What is meant by "ferment this yeast at" really mean

Is this the temp you pitch at, although I'm guessing no, or the max temp you want the yeast to get up to during the really active violent stage of fermentation? I ferment in my basement and temps from summer to now are 61-64 ambient so I try to get my wort down that low when I pitch but as the yeast works as we all know it gives off heat so I'll see the temp climb from say 63 at pitching to 65-66 then while it's really chugging away it'll hit 70 then slowly drops again. So say if a description for a particular yeast says best between 66-68deg is this the temp during peak fermentation when heat is given off the most? If so I'm guessing the only way to control this is climate control or just pitch a couple deg lower then ambient temp in the basement? So far most of my beers fermentations peak at 70 if I pitch around 64-65 deg and so far no off favors from the usual us-04 05, wlp001 and 500 I've used. Thanks for the clarification.

It means just what it says. The temp the wort should be at throughout its active cycle to get optimal results. Outside of that it will still ferment, just not as well as if you stayed within the parameters.

Rcbandl said:

It means just what it says. The temp the wort should be at throughout its active cycle to get optimal results. Outside of that it will still ferment, just not as well as if you stayed within the parameters.

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Ok so if it says between 66-68 then if it hits 70 that's outside the ideal range, ok I get that. that's what I thought it meant just wanted to clarify I was thinking about it right. Guess I've been lucky my basement does a pretty good job of keeping temps around 70 at the height of fermentation.

You may get some off flavors by going outside the range, but they may not be bad tasting. A majority of homebrewers dont use any sort of controlled temperature fermentation beyond cool basements and soaked T-shirts and make good beer.

But if you ever decide to go to the next level, get some sort of fermentation chamber. Holding precise temperatures can make good beer great.

The 3 keys to homebrewing.
Sanitization
Proper yeast pitch rates
Controlled fermentation temps.

If you have these 3 things its hard not to make a great beer

Rcbandl said:

You may get some off flavors by going outside the range, but they may not be bad tasting. A majority of homebrewers dont use any sort of controlled temperature fermentation beyond cool basements and soaked T-shirts and make good beer.

But if you ever decide to go to the next level, get some sort of fermentation chamber. Holding precise temperatures can make good beer great.

The 3 keys to homebrewing.
Sanitization
Proper yeast pitch rates
Controlled fermentation temps.

If you have these 3 things its hard not to make a great beer

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Thanks for the thoughts. I'm pretty religious about the first two and a fermentation chamber is the next big thing on my list.

it's also worth thinking about the low end, some yeasts are picky about dropping temperatures, the popular fullers 1968/002 strain comes to mind, or the dupont saison strain. a bit of a drop in temp after the initial warmth from active fermentation can send some of these yeasts to sleep, and they won't finish the job. with fuller's that means you get huge diacetyl, with dupont you are left with a sweet saison. some powerhouses like chico/s05/001 don't care so much and they will keep on going if you drop them a few degrees.

Ok also good to know.

I assume that phrase refers to that 3-5 days of peak activity. So I usually pitch a few degrees below my target temp, slow rise during the first 24-36 hours, and then ferment at the target temp. Then when things appear to slow down, I boost another few degrees to finish strong.

olotti said:

So say if a description for a particular yeast says best between 66-68deg is this the temp during peak fermentation when heat is given off the most?

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Maybe I'm splitting hairs but don't you usually get a much broader range for the optimum fermentation temps. For the Belgian strains I use there is typically an 6-10 degree F range. What I do; because I like the esters, phenols, and alcohols restrained (but still perceivable), is pitch 4-6 degrees below the lowest end of the range (with a modest pitch rate), let it free rise to hopefully the low end of the optimum range for the strain. After the fermentation starts to slow, I bump the temps 1 -2 degrees F per day until it hits the high end of the range. For Belgians, if you want a more pronounced flavor profile from the yeast, start at higher temps*.

*That's my opinion, there are other opinions on controlling yeast flavors.

I've found that most directions on kits and even yeast instructions from White Labs and Wyeast themselves are not very correct. I would suggest doing a search on this forum for any new yeast strain you are going to use. With Belgians in particular, I;ve gone wildly outside their "recommended range" and got better results than staying within it. And most belgian strains even need to go outside the range to finish up fermenting.

I usually have a target temp for fermentation and pitch 4-5 degrees below that to allow the yeast to warm up a bit to peak activity.

If I'm making a clone and there's information that the original brewery ferments at 63 and then bumps it up to 68 after 5 days, that's what I'll try to hit, because I'm trying to copy a flavor profile I like. But generally I consider the temperature ranges ballpark figures that you want to try to stay in, but a few degrees above or below will probably work. The biggest issues with fermentation temperatures are unwanted flavors and slow or stuck fermentaions. A good rule of thumb is to start of low and then increase after its halfway or more done and the yeast will clean up some of the compounds that create undesirable flavors. You can make great beer without temperature control if you have ambient temperatures in the 60's like your basement. Many of the great beers of the world were originally done using local ambient temperatures and the right yeast they found did the best job for the conditions they had.

m00ps said:

I've found that most directions on kits and even yeast instructions from White Labs and Wyeast themselves are not very correct. I would suggest doing a search on this forum for any new yeast strain you are going to use. With Belgians in particular, I;ve gone wildly outside their "recommended range" and got better results than staying within it. And most belgian strains even need to go outside the range to finish up fermenting.

I usually have a target temp for fermentation and pitch 4-5 degrees below that to allow the yeast to warm up a bit to peak activity.

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Ok. I was mainly thinking of your us-04,05 wlp001, etc. most of your std ale yeasts I guess. What I actually do is ill chill to about my ambient basement temp or a little under but I usually chill to around 63-64deg, pitch, place in basement and let it do its thing. Check gravity after day 10 then 14 and dry hop. I've never had a beer not b done by day 10 and some over attenuated a little but most of not all never get above 70 def during pek fermentation, i don't know if that's because I pitch lower than my basement temp of the basement stays at the right temp to allow the yeast to peak at 70 but also finish up and not stall out.

madscientist451 said:

If I'm making a clone and there's information that the original brewery ferments at 63 and then bumps it up to 68 after 5 days, that's what I'll try to hit, because I'm trying to copy a flavor profile I like.

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I slightly disagree with this practice, purely because in a pro brewery, the pressure in the conicals is going to suppress ester production. So to get closer to a brewery's flavor profile you'd probably have to ferment a few degrees cooler. This is why I usually pitch ales at 62, rise to 65, and then finish the last few days at 68-72.

I had a reply but it got wiped but I did come up with this: One of the Glorious things about ADHD, is something that sounded good at the time it was done, may not be quite so glorious later, but hey, it wasn't my fault...