Hot pitching temp

So I pitched my WLP530 Abbey Ale in my Tripel at 72F. I didn't have enough fridge space too cool the wort, so I just went ahead and pitched it thinking the temperature would fall a bit. Well, it had a quick start only taking about 6 hours and the temperature was at 74F. So I freaked a bit not wanting a hot fermentation, so I put a towel on it and swamp chilled it. The temp fell overnight to 64F and it was still thankfully bubbling. It is now at 66F, and I was planning on letting fermentation temperature rise to 70F per BCS instructions. However, since I had this overactive start the first 12 hours, should I let the temperature rise higher to take up any off flavors? It is still fermenting, so it looks like I avoided crashing out the yeast. Anything else I should be aware of, other than controlling temperature better in the future (should have used the swamp cooler before pitching )

Higher ferment temps = more off flavors, not less. I would let it sit at 65-68 ish for a while and raise the temp once the bubbles start to slow down ( to help finish attenuating, not really to get rid of off flavors)

Just used WLP530 for a Westvleteren 12 clone. Pitched at 65F and let it rise to 82F and held it there for 5 days. Went from 1.095 to 1.012 in a week. Blow off tube sounded like a machine gun.

bassbone said:

Higher ferment temps = more off flavors, not less.

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True for the beginning of fermentation, but then later yeast take up those chemicals so you want either a completely stable temperature profile or one that rises so that there is more yeast to clean up the beer.

My concern is that since I had a high starting temperature, a lot of off flavors might have been produced early on. So should I plan on increasing the temperature (and to what degree) at end of fermentation so there is enough activity to metabolize those chemicals? I'm already planning on increasing to 70, but should it go up to, and perhaps above, 74?

I guess I'm mostly being over-concerned about it and should just RDWHAHB, but wanted to hear what this forum had to say about it.

g-star said:

Just used WLP530 for a Westvleteren 12 clone. Pitched at 65F and let it rise to 82F and held it there for 5 days.

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No hot alcohols from the high fermentation temperature? How quickly did it get up to 82?

JNish said:

No hot alcohols from the high fermentation temperature? How quickly did it get up to 82?

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Well, its conditioning now so I haven't had a chance to try it yet. Got up to 82F in about 36hrs. I am following the advice laid out in Brew Like A Monk and this thread and it seems to have worked out well for many people, although it may not be appropriate for all styles.

I don't think the importance of pitch temp is stressed enough. I consider it more important than the fermentation temp. The yeast produce so many flavor compounds in the first 24 hours after pitching - it is critical to have them at the right temp.

In the OP's case, I don't think it does much good to pitch high and then lower the temp after fermentation begins. You'll definitely want to ramp up high to clean up at the end of fermentation. At least 75 degrees.

kanzimonson said:

I don't think the importance of pitch temp is stressed enough. I consider it more important than the fermentation temp. The yeast produce so many flavor compounds in the first 24 hours after pitching - it is critical to have them at the right temp.

In the OP's case, I don't think it does much good to pitch high and then lower the temp after fermentation begins. You'll definitely want to ramp up high to clean up at the end of fermentation. At least 75 degrees.

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Thanks for the helpful post. Unfortunately, fermentation temperature has been quite erratic, delving down to 64 when I chilled it after pitching, then back up to 68 the next day, then back down to 64. I'm putting the fermentor in a tub with an aquarium heater to try to regulate this thing. I really need to find myself another fridge to use for fermenting. Things I learned: chill before pitching. Then be able to control the temperature reliably. Swamp coolers work, but it seems to be erratic and uncontrollable.