Loading... Please wait...

Beer & Wine Fermentation

 
brew-temp-control-is-critical.jpg wine-making-temp-control-is-critical.jpg
     
When your fermentation temperatures are just right, your yeast will: 
1) produce the optimal aroma and flavor profile,
2) minimize off flavors and fusel alcohols, and
3) reach the target attenuation, flocculation and alcohol tolerance. 
 
When your fermentation temperatures are too hot, your yeast may: 
1) produce excessive amounts of esters causing off flavors, or “inappropriate” flavors for the style,
2) produce excessive fusel alcohols, a hot, solvent-like off flavor,
3) develop low alcohol toxicity and die off before the proper attenuation is reached (resulting in an incomplete fermentation), and
4) die off early and basically result in an “under-pitch”.
 
When your fermentation temperatures are too cold, your yeast may:
1) start fermenting slowly, or not at all, allowing bacteria a chance to take hold and spoil the batch, 
2) produce inadequate concentration of esters for a given style, resulting in a poor flavor profile.
 
When your fermentation temperatures are just right, you will:
1) keep the yeast healthy and finish the fermentation (down to about 0.1% residual sugar)
2) extract the proper amounts color and tannin from the skins
3) better control the extraction of compounds from oak during the aging and maturation stages
4) retain volatile aromatics and preserve the proper flavor profile
5) avoid off aromas like a rotten egg smell from hydrogen sulfide
 
When your temperatures are too hot, your fermentation may :
1) slow even stop since yeast have difficulty performing at excessively high temperatures
2) produce more hydrogen sulfide, resulting in a rotten egg or cooked cabbage smell.
3) produce a "cooked" flavor in the finished wine
4) blow off volatile aromatics and lose the desired aroma profile
 
When your fermentation temperatures are too cold, you risk a:
1) slow fermentation or a stuck fermentation allowing bacteria and wild yeast a chance to take over and spoil the batch,
2) “gassy” wine from too much carbon dioxide in solution
3) cloudy wine from carbon dioxide keeping finings suspended
4) rotten egg smell from hydrogen sulfide which is usually removed at warmer temperatures
 


Our Newsletter