot
This past Monday, we brewed a batch of our Lumberjack Oatmeal Stout. The past couple batches of this beer have been a bit disappointing - lower than ideal original gravity has given us a beer that is more like a lame porter. From all indications, we’re back on track, but we had two fairly significant hiccups…
- Has anyone seen our hydrometer? Because we can’t exactly find it. Which is kind of a problem if you’re trying to make sure your OG is high enough. So we actually have no idea what the starting gravity is of this batch.
- Without thinking, I pitched the yeast in one of the carboys before it had cooled down to room temperature. Based on how it felt, I’m guessing the temp was around 85. The yeast has been active over the past couple days, though not quite as vigorous as the other carboy. So I’m anxious to see if there is a significant difference in gravity between the two in a few more days.
In other news, Jonathan is in Mexico for the next couple days. It was truly frightening to him to leave the country and not have the ability to post. But I think he’ll be pleasantly surprised that Joel and I aren’t as blogtarded as we often appear. Well, Joel maybe. I still have no idea what an RSS feed is. Mmm…feed…
Jonathan, Joel & Jeff
October 17th, 2007 at 9:39 am
What’s Jonathan doing in MX??
October 17th, 2007 at 9:53 am
Does Mary Stuart know joel monnlights at Chippendales?
October 17th, 2007 at 10:24 am
If the fermentation started, you’ve dodged the main problem with pitching hot. That is killing the yeast with the heat.
Depending on the yeast you used you will may get some off flavors from the yeast reproducing too quickly. You may end up with a little more fruitiness or hotness than you expected. These can sometimes be handled with extra conditioning in a secondary or in the bottle.
Overall I wouldn’t worry though. Just wait until a month or so after you bottle it to make the final judgement.
Cheers!
October 17th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
Nate, he’s at a “company retreat”. There are lots of great marketing consulting firms in Mexico for them to network with. Or something.