Fermentatus interruptus

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ElyIrishBrew

ElyIrishBrew

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In order to keep my office cool enough for the pilsner style Muntons extract ale I brewed Saturday, I've left the fermentation bucket under a slightly open window, and that was keeping it at 69 F.

But last night it got colder than expected and windier, and cold wind blew in all night, washing over the bucket. The wort was at 70 when I went to bed. Now, eight hours later, it is at 61 F. The bucket is sitting in a big kettle with about an inch of space around it, and I put in some warm/hot water to bring the wort back up to the right temp. The hot water brought it up to 66 F before being spent.

So is 61 cold enough for the yeast to go inactive, or was there still likely some activity when the temp dropped? And, more importantly, will the interruption harm the beer?
 
Never used Munton's yeast,but Cooper's yeast dosen't show much activity till 62F. Not until 64F does it start fermenting slowly.
 
The 61F was probably a much better temp than 69F. A typical ale yeast's optimum fermentation range is about 59F-68F, and fermentation is ALWAYS about 3-6F WARMER than the ambient temp, so at 69F you were actually fermenting at closer to 72-75F, which is a little high.

A COOOL fermentation is always a CLEEAAAN fermentation, so you want to ideally be closer to the lower end of the recommended optimum temp. If this pilsner did have an ale yeast, I personally would have put my temp controller on 60F with a 3 differential, so my ferm chamber would have stayed between 57F and 60F, meaning the internal ferm temp would have been about 60F-66F at all times.

Pilsners made to style are made with lager yeasts, though I doubt a Mounton's kit came with lager yeast. If it did, however, the ideal ferm temp would have been closer to 49-59F.

Anyway, point being, you need to figure out what the ideal fermentation temp of the yeast with your kit is, then try your best to ferment closer to the lower end, unless you are purposely trying to produce ester or fusel off flavors.

This beer will likely have a bit of off flavors that will need additional conditioning time, so be patient with it!

Good luck!
 
No,69F is a pretty good temp. And not all ale yeasts will ferment at 60F or lower,as I stated in one example. The cooper's yeast can be a beast,but not at 60F. I doubt Munton's will either.
 
TopherM said:
The 61F was probably a much better temp than 69F. A typical ale yeast's optimum fermentation range is about 59F-68F, and fermentation is ALWAYS about 3-6F WARMER than the ambient temp, so at 69F you were actually fermenting at closer to 72-75F, which is a little high.

A COOOL fermentation is always a CLEEAAAN fermentation, so you want to ideally be closer to the lower end of the recommended optimum temp. If this pilsner did have an ale yeast, I personally would have put my temp controller on 60F with a 3 differential, so my ferm chamber would have stayed between 57F and 60F, meaning the internal ferm temp would have been about 60F-66F at all times.

Pilsners made to style are made with lager yeasts, though I doubt a Mounton's kit came with lager yeast. If it did, however, the ideal ferm temp would have been closer to 49-59F.

Anyway, point being, you need to figure out what the ideal fermentation temp of the yeast with your kit is, then try your best to ferment closer to the lower end, unless you are purposely trying to produce ester or fusel off flavors.

This beer will likely have a bit of off flavors that will need additional conditioning time, so be patient with it!

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks much for that insight. I'm doing a Muntons Nut Brown Ale next, so that advice will come in handy. The temps I'm quoting are not ambient air temps, but the temps from the adhesive thermometer strip on the bucket.

I've been told by others that this Muntons pilsner kit indeed has ale yeast. OK, so how much additional conditioning time are we talking about, and what type of conditioning do you mean? I'm planning on leaving it in the primary fermentation bucket after fermentation finishes, cold crashing it in my garage fridge for several days to help it clear, and then transferring to the spigotted bottling bucket and bottling.

I'll be patient with it. I know it's just my first, but I want it to come out as right as possible and am willing the take the time to make that happen. It's not like there's a shortage of fine beers in the stores for me to depend on in the meanwhile. :D
 
Since 69F is the wort temp,I still say you're good. For yeasts like munton's & cooper's,that's within the best range,which in my findings is 64-68 or 69F. But I also always give my beers 3-7 days after FG is reached To clean up & settle out clear before bottling. do that & you'll be fine. 69F is not high at all for the yeast used.
 
What's your thinking on how long it'll take to acheive FG? Tomorrow I'll switch from the blowoff tube to the airlock and that'll make it easier to assess bubble rate and such. Since I've got to take the lid off to use the hydrometer, I don't want to do that more times than I have to, so what's your guess on the time factor?

Wort temp right now is 68, but fermentation hasn't kicked back into gear yet. Kit says usually 4-6 days or when FG stays constant at 1008. Guess I'll just wait and see. Ain't that half the fun? :)
 
I don't check mine for FG till the 2 week mark to see if I'm there or close. That's today for my pm cascade pale. If it isn't within FG range,it could take another week to knock off that last couple points.
 
Cool. Thanks.

So here's the timeline, clearly a fluid estimated one.

Oct. 21 - brewed
Oct. 21 - fermentation started overnight
Nov. 4 - fermentation possibly finished, FG at 1008, begin cold crash
Nov. 11 - cold crashing at 35 F finished, transfer to bottling bucket and bottle
Nov. 12 - brew next beer, a kit nut brown ale
Dec. 1 - first beer ready to drink, and it's on my birthday!
 
Dec1 would be a day shy of 3 weeks. If you bottle,that's about enough conditioning time at room temp. But not enough to include 1 week fridge time. Even 2 weeks in the bottle,3rd in the fridge will still be a bit green more often as not.
 
OK, I'll put one or two in the fridge the morning of Dec. 1 and sample them that evening, letting the rest chill for another week. Just can't let the date pass. With any luck, I won't spit it back out of my mouth. :D

I could also cold crash for 5 days instead of 7 to gain a couple days.
 

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