Ideal brewing temperature

[occasional_brewer]

Hi-
I am one week into my first non-kit all grain homebrew, what I like to call a modified amber ale (recipe take from this website thank you very much)…
From what I have read on the site is that ideal brewing temperatures during fermentation ~60F.
Unfortunately, new england winters are rough and while keeping the thermostat at 69F I think that heat distribution in my house isn't homogenous so I suspect that my fermenter feels a bit colder, especially overnight when we bring down the heating to 60F. What I see in the morning is infrequent bubbles while a few hours into the day after increasing the thermostat there is a lot more bubbles and even increase in suds.
I feel like everything else is going OK but I wonder if the pre-determined 2 weeks in the primary fermenter will be too short.
Should I extend the primary fermentation period? 3 weeks anybody?
Thanks in advance

 

[Rockn_M]

As the temperature decreases yeast will start to slow down and as they heat up they will start working faster. If you have a hydrometer you can take 2 readings several days apart and if the readings are the same the beer is finished. If it decreases you'll need to wait longer. If you dont' have one you should pick one up it is really the only way to determine if the beer is finished. Otherwise waiting 3-4 weeks won't hurt anything.

 

[m00ps]

I think you have a few terms mixed up. You;re asking about "fermentation" temperature right? Also are these "suds" foam from starsan? or yeast krausen?

Mid 60s is generally ideal for most yeasts/ What yeast are you using?
I usually pitch close to 60 degrees and let it rise up the mid 60s. THen a few more degrees after 10 or so days to hlep it finish. Some strains can ferment even into the 50s without too much issue. Other (Belgians) like it much much warmer. If you have an ambient temo of 60deg, you probably have the actual beer closer to 62-63 so that should be ok.

Either way, I would not recommend having you house swing between 69 and 60 every day. Yeast like stable temperatures. Having temperature swings like that will create very unpleasant off flavors. Trust me, I;'ve had one batch that tasted like straight up bandaids. For your next brew, you need to find a place where the temperature is stable

 

[Curtis2010]

There is no one answer to your question: Ideal ferm temp is the one which matches your yeast profile. Look up spec sheet on the yeast.

 

[occasional_brewer]

I'm using the Safale US-05, which is noted as having an ideal ferm temp of 59-75; which I think I fall within this range (we never lower the heat to <60F).
When I say suds- I mean the good kind;the kind you lick off your lips after taking a nice sip of cold beer, not the starsan. However, for our common terminology- krausen.
Thank you all for the comments; very helpful. If it means anything- the wort tasted good (and sweet)

 

[Onkel_Udo]

If it still tastes sweet fermentation is likely not complete.

In the future an easy way to stabilize that temp is to add more mass. 5 gallons of beer is already 40#'s but what if you use a wash tub or giant bucket and place your fermentor in it? you can then add anywhere from 20# (2.5 gallons) to 40# of additional thermal mass. It already takes a while to swing 40# of liquid one degree and doubling that makes it even harder. In short the mid point between your 60 and 69 will be reached (give or take) and only vary 1-2 degrees max.

 

[aprichman]

If it still tastes sweet fermentation is likely not complete.

In the future an easy way to stabilize that temp is to add more mass. 5 gallons of beer is already 40#'s but what if you use a wash tub or giant bucket and place your fermentor in it? you can then add anywhere from 20# (2.5 gallons) to 40# of additional thermal mass. It already takes a while to swing 40# of liquid one degree and doubling that makes it even harder. In short the mid point between your 60 and 69 will be reached (give or take) and only vary 1-2 degrees max.

I'm using a water bath for the first time and I will never go back to not using one. I'm fermenting ~2.25 gallons of 1.063 OG beer right now and have a 1:1 beer to water bath ratio going on. Before using a water bath I had serious problems keeping higher gravity beers cool and stable. I used a box fan and cracked the window open, but it was a terrible way to regulate temperature.

This time my temperatures have been stable around 62F. When things start warming up I drop a frozen 20oz plastic water bottle in the tub, inserting in a way where it only touches the water. If anything it works too well. I forgot about putting in a frozen water bottle while I was at class today and the temperature dropped to 58F in ~3 hours Good thing I was working with Nottingham that is tolerant down to 57F and can go even lower with some success.

My plan is water bath + frozen plastic water bottles to keep things cool during the active period. After about a week I'll pull it out of the water bath and let it finish up for another 2 weeks before bottling.