Beer Forum

Hey guys,

I'm anxious to brew my second batch ever, an extract Rauchbier. I bought the kit while I was visiting the States and brought it back to Thailand with me. I didn't realize at the time however that since it is a lager it requires fermentation temperatures that are far too cool for me to reach here without a fermentation fridge...

Now here's my dilemma. I realistically won't have a dedicated fermenting fridge for a few more months, and even though I have been trying to store the ingredients properly, I am afraid they will go bad by then (plus I am getting anxious to make another batch of beer).

If I were back in the States this problem wouldn't exist. I would simply ferment in my cellar or just go out and buy another kit of some type of beer favorable to warmer conditions. This made me think about Saisons.

I've been reading a bit about Saisons on here, plus listening to brewing podcasts. It is my understanding that Saison yeasts prefer very warm temperatures, and this has made me very interested in brewing some of these beers, since the average room temperature in my house is somewhere around 85 - 90F without the A/C on.

Since I have all the ingredients needed for a good Rauchbier, and I can order some yeast for relatively cheap (shipping bulkier ingredients overseas would get very expensive), I was wondering if I should/could just buy some Saison yeast and use that instead?

If so, what yeast type would you suggest using and what might I need to do differently in the brewing/fermenting process? Sorry I don't have the ingredients list on hand at the moment, but I can post it later if it would help with your suggestions.

Thanks.

Saison's as a style would probably work well for you with your higher ferment temps, but the Saison yeast available from White Labs or Wyeast are all liquid yeast, so getting them to Thailand in good shape is going to require getting them shipped with cooler packs and as fast as you can afford to get them shipped. Also, I don't feel that a Rauchbier would be the best use of a Saison yeast... the smoky phenols I think would swamp the more subtle yeast characteristics you would expect from a Saison.

There are no dry Saison yeasts on the market? Even if there are, the beer would turn out like shit?

I figure this is the only hope my ingredients will ever have of becoming beer. If I don't figure out a solution soon then I may as well throw them out and wait until August when I go to the States to buy more. I would hate to wait that long, or see this stuff go to waste...

I'm open to any suggestions.

You could try the Safbrew T-58 dry yeast. I used it in a Belgian Pale ale at 65°F that turned out really nice. The malt bills are pretty similar; you might even skip the smoked malt and just make a BPA. Not sure what this yeast would do in the 80's though.

What temperature can you ferment at? Can you keep it as low as 70? If you can go as low as 70 the closes you will get to a lager is using us05. I would also suggest a wheat beer yeast and you could have a smokey Bavarian Rauch. http://www.williamsbrewing.com/SAFBREW- ... 82C64.aspx

Unfortunately the lowest fermentation temperature I could go with out keeping the A/C on 24/7 would be the low 70's. I did that for my oatmeal stout and increased my electric bill over $100 that month...

My only option at the moment is to ferment at very high temperatures (mid 80's), hence the idea to use Saison yeast.

DonMoleon wrote:... since the average room temperature in my house is somewhere around 85 - 90F without the A/C on.

I'm not sure of the difference when you're talking 80F+ and Saison yeast - but normally, ambient temperatures are not the same as fermentation temperatures. My guesss is if the room is at 80F, you're probably fermenting closer to 85F.
Just don't forget it's not the temperature of the room the yeast cares about, it's the wort/beer (which gives off heat as a by-product.

I'm not aware of a true Saison yeast that is packaged dry, hence my comments about shipping on liquid yeast. If you do get a hold of something that will ferment well warm, I think you may consider leaving out the smoked malt, or reducing it so as to not overwhelm the other flavors you are getting from the yeast.