First Ag Brew - Fermentation Temp Too High?

[BakeryHill]

Just finished my first all-grain brew yesterday, an American Pale Ale. It's bubbling away well through the airlock but I think the temp is too high at 24 degrees. It's located in the garage which is about the coolest place in the house (the ducted heating still comes on with the cooler mornings so the house it out of question).

Other than get a temp controller and 2nd small fridge, how can I keep this down? Is the temp in the picture too high long term?

 

[hsb]

Short answer is, yes, 24C is too high, not a disaster but it's going to throw off some unwanted flavours.

If you had some kind of container you can put the fermenter in (a cupboard, a bigger bucket etc.) you can use frozen water bottles or similar to help keep the temperature down.
If it's already been fermenting for a couple of days, I think it's probably too late for this one.

Make sure it doesn't get any higher than 24C and see what you think at the end.
Temperature control is a biggie in brewing, if you can find any way to make a fermentation chamber of some kind, it is probably worth it.

I'm sure intrepid brewers with cheap n easy workarounds for temp control will be along in a minute. I just gave into the 2nd fridge/tempmate myself.


*edit - I should add that even at 24C it'll be the best brew you ever made and well worth it, you'll be coming back to make another even better one - congrats on your first AG!

 

[BakeryHill]

*edit - I should add that even at 24C it'll be the best brew you ever made and well worth it, you'll be coming back to make another even better one - congrats on your first AG!

Thanks hsb - it certainly smells good and the airlock is bubbling away, but the proof in the pudding will be in the taste.

I must admit I could have done some of the mashing\boiling process a little better - I'm reading more and more books and learning little things here and there and I can already see some errors that crept in. But, it's a learning game and I'm here to learn.

 

[2much2spend]

this just an idea,
try putting the fermenter in a tub of tap water about 1/4 to 1/2 way up the side
and throw a bottle of frozen bottled water. should late the till you can get home
then throw in a new frozen one.

 

[BakeryHill]

try putting the fermenter in a tub of tap water about 1/4 to 1/2 way up the side
and throw a bottle of frozen bottled water.

Should I be moving it? It looks like it has a nice crust on it from the yeast.

 

[manticle]

Just be gentle. Try not to splash but moving it will be fine.

 

[DJR]

What yeast?

 

[fergi]

i would read that temp with the sticky thermo on it as 22 deg, put the fermentor into a tub with about 4 to 6 inches water, throw in some ice or ice blocks , you will have to replenish the ice or bottles of frozen water daily, couple of bottles will be fine, plastic ones not glass.
fergi

 

[Hammo7]

Congrats on the first AG.
If you don't have a container big enough to put the fermentor in, wrap it in a big wet towel and put one or 2 frozen soft drink bottles on the top.
Even just the wet towel will bring the temp down - just try and keep it wet by pouring water over the towel, or replace it when it with another wet one when it starts to dry out.

 

[maxymoo]

bakeryhill, you lucky brizzie bugger having overheating problems! it's freezing down here in VIC!

Just be gentle. Try not to splash but moving it will be fine.

manticle, why do you say not to splash? is it because splashing might aerate it more and make the yeast even more active?

 

[manticle]

Splashing AFTER fermentation has begun and the yeast is past its growth phase can lead to excess products such as diacetyl or encourage oxidation and result in earlier staling of the beer.

Splashing before or during the growth phase is good (ie before pitching or in the first few hours after pitching) but not after and not when the beer has finished fermenting.

 

[maxymoo]

Splashing AFTER fermentation has begun and the yeast is past its growth phase can lead to excess products such as diacetyl or encourage oxidation and result in earlier staling of the beer.

Splashing before or during the growth phase is good (ie before pitching or in the first few hours after pitching) but not after and not when the beer has finished fermenting.

ah cheers for that, i just read the thread on [topic="9477"]ringwood ale yeast [/topic] ... i might have gone a bit overboard, my current brew got a fair bit of splashing in the first few days of fermentation... well i guess i'll look out for butter/butterscotch flavours?!

 

[chefeffect]

Congrats on the first AG.
If you don't have a container big enough to put the fermentor in, wrap it in a big wet towel and put one or 2 frozen soft drink bottles on the top.
Even just the wet towel will bring the temp down - just try and keep it wet by pouring water over the towel, or replace it when it with another wet one when it starts to dry out.

This is a good option, I use wet towels in summer when its over 35deg out side, I re wet them each morning and night and I can keep my beers at 20 deg which is not perfect but ok for a cheap easy option. But you need your beer to be at 20 deg to start with and if you dont wet the towels one day say good-bye to your beer.

 

[drsmurto]

What yeast are you using?

If you're using WY1056/US05 then i wouldn't worry too much about 22-24C in an APA.

 

[BakeryHill]

What yeast are you using?

If you're using WY1056/US05 then i wouldn't worry too much about 22-24C in an APA.

It was a Fermentis Safale US-05.

I'm happy to say with our 6 degree temp overnight the temp in the fermenter has dropped to 18 degrees. The crust on the top is looking like mouldy bread (blooms everywhere) and it smells quite good. the bubbling has slowed though. Yesterday it was a bubble every 5-8 secs (24 hours after), now it's 2 every min (48 hours after).

 

[BakeryHill]

bakeryhill, you lucky brizzie bugger having overheating problems! it's freezing down here in VIC!



manticle, why do you say not to splash? is it because splashing might aerate it more and make the yeast even more active?

I miss Victoria (Ballarat) - just moved from there 7 months ago but Brisbane is home after all.

Trust me, I think I'd rather have too cold problems than too hot!

 

[manticle]

ah cheers for that, i just read the thread on [topic="9477"]ringwood ale yeast [/topic] ... i might have gone a bit overboard, my current brew got a fair bit of splashing in the first few days of fermentation... well i guess i'll look out for butter/butterscotch flavours?!

I don't aerate my brews after about twelve hours from pitching but from what I've read (mainly other people's experiences) some English yeasts will perform better with a bit of a late thrashing.

I'd still be careful but you may have actually avoided diacetyl with that yeast by extra aeration if that thread you linked to is anything to go by. Give it a chance to clean up after ferment at ferment temps or a couple of degrees higher and it will probably be great. As for staling - if you're not holding onto them for ages, it may not matter. Definitely don't aerate a finished product though - no matter what yeast. See how you go.

I don't pretend to tell you one way or the other what is definitely going to happen in your beer.

 

[Tim]

Manticle - I think the OP mentions that he used dry yeast US05. Assuming the yeast has been well kept at the LHBS there should be plenty of viable cells and it doesn't need to be aerated to the same level as if pitching a liquid yeast, especially at 24 degrees.

 

[manticle]

My response was to maxymoo asking about Ringwood.

 

[Bribie G]

For future brews, consider getting some Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale yeast, which can be used for stouts, Irish Red of course, but also makes a reasonable range of UK bitters. I haven't tried it with an APA yet but may well work.
This yeast will more than happily chug along at 25 degrees (as they do with Guinness and more than likely a "cousin" yeast. Of course it doesn't HAVE to be fermented at those temperatures but I've never found it to chuck fusel oils or excessive amounts of ester. My last batch of stout actually got up to 27 degrees at one stage but I dragged it down to under 25 and it's turned out fine (it's been judged in the Brisbane comp and interested to find out what feedback).,