cooling stuns my fermentation?

I have been using Wyeast 1335 British Ale II yeast (range 63-75) for my first few batches now. I get a good fermentation if I leave the vessel out in an ambient temperature of 77-80, but If i try to move it to a controlled 66* the fermentation takes days to start... or if it has already started in the warmer temp this new temp stuns it for days. In the controlled environment( chest freezer ) I have a second thermometer to verify temp and I keep the glass carboy off the bottom of the fridge with some insulating foam. The controller has a range of 3 degrees.

I spose I should just stay closer to the upper range of wyeast's reccomendations from now on. Anyone else have troubles similar to this?

It is possible that fermentation is still happening, but the krausen layer is smaller. What evidence do you have that fermentation is stunned for a few days?

My beers started to improve when I fermented at the mid to lower temps of an Ale yeasts range. 77-80 IMO is too warm unless you want a lot of esters. I've not used 1335 so I can't really comment on how that one reacts to higher temps.

Saying it takes days to start is being judged by airlock activity I assume. That does not mean that it has not started, it has just not shown you it's doing its thing. Why not compromise and shoot for 68-70 and relax.

Just going by visible signs of movement in the beer. At the higher temps there are many signs like bubbles on the surface, airlock activity, the beer itself is swimming around. When at the cooler temp the surface becomes clear and still.

It is better to pitch a few degrees cooler than your planned fermentation temps. Then allow it to warm slightly. 77° to 80° is way high and will most likely produce some funky flavors and fusel alcohols.
Granted, pitching and then cooling several degrees like you are doing will most definitely slow the yeast activity until they acclimate to the new environment, however they will return to their activities and finish the job.

It's better to have a slow and steady (and cool) fermentation than something high and furious that's based on heat, unless you like off flavors in your beer of course. This isn't a race, it's about making great tasting beer. That's also why many of us walk away from our fermenters for a month and come back and bottle or keg. So to us the "speed" of fermentation is really irrelevant, as long as the temps aren't too high.

If I start out high around 80* and it results in a quicker start, then wouldn't that give the yeast a head start over the bacteria and also purge the air out of the container? Will this still impart flavours even if it gets moved to *66 within 8 hours of pitching?

AFAIK it's pretty much the opposite. Yeast will grow faster than bacteria at lower temps (but they all go slower, duh). Yeast throw the most flavors during their growth phase.

are you able to cool your wort down to say 70f fairly quickly?, if you can, I would highly recommend you stay away from the high temp fermentations.
and really you're not trying to purge the oxygen out of the carboy or bucket before fermentation, the yeast needs it!
I would recommend that you just try and cool it quickly as you can to around 70f and then pitch the yeast and try and maintain that temp for at least 10 days, and SANITIZE, SANITIZE, SANITIZE everything that comes in contact with it.

A temperature change can stun the yeast. You should start it off temperature controlled right were you want to ferment it. Then it never gets a chance to get so hot and never experiences a big drop in temperature while it's fermenting.

ksbrain said:

A temperature change can stun the yeast. You should start it off temperature controlled right were you want to ferment it. Then it never gets a chance to get so hot and never experiences a big drop in temperature while it's fermenting.

Click to expand...

Thats what I was trying to say.....lol