Pitched yeast too hot- Wyeast 3056

I don't want this to turn into one of those "Is my beer ruined?" threads, but through an extraordinary lack of judgement I pitched my Wyeast 3056 Bavarian Wheat starter onto my dunkelweizen at about 82 degrees. I panicked and put the carboy out in the snow, I have it down to about 76 degrees now and have it back in the house. I'm guessing I'll have a bit of off flavors, but my yeast will survive. Any advice from those more knowledgable than me? Thanks.

Yes, 76 is quite hot for any yeast to ferment and you will probably get some off flavors. However, 82 shouldnt be hot enough to kill anything.

Try cooling and pitching in the mid to upper 60s, and also fermenting in that range. I try to keep all of my fermentations below 68 and my beer flavors have improved greatly. Temperature control is one of the best things you can do for your beer.

I would guess that you will be alright if you were quick. I routinely pitch lager yeast in 65-70 degree wort and then put it in the chiller. It takes several hours to drop to the optimum temperature but it doesn't seem to hurt it.

chode720 said:

Yes, 76 is quite hot for any yeast to ferment and you will probably get some off flavors. However, 82 shouldnt be hot enough to kill anything.

Try cooling and pitching in the mid to upper 60s, and also fermenting in that range. I try to keep all of my fermentations below 68 and my beer flavors have improved greatly. Temperature control is one of the best things you can do for your beer.

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I normally do pitch my yeast in the upper 60s and try to keep fermentation temp in that range, I am embarrassed to say that this time I didn't do that. It's down to about 75 now after about 2 hours, I have a swamp cooler going to try to cool it off some more.

You'll probably end up a bit fruity: bananas or green apples. If you leave it on the yeast a bit longer than normal, you might he able to condition some of it out.

Thanks for all the advice; I neglected to mention last night there were several magnums of English bitter consumed before pitching, which greatly contributed to my pitching mishap. It had cooled down to 67 within a few hours, and is doing quite well now.