The weather has started to change. It has got noticeably warmer lately. The good brewers amongst us are already making adjustments. The major effect of excessive fermentation temperatures is a fruity taste, a thinner or non existent head and the beer is probably going to give you a headache. Higher temperature ferments produce more fusel alcohol. I find it very hard to drink a beer high in fusels. I would rather drink water than bad beer.

High fusel beers aren’t necessarily infected just fermented too warm.

The first thing to do is to make sure your yeast has the capability to handle some heat. Cold weather yeast that has traveled in a shipping container from England, over the Equator during summer probably hasn’t got any surviving cells left in healthy condition anyway.

Australian yeast that runs out of puff in our summer heat will also produce rough beer. The answer is to tackle the problem from two angles, a more heat tolerant yeast and preferably along with that, temperature control by way of a fermenting box with some form of cooling inside. This may be as simple as a cardboard box with a couple of frozen drink bottles inside, replaced every morning with the melted ones put back in the freezer for the next day. I love improvements that don’t cost much. The quality of the beer is further improved with good aeration, filtered water and some extra goodies like malt, corn syrup, grain and or hops.

POST AND RAIL PALE ALE

Put 3 litres of cold water in an 6-8 litre saucepan, add 500g light dry malt, 250g dry corn syrup (dry is less fermentable) and no dextrose for 3.4% Alcohol, 250g dex for 4%, 500g dex for 4.6% and raise to a boil. Add 10g Cluster pellets and boil for 5 minutes.

Turn off heat allow to cool a little as you prepare fermenter and then add half the boil to the fermenter, can of good draught and then the rest of the boil, water to 22 litres, aerate well and add a good ale yeast.