Ambient temps

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OHIOSTEVE

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I did a search and didn't find an exact match for my question:

If you cannot accurately measure the actual wort temperature, what is the ideal ambient temperature for a fermentation room? I have mine set at 58 degrees and am wondering if that is about right. The fermentation is going well but seems to be going on longer than I am used to ( BRITISH ALE 2 YEAST...never used this yeast strain before) so am I in the ball park?
 
There is no ideal, because there are way too many factors in the fermentation process that are going to have an effect on temperature: size of the batch, pitch of the yeast, if it was healthy and active, what part of the fermentation is it in, shape of the fermenting vessel, etc.

But, 58 is low enough, in my opinion, that it is most likely making a damn good beer right now.
 
Fermentation temp can be as much as 10 degrees higher than ambient during busiest phase.

58 is good for the main phase, but eventually the beer will come down to ambient temp and that's pretty low. I would bump it up to 65 if you can.
 
PseudoChef said:
There is no ideal, because there are way too many factors in the fermentation process that are going to have an effect on temperature: size of the batch, pitch of the yeast, if it was healthy and active, what part of the fermentation is it in, shape of the fermenting vessel, etc.

But, 58 is low enough, in my opinion, that it is most likely making a damn good beer right now.

Agreed, and I'll add once the beer is pretty much done with fermentation, you can let it warm up to the 60's to finish up..the crucial time for ferm temp control is during its vigorous fermentation

And ed beat me...haha
 
There is no ideal, because there are way too many factors in the fermentation process that are going to have an effect on temperature: size of the batch, pitch of the yeast, if it was healthy and active, what part of the fermentation is it in, shape of the fermenting vessel, etc.

But, 58 is low enough, in my opinion, that it is most likely making a damn good beer right now.

My thinking was that by pitching when the wort was low 60's that I would get a nice take off and with the ambient at 58 it should ferment in the mid 60's which is good for most strains I use. And I hope you are correct about making a damn good beer because this is my kentucky bourbon barrel ale attempt.
 
Yeah, 58's not a bad starting point, depending on the yeast.

With some yeast it could delay the start and stall the finish, but be just right for the most active stage. You really have to adjust the ambient to keep your wort at the proper temperature for the phase of fermentation.
 
Fermentation temp can be as much as 10 degrees higher than ambient during busiest phase.

58 is good for the main phase, but eventually the beer will come down to ambient temp and that's pretty low. I would bump it up to 65 if you can.

Understood , but I may have several brews in different stages of fermentation in there at the same time. How do I manage that ?
 
There are two easy ways to get an idea of the wort temperature instead of ambient temperature. One is to use a stick on liquid crystal strip thermometer. The other is to get a wired thermometer and tape the probe on the outside of the fermentor. Cover this with a towel or something to keep it from reading the air temperature.

I wouldn't try to figure out the wort temperature based on ambient.
 
Understood , but I may have several brews in different stages of fermentation in there at the same time. How do I manage that ?

Personally, I have a couple of old mini fridges, not one dedicated larger one and use taped on remote thermometer to determine wort temperature.
 
Very good points about raising the temperature during the end of fermentation to help the beer finish. Can be crucial for several English style strains, but I'm unfamiliar with British II. Can also be important to raise the temp to the higher 60s to clean up diacetyl, if present, but generally a cooler pitching temp helps prevent diacetyl before it gets to be a problem.
 
Well, once you're out of primary ferm, just bring it out of the room...from my understanding, unless you're in the 80s, ambient temp is fine to finish up
 
Understood , but I may have several brews in different stages of fermentation in there at the same time. How do I manage that ?

I tape the temp controller sensor to the side of of my bucket fermenters and then set my desired fermentation temp.

I have a sippy cup with a lid filled with water and bbq temp probe in it so I can see what ambient is compared to the bucket.

I've seen the delta be as high as 10 degrees, and the neat thing is after a couple days, I watch the two temperatures come together as fermentation draws to a close.
 
Well, once you're out of primary ferm, just bring it out of the room...from my understanding, unless you're in the 80s, ambient temp is fine to finish up
Outside in an unheated building. Just this well insulated room is heated
 
OK, so I have determined that I screwed up by building a room big enough for 12 carboys at once. I was not thinking about temp adjustment for different stages of fermentation.....Using swamp coolers is why I built it because I had em setting all over the house......IF I just leave it at 58 , when the ferment slows down, that may stall out my yeast....if I raise it to mid 60's that will be too hot for a different batch in a different stage of fermentation AAAAGGGHHHH...... Ok lets say that I am unable to adjust the temp once set ( I can from 39-80 degrees) But if i COULDN'T change it, what would be the best compromise ambient that would be cool enough to avoid off flavors during the height of fermentation...but warm enough to let the yeast finish up clean?.. OR could I brew several batches a few days in a row ( the way I tend to brew anyway) let em ferment out( obviously some will be done quicker than others) then raise the temp once they all seem done and kraussen has fallen and give em a slight swirl to let em all finish up... Then I cold crash everything ( seperately if course) and bottle.
 
I would think around 60-62 or so is a good compromise, but it depends on your gravities (how vigorous fermentation)

Another option is a brew belt(s), but with so many going, it could get expensive
 
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