Should I move this to a warmer location?

Okay, as I mentioned the other day I brewed a batch of Northern Brewers, British Bitter. The kit came with Danstar windsor ale yeast. The instructions stated to pitch the yeast when the wort was 78 degrees or cooler, I pitched at 76 degrees.

When reading the instructions from Northern Brewer, it says the yeasts optimum range is 64-70 degrees. By the next morning after I had brewed this batch the wort temp was down to 68 and I had two inches of yeast foam on top.



Now, three days later, the foam cap has collapsed and the bubbler slowed, tho it is still bubbling. The temp of the wort is now 64 degrees.



What I'm wondering is did this peter out too quickly, or is this to be expected? Should I just leave it alone, or move it to a warmer location?

TIA

Rick

Sounds/looks normal to me. It's still fermenting, although the active phase has ended. Leave it where it is for at least a week (I generally leave my beers in primary for 3 weeks total) and take gravity readings 3 days in a row. If you get the same reading all three days then you're good to bottle.

Captain Damage said:

Sounds/looks normal to me. It's still fermenting, although the active phase has ended. Leave it where it is for at least a week (I generally leave my beers in primary for 3 weeks total) and take gravity readings 3 days in a row. If you get the same reading all three days then you're good to bottle.

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Thank you.

I wasn't sure what to expect really as this is my first batch. The foam cap collapsing had me a little concerned so I thought I'd ask.

Again, thanks.

Rick

Well, if you anticipate the wort to get colder, I'd move it. If its going to stay about the same, leave it...

chungking said:

Well, if you anticipate the wort to get colder, I'd move it. If its going to stay about the same, leave it...

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Yeah, it's at the low side of the supposed parameter. I'm hoping by fermenting at this cool temp it'll taste better.

Rick

What size batch did you make? What size carboy are you useing?

beerman0001 said:

What size batch did you make? What size carboy are you useing?

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It's a 6.5 gallon carboy. The batch was the standard 5 gallon kit.

Rick

So why did you not top it off to 5gal?

beerman0001 said:

So why did you not top it off to 5gal?

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I did. When I drained the brew kettle it was just slightly above the 5 gallon mark.

Rick

OK just looks low in the pic. Other then that looks good.

Just checked on one I have in a 6.5 and I know I put 5.5 in it and you are allot lower then where I am at. That is not a bad thing just make sure when you go to bottle it you do not put too much priming sugar in it.

The krausen dropping is normal. Fermenting at the lower end of the yeasts range is a good thing.

And IMO that carboy has about 3.5 to 4 gallons in it.

kh54s10 said:

The krausen dropping is normal. Fermenting at the lower end of the yeasts range is a good thing.

And IMO that carboy has about 3.5 to 4 gallons in it.

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No, that's ridiculous.

Look, my brew kettle, which is the Bayou Classic 8 gallon, is clearly marked. I over filled it some so I could leave the hop sediment in the bottom when I transferred to the fermenter.

It may be a tad low, but 3.5 is out of the question. In fact, even tho my carboy isn't as squat, nor does it have the flat shoulders of this one, it looks pretty similar.

Regardless you made beer. I never top off because I don't want to dilute my precious wort for more quantity. Adjust next time to increase post-boil volume.

As for the temp, fermenting cool is a great thing. My only suggestion is after say 10 days, bring it up to room temperature for several more days. This gives the yeast the chance to wake up a bit and clean up after themselves before bottling/kegging.

Sorry, I need to dissent from a couple of other posters here. Ale yeast is fine at 64F-68F, especially at this point when the active phase of fermentation has finished. Don't move it, don't warm it up, even if the temperature drops a few more degrees F. The yeast will do all the dicetyl cleanup perfectly well at low-to-mid 60Fs. Likewise, even if you were to have a sudden hot spell and the temperature got up to the low 70Fs, it would be fine at this point. Your beer looks good! Right now is the hardest part while you're starting out: trying not to mess with it while you're waiting. Just leave it alone until you're ready to bottle.

I agree that it is fine where it's at right now, but you really should have pitched cooler. Most of the nasty stuff happens to yeast in the first 24 hours or so of fermentation. Next time try to get the wort down to the mid 60's or at least below 70 when you pitch. That will result in cleaner beers with less off flavors and less need for the yeast to "clean up after themselves".

chumpsteak said:

I agree that it is fine where it's at right now, but you really should have pitched cooler. Most of the nasty stuff happens to yeast in the first 24 hours or so of fermentation. Next time try to get the wort down to the mid 60's or at least below 70 when you pitch. That will result in cleaner beers with less off flavors and less need for the yeast to "clean up after themselves".

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Interesting. See the only reason I pulled my chiller when I did was because I was below 78 degrees and the instruction sheet said to pitch at under 78 degrees. As I read it again, it says nothing about cooling it further and it certainly doesn't warn against pitching at a cooler temp.

My tap water is pretty cold, plus I could put some ice around the kettle to cool it even further and still do it quickly. I think next time I'll try to get down in the 66-68 degree range and see if the end result tastes better.

Thanks for everyones input.

Rick