Fermentation Temp - Too Hot???

[stee6043]

Good day, folks. I've got a question for you guys today on the appropriate fermentation temperature. I'm brewing up a Liberty Creame Ale from Midwest. Unfortunately (or not), this is my first brew in the middle of summer.

I cooled the wort to 77ish when I pitched the yeast on Sunday. When I got home from work yesterday the fermometer showed 79 degrees and there was significant activity. I pushed the air conditioning a bit last night and managed to get the fermometer down to 75 before it was lights out. This morning it was still at 75-76.

I measured the temp in my basement over night and it seems to be holding right at 60 degrees. Thus my dilemma. It seems a touch too cold in the basement and a touch too warm upstairs. What would you guys do? Am I okay with the 75-77 degree range for fermenatation? Have I already killed this batch? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, guys!

Mod Edit: This is not specific to extract brewing: It's been moved to the relevant forum.

 

[Yooper]

That's pretty hot- I'd put it in the basement, up off of the floor (where it's colder), but it's probably about done fermenting now anyway. What kind of yeast did you use? Most ale yeasts do produce some fusels and esters at high temperature.

It's not too late to cool it down, now, though- most yeasts work from 59-68 degrees pretty well, especially once fermentation starts. Fermentation is exothermic- and puts out quite a bit of heat. Usuallly during fermentation, the temperature inside the fermenter is higher than ambient temperature.

Several things would work- you could do a "swamp cooler" set-up- just put the fermenter in a tub or cooler with some water in the bottom and a towel to wick up the water and blow a fan on it. That works remarkedly well. I use an igloo cooler with water and frozen water bottles to bring down temperatures (pictures in my gallery, but you'd have to sort through a gazillion other pictures).

 

[stee6043]

I was thinking my question may be a day late and a dollar short too, Yooper. By the time I get home from work today it will have been 48 hours of mid 70's fermentation. I guess I just hope it is still drinkable. I used a White Labs California Ale yeast. I read online this morning that this is one of their more "robust" yeast strains so hopefully all is not lost. Next time - basement it is. I have a red ale to brew up this weekend and that sucker will go right downstairs. I wish I could get just one batch completed without one minor (or major) mistake! ha. Thanks for the quick reply.

 

[FEARDIZ]

most of my ferments are low to mid 70's, no problems
you can lookup the yeast you used to get more info on the temp range, you may want to cool the next one off a little more, but it shouldn't be an issue

 

[ohiobrewtus]

You certainly didn't 'kill' the whole batch of beer. The impact of the high termperatures will depend on the yeast that you used. Some yeast function better in that range than others. Some will produce more esters and fusel alcohols at higher temperatures.

In the end though, it will still be beer and you'll still be able to drink it.

 

[FishinDave07]

The California Ale yeast should hold out at those temps. As far as what you should do i see two options:

Option 1: Buy a large bucket/basin, fill with water and add frozen water bottles to keep the temperature in check

Option 2: Wrap your fermenter in a heavy blanket and like Yoop said off the floor in your basement.

 

[sonetlumiere85]

It won't taste as creamy as you were probably hoping. I've had similar yeast strains/styles ferment at temperatures that high, and I've found two things help with really sweet fusel-type flavors: 1.) Crash cool (40-55 degrees) when your fermentation is done. This also helps with clarity. I'm not sure of the science behind it, but it really helped my kolsch, which fermented at 76 degrees.
2.) Let it age and mature more than you usually would. This is really true for any beer that you don't like the flavor of. Put it in the basement or just out of the way for another month, then try it. Chances are it'll taste much better.

 

[stee6043]

You guys are pretty great. Thanks for all of the replies. I'll keep this one going and hope for an "okay" beer in 10 weeks or so. I'll give it some time to recover from this July fermentation action. Thanks again!

 

[conpewter]

60 degrees seems just right to me, I'd have put it down there from the beginning (always depending on the strain of yeast you are using)

 

[Stevorino]

Most people can't get Cal Ale yeast to attentuate fully below 65F (as tested and proven by Jamil Zainasheff)-- over 70 you'll start getting some esters you aren't wanting in a Cream Ale. If you can hold it between the two, that's ideal.