What happens if Nottingham and/or English Ale (US-04) are fermented at 80-82F?

[ikyn]

I have no temperature control, and I have a blonde ale w/ nottingham, and a pale ale w/ the english ale yeast. What will happen at these temperatures? I'm doing my best to keep them cold, but I can't seem to bring the temperature down.

These two were brewed on Saturday, and have very active fermentation. Is it too late to bring them to my place of employment (where it is 73 all the time?). Or should I alternate them in and out of the refrigerator to keep them cool? ( have room for one fermenter in the fridge).

If all it will do is make fruity esters, I'm kind of OK with that. These are supposed to be light summer beers.

 

[g-star]

Fruit salad in a rubbing alcohol. Sorry.

I would never push those strains over 72F, never mind 82F. They really do best around 64-68F.

Research swamp coolers if you don't have a dedicated temp controlled fermentation fridge.

 

[ikyn]

If they've been going since Saturday, is it too late to cool them now?

 

[jeremy0209]

If they've been going since Saturday, is it too late to cool them now?

I wouldn't say that it's too late, but it's my understanding that most of the flavor compounds are formed in the first few days of fermentation and that's when temp control is most critical. Ferment it out (14 days or so) and pull a sample to see how it is. If it's acceptable, bottle it and let it sit for a couple of weeks. You never know what might happen.

 

[Xpertskir]

If they've been going since Saturday, is it too late to cool them now?

you can cool them and minimize further damage, but a lot of damage has already been done.


Temp control is the single most important ingredient in good home brew. Pay more attention to that than anything else.

 

[ikyn]

They were probably only at 80 F for 8-10 hours. I'll toss them into the bathtub with lots of ice when I get home.