Help, Temperatures gone mad

[delboy1066]

Hi everybody,

I was wondering if anyone can help me with a temperature issue i have. Just over a week ago i started my first ever brew, a Woodfordes Admiral’s Real Ale Kit. i started with a temperature of 60f and was worried that it was too low so yesterday after 7 days fermenting i bought a "Brew Belt". Now todays temperature is 77f . Im guessing its now too high. So I've decided to turn off the brew belt to let it cool a little. Im guessing i need to try and get a steady 70f and i know it will be trial and error, maybe with a timer plug but am i doing damage to my brew?
Any help or advice much appreciated.

 

[CBMbrewer]

77 is pretty hot. I'd put it in a swamp cooler. If you have a plastic tub or something of the like that you can but your fermenter in, fill it with cool water and ice or ice packs or Tupperware full of ice so you can just swap them out for new ones when they melt. At 77 however you probably will get some off flavors, diacetyl or butter slickness to your beer. Stick with it though, it might turn out okay.

 

[gelatin]

Have you done any gravity readings during this time? 77f can definitely cause some off flavors but since the initial fermentation should be more or less complete by now you can hope for minimal damage. Ideally you would use an electric temperature controller that would turn the belt on and off automatically to regulate the temperature. If you continually move the beer from too low to too high temps, you will most definitely stress it!

A steady 65-68 is really what you're looking for generally, but I've had good luck at 62-64 with some ale yeasts.

 

[delboy1066]

Have you done any gravity readings during this time? 77f can definitely cause some off flavors but since the initial fermentation should be more or less complete by now you can hope for minimal damage. Ideally you would use an electric temperature controller that would turn the belt on and off automatically to regulate the temperature. If you continually move the beer from too low to too high temps, you will most definitely stress it!

A steady 65-68 is really what you're looking for generally, but I've had good luck at 62-64 with some ale yeasts.

Thanks for your help, Todays gravity reading is 1015. Sorry but don't know if thats good or not. instructions do say to bottle below 1020, but i was waiting for it to steady out abit.

 

[fall-line]

What kind of yeast comes in that kit? I was unable to find that with a (quick) google search. 77ºF is almost certainly too high, but if it was only that hot for a day or so it probably didn't do too much harm. 60ºF is a fine temperature for fermenting many ales with your average ale yeast. Each strain has it's own ideal fermentation range, but in general it's usually better to be a little low than a little (or a lot) high.

I'd just let this finish out at your ambient temps and then read up on building a fermentation chamber and/or temperature controller for your brew belt for future use.

Cheers!

 

[delboy1066]

What kind of yeast comes in that kit? I was unable to find that with a (quick) google search. 77ºF is almost certainly too high, but if it was only that hot for a day or so it probably didn't do too much harm. 60ºF is a fine temperature for fermenting many ales with your average ale yeast. Each strain has it's own ideal fermentation range, but in general it's usually better to be a little low than a little (or a lot) high.

I'd just let this finish out at your ambient temps and then read up on building a fermentation chamber and/or temperature controller for your brew belt for future use.

Cheers!

Sorry i don't know what type of yeast it was, i will make a note in future. Also will look into some better temp control. Thanks for your advice

 

[gelatin]

1.015 is certainly within the realm of finished beer. Give it another 2 weeks to help condition and bottle; I'm seconding just letting this finish out at ambient.

 

[delboy1066]

1.015 is certainly within the realm of finished beer. Give it another 2 weeks to help condition and bottle; I'm seconding just letting this finish out at ambient.

Thanks for your reply, that's now the plan. I'll relax and leave it be!

 

[fall-line]

Also, welcome to the forums, delboy1066!

 

[delboy1066]

Also, welcome to the forums, delboy1066!

Thanks very much.