yeast pitch temp

bobbrewster · 06-24-2008, 04:55 PM

Making a sierra nevada clone. Recipe said add yeast below 80 F. Waited 9 hours and had to go to work and wort was only at 84 F. I pitched it anyway hoping for the best. Did I just destroy my yeast? Thanks, Robert

RICLARK · 06-24-2008, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobbrewster

Making a sierra nevada clone. Recipe said add yeast below 80 F. Waited 9 hours and had to go to work and wort was only at 84 F. Did I just destroy my yeast? Thanks, Robert

Did you try to chill the wort? 84 is very high to be pitching at.

kingjam · 06-24-2008, 06:11 PM

Sounds like you need a wort chiller bad...Leaving your beer for 9 hours to cool did more harm then pitching the yeast at 84.

tagz · 06-24-2008, 06:29 PM

or, at least get a good ice bath going. i can chill my wort to 65 in about a 1/2 hour. if your yeast take off soon after pitching the wort temp is only going to go higher, because fermentation produces heat. many directions say to pitch when you get below 80, but i'd go all the way down your ideal fermentation temp before tossing it in.

FishinDave07 · 06-24-2008, 06:32 PM

I once was in a pinch when i pitched my dry yeast at 90 F, the temp that i hydrated it at. It fermented fine and i cant keep my hands off of the finished product. But you DEFINATELY NEED a wort chiller...9 hrs is way too long.

bobbrewster · 06-24-2008, 07:11 PM

So if waiting 9 hours is too long then what do people do without wort chillers? The basic brew in my instruction book said to add yeast right after taking off a boil but the Sierra Nevada clone said 80 F -. So if I don't have a wort chiller you guys are saying I should just add the yeast after taking the wort off the boil like the book said? If so, will I still get a Sierra Nevada tasting beer? Since I did wait nine hours should I just dump the wort and start over with a fresh batch adding yeast right after boiling stops after taking off stove? Thanks for your quick responses, Robert

findthefish · 06-24-2008, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobbrewster

So if waiting 9 hours is too long then what do people do without wort chillers? The basic brew in my instruction book said to add yeast right after taking off a boil but the Sierra Nevada clone said 80 F -. So if I don't have a wort chiller you guys are saying I should just add the yeast after taking the wort off the boil like the book said? If so, will I still get a Sierra Nevada tasting beer? Since I did wait nine hours should I just dump the wort and start over with a fresh batch adding yeast right after boiling stops after taking off stove? Thanks for your quick responses, Robert

NO! Never pitch that hot. Use an ice bath or something and get it down faster. Less than 80 is alright, but it is better to pitch close to the ideal fermentation temp. of your yeast.

Don't dump it yet, let it go like normal now and see what happens. If it still tastes fine then no harm done.

HomerT · 06-24-2008, 07:35 PM

Don't throw it out....it will likely be ok. It may have some estery flavors that are unwanted in an SNPA clone. WHat you should throw out is any piece of literature that tells you to pitch immeadiately after the boil ends!

If you don't have an immersion chiller, then a simple ice bath will work. Since it sounds like you are a relatively new brewer, I am guessing you probably are boiing on the stove top. With about 5 min to go in your boil, begin filling your sink with ice/water mix. At knock-out, remove your pot and place it into the ice bath. In about 30min, you should be able to cool it down to <75 at least. You may need to add some additional ice, but either way, you should be fine.

-Todd

nostalgia · 06-24-2008, 08:28 PM

I pitched my first batch at 86F and it fermented out just fine. What I didn't do was aerate the wort before pitching, which left me with a stuck fermentation after a day that took off once I racked to the secondary.

I cooled my first one off in a sink with ice. Worked pretty well, but still took a long time.

The second one I put in a big plastic bucket (the party kind you fill with ice and beer) and used a hose to supply a constant stream of cold water around the outside. That got 3 gallons of pre-boil wort from boiling to 90F in 15 minutes.

Hope that helps,

-Joe

ArcaneXor · 06-24-2008, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FishinDave07

I once was in a pinch when i pitched my dry yeast at 90 F, the temp that i hydrated it at. It fermented fine and i cant keep my hands off of the finished product. But you DEFINATELY NEED a wort chiller...9 hrs is way too long.

How efficient is a wort chiller in South Florida? Up here in north Florida, our tap water is about 72 degrees... It just seems that ice is quicker and get temperatures to drop further than would be possible with a wort chiller (it takes me about 25 minutes to 70 degrees using ice).