It's 83 degrees in my apt is my yeast dead??

[suzanneb]

it was hotter earlier. at what temp do yeast in a primary die off and become useless.
i have since put the carboy in the tub with some cold water but its been 80or more in the house for a couple days.
anybody know.

will they make a comeback. is there a way to check by adding some dissolved dme or something?

any advice anyone?

 

[Fid]

I doubt that they are "dead" but at temps that high yeast can start to create some funky flavors and aromas. What kind of yeast are you using out of curiosity?

 

[mroyer747]

Well I'm a new b as well but only thing I can say is hydrometer test!! My 1st batch I'm still brewing and my house got hot one night.. I just kept taking a hydrometer test and kept going down. The only thing that tells me that it is still fermenting. You should do the same and well just try to keep it cooler.

 

[thegerm]

yeast don't die till you're well into the 110+ range. they will make a pretty bad tasting beer, though, if you're in the 80s.

 

[emjay]

It's almost definitely fine. The yeasties should be able to survive up to at least 110°. In fact, they *prefer* (and thrive in) temperatures upwards of 100°. The problem with something like 83° is that it can cause yeast to produce unwanted levels of certain compounds (e.g. fusels and esters) during fermentation, negatively affecting the taste of your beer.

If you still want to make sure, you can try taking a small sample (let's say a pint) of the beer and adding another pint of fresh wort: 1oz of DME, topped up with water to make a pint, and then boiled for a few minutes before being added to the beer. Take a gravity reading. Give it a few days and take another gravity reading. If the gravity is definitively lower than it started, the yeast is most likely fine. An infection can also cause it to drop, but unless you can test for an infection, just assume it's not. If you have a stirplate, you can use it to get faster results. Basically, just treat it like you're making a starter, except that you add a pint of beer instead of a yeast culture.

 

[suzanneb]

i got a few things going.
a 5 gallon batch of coconut porter that is with irish ale yeast
a couple of various 1 gal batches of ciders with either champagne yeast or english cider yeast.

and a starter of champagne yeast as well

what kinda off flavors should i expect or look for.

do they only produce the off flavors if they are still fermenting. some of the stuff is almost ready to be bottled or put in secondary.

 

[Ogri]

Mostly it's the 4 to 7 day period of initial, vigorous, fermentation after pitching your yeast and transitioning through lag that will produce any funky off-flavours/smells and compounds. If you're close to bottling you shouldn't have too much to worry about.

 

[emjay]

do they only produce the off flavors if they are still fermenting. some of the stuff is almost ready to be bottled or put in secondary.

I wouldn't quite say "only", but yes, it's MOSTLY during the actual fermentation (and the preceding growth phase) that off-flavors are produced by high temps.

Such flavors include (but aren't limited to):
- Fruity, banana, bubblegum flavors
- A green apple taste, often slightly vinegary (though the vinegary character is more pronounced and sometimes only detectable in the aroma)
- Harsh alcohol/solvent taste

Your beer is more than likely fine if it was already in the fermentor for even just half a week.