High temp Fermentation?

bluefish44 · 08-14-2009, 06:58 PM

Hi all,
I pitched yeast into my Carboy full of IPA probably near 80 degrees, and the carboy is sitting at about 76 degrees today. After about a half a day, there was a lot of fermentation going on and even a few bubbles escaping out of the top of the airlock stopper. Looks like the carboy is a little small for the 5 gallons I produced. Question...should I just let the process continue as is? Will the beer be OK. Did the high temp of the beer ~80 degrees do something weird with my yeast. Is it going to taste funny?

Appreciate your insight

Bluefish

**IXVolt** · 08-14-2009, 07:00 PM

Your beer will be ok, high temps can produce a slight off flavor but many times is not noticeable. The higher temps make for a more vigorous fermentation. Let the fermenting continue, and if you can put the carboy in a tote / crate / Tupperware where you can put water around it and toss some frozen water bottles in there. It'll help with cooling it down.

Note: 76 deg isn't too bad, but if you can get it down to 68~70 deg it'll be much happier.

rsmith179 · 08-14-2009, 07:02 PM

I would personally try to get that fermentation temp down a bit if possible. The mid-upper 70's is pushing it for the yeast and may result in off flavors down the road. Trying to get it down to low-mid 60's would be ideal. If you don't have a place to store it that is close to that temp, you might want to do a search on here for "Swamp Coolers". That should be able to bring your beer down a bit with just some water and a towel.