Really strange temperature issue

J187 · 01-05-2012, 01:50 AM

My wort has been fermenting in my living room for 3 days. I had my house heat on a steady 70 degrees all day today. Came home and my fermometer reading dropped from 66 to 62/61. I really don't understand how this possible. Unless my heat or home thermostat isn't functioning properly or my fermometer is not correct...

**NordeastBrewer77** · 01-05-2012, 01:51 AM

is the thermostat RIGHT by the carboy? my thermostat reads 69, but if i use a laser temp reader, the area i'm sitting in reads 65, 15 feet away from the thermostat.

ghank15 · 01-05-2012, 02:17 AM

Heat rises. If your ducts are in the ceiling, or not near your Carboy, your thermometer is probably right.

I wouldn't worry though. If you started at 66ish, your beer probably reached 70 during fermentation (yeast causes wort to increase about 5 degrees during fermentation). Once the first few days of fermentation pass, the yeast won't really create any off flavors if the temp changed.

That, plus 62 isn't bad at all. A little low for initial fermentation depending on the yeast strain, but it's not too far. You should be fine.

**NordeastBrewer77** · 01-05-2012, 02:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghank15

Heat rises. If your ducts are in the ceiling, or not near your Carboy, your thermometer is probably right.

THIS^^^^^

That, plus 62 isn't bad at all. A little low for initial fermentation depending on the yeast strain, but it's not too far. You should be fine.

i ferment almost all my ales at 62, pitch at 62, it's a great temp for most strains.

J187 · 01-05-2012, 02:57 AM

Oh wow. Turns out the Fermometer is grossly off! Opened up and took a sample to test temp And SG. The sample temp was 68... The fermometer still read 62ish. I cooled it a little. The SG right now after 3 days is 1.0209 with an expected of 1.011-1.007. Looking good so far. Didn't taste it, smelled kinda sulphor-like.

ghank15 · 01-05-2012, 03:02 AM

Sulfur is a normal type of smell for fermentation, although I believe lagers smell more like sulfur than ales. I'm not sure about this.

I definitely wouldn't worry about the smell, most smells from the primary don't make it into the finished product.

J187 · 01-05-2012, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghank15

Sulfur is a normal type of smell for fermentation, although I believe lagers smell more like sulfur than ales. I'm not sure about this.

I definitely wouldn't worry about the smell, most smells from the primary don't make it into the finished product.

Thank you. I didn't mean to sound as if I was concerned about the smell. It's just that is what turned me off from the idea of actually tasting it

Thanks to all who replied. Given the incredible discrepancy between the ambient temp, the wort sample temp, and the temp shown by the fermometer, I can only conclude that my fermometer is defective... it's nearly TEN degrees off from what thermometer showed in the sample. I will get a new fermometer today and put it on the bucket right next to the old one and see if they show the same temp.

I know that temps can vary a lot in a house from what he thermostat reads, but not 10 degrees. Also, it's pretty obvious to me that is not 60 degrees in the room where my fermenter is. Again, I can only assume/hope that my fermometer is given a bogus reading. I assume these are usually accurate and that's why they are commonly used? Is there something better I should replace it with?

J187 · 01-06-2012, 12:46 AM

Ok... so now I am very confused.

Came home tonight and the fermometer said 60. I had a new fermometer with me. I applied that one to the bucket as well. After an hour I checked that one and they both read close to the same... one was about 60, the other about 60-61 depending on interpretation of the squares. I also had a digital ambient thermometer with me too. I checked the air temp in the area around the fermenter - it was 60 also. So now that much was starting to make sense. Although... I took a sample of the wort, checked gravity and temp. The gravity is the same it was 24 hours ago. The temp is the weird thing. When I used my brewing thermometer

it said the actual wort sample temp was 68 deg. I don't get it....

I also tasted the sample and it tasted sort of sulfuric. Smelled and tasted a little like flat beer but had a fairly unpleasant taste. It's been about 4 days now in the fermenter.

**NordeastBrewer77** · 01-06-2012, 01:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J187

Ok... so now I am very confused.

Came home tonight and the fermometer said 60. I had a new fermometer with me. I applied that one to the bucket as well. After an hour I checked that one and they both read close to the same... one was about 60, the other about 60-61 depending on interpretation of the squares. I also had a digital ambient thermometer with me too. I checked the air temp in the area around the fermenter - it was 60 also. So now that much was starting to make sense. Although... I took a sample of the wort, checked gravity and temp. The gravity is the same it was 24 hours ago. The temp is the weird thing. When I used my brewing thermometer

it said the actual wort sample temp was 68 deg. I don't get it....

I also tasted the sample and it tasted sort of sulfuric. Smelled and tasted a little like flat beer but had a fairly unpleasant taste. It's been about 4 days now in the fermenter.

those fermometer's are horribly inaccurate by nature, as you can see when an accurate thermometer is used to take the same temp.

J187 · 01-06-2012, 01:17 AM

Hmmm. It didn't seem like they would be the most accurate thing ever, but that's so far off they are virtually useless. What is a better way to monitor temps? Should I be concerned my ale has a sulphuric taste and smell after 4 days? I'm
Reading some bad things about bacterial infection.