How low can she go?

[razz]

Hi all. I'm currently 48 hours into an IPA ferment using US 05 dry yeast. SG 1.063 and 42 lts into the fermenter. I pitched 4 x 11.5 gram packets. I had been using a drinks fridge for about 10 years to ferment. Using an Ink-bird controller it was very easy to keep the temp where I wanted it, also incorporating a heat pad. So, a few weeks back we gave the drinks fridge a bloody good clean and now it's back to it's original purpose, filled with drinks and dog food.
Back to the brew, I have a jacket for my ss fermenter and I have the IPA sitting at 11 degrees, I also have a woollen blanket over the top and have the fermenter connected to a G20 chiller unit for when I want to chill down prior to kegging. Pressure fermenting and it is currently at 55kpa, I generally don't use pressure for the first 72 hours but being able to read the pressure gauge was the best early indicator of yeast activity.
I'm not surprised at the ability of this yeast to operate at this temperature, I have used it for many years and at a variety of temps, not usually this low, and it always comes up trumps. No doubt that it will take longer to ferment out at 11 degrees and I'll be interested to see how it turns out.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

I have put bread dough in the fridge and it has continued to rise. Could be the energy produced by the yeast and the time it takes for the fridge to cool the dough.

 

[razz]

I have put bread dough in the fridge and it has continued to rise. Could be the energy produced by the yeast and the time it takes for the fridge to cool the dough.

Do you think that the pressure created was from the initial pitch? I'm not sure I'm reading your comment correctly WEAL.

 

[yankinoz]

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I'm not surprised at the ability of this yeast to operate at this temperature, I have used it for many years and at a variety of temps, not usually this low, and it always comes up trumps. No doubt that it will take longer to ferment out at 11 degrees and I'll be interested to see how it turns out.

I've seen posts like this in US forums, and people liked the results. My own experience is that US-05 starts much too slowly at 13 or 14, but that was at a pitching rate half yours. A yeast supplier in New Jersey and a Princeton U biologist traced US-05 back to the Ballantine brewery that went under in the late 70s. They used it cold to ferment a faux lager, "Ballantine Beer," and did not use it in their several ales.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Do you think that the pressure created was from the initial pitch? I'm not sure I'm reading your comment correctly WEAL.

You were talking temperature? Trong Nguyen ferments at 30 C and 15 PSI no matter what yeast, but when he transfers the wort to the fridge (after 3 or 4 days) it carries on fermenting and he serves from the fermenter without using any gas, so 3 C as a fridge temperature must still be working.