Primary set a 78*F for first 24 hours

This is my first brew. I am fermenting a 5 gal batch of Real Ales Fireman #4 (blonde ale) clone. I was aiming for OG 1.050 and hit 1.056. I dropped the wort to 80*F and pitched White Labs - Dry English Ale 007.

It dropped to 78*F (temp strip on my primary). It has stayed at that temperature for 24 hours. I dropped a 8lb block of ice on one side of a 48 qt tub, my primary on the other. I hope this cools it with out stopping fermentation. I'll update with temp readings in a few hours.

My question: Was my wort at too high a temp for too long? Any advice or past experiences shared would be much appreciated. Thanks

80F was too high of a pitch temp. If you're still topping off,keep a couple gallons of water in the fridge a day or two before brew day to top off with. I chill my wort down to 75F or so,then strain into the fermenter & top off with the really cold water. It gets it down to 64-65F & gets a lil cold break too. Then pitch yeast.

Awesome. . . Well what should I expect? It was active within 12 hours. I did aerate well.

The problem is,even at 78F when the yeast visibly started fermenting,it'll produce higher levels of fermentation by products that are recognized as off flavors. It'll need an extra 3-7 days after FG is reached to clean them up. Then it'll settle out clear or slightly misty as it cleans up.

yes, it was too high. put some water in your tub so that the fermeter sits in the ice bath, this should cool it down. Fermenting too warm can give off some fruity off-flavors and a "hot" alcohol taste, among other things. The yeast you used is one of my favorites, I'm sure this will turn out fine even with the higher temp.

It's crucial to keep ferm temps in range, particularly during the first few days. Fermentation can increase the temp several degrees above ambient, so getting the temp down at pitching keeps you ahead of the game.

Make a swamp cooler. Set your fermenter in the bucket and add cold water. Use frozen water bottles to keep the water cold. I always have a half dozen or so 16oz. plastic bottles filled and in my freezer. Be sure to change out the water bottles a couple times a day.



Some people use a towel or old t-shirt with their swamper and run a fan to drive down the temps even more.

In the summer I can keep my fermenter down in the low to mid 60s, while the rest of the house is well over 70.

Its down to 75. Should I even rack to secondary at any point?

forget the secondary, focus on getting it down to about 62.

You'll still have beer at the end of the process despite the high temperature :rockin:

For most ale yeasts mid 60's is a very good place to keep your fermentation. I disagree with trying to get this particular fermentation down into the low 60's though--I would aim for high 60's since the yeast has gotten used to a higher temperature (and honestly, most of the 'off' flavors you might have are already there). I would be concerned that dropping it ~20deg. from pitching would stall the fermentation out.

It is probably too late for this batch so keep at as cool as possible to the low 60's and hope for the best.

For the next one get the wort to the mid sixties before pitching a proper amount of yeast* then control the temperature to the low to mid sixties until fermentation has finished.

* If you are using liquid yeast you should make a starter. Look at mrmalty.com and yeastcalc.com for starter information.

Do these things and you will progress from making beer to making good beer.

kh54s10 said:

It is probably too late for this batch so keep at as cool as possible to the low 60's and hope for the best.

For the next one get the wort to the mid sixties before pitching a proper amount of yeast* then control the temperature to the low to mid sixties until fermentation has finished.

* If you are using liquid yeast you should make a starter. Look at mrmalty.com and yeastcalc.com for starter information.

Do these things and you will progress from making beer to making good beer.

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Unfortunately, this is a common scenario that results from pitching too hot. The warmer temp causes the yeast to take off faster and produce heat more quickly. While you're trying to get the liquid cooler, they're heating it up and you end up fighting against each other.

In fermentation, what begins well tends to end well. For an ale yeast like 007, do whatever it takes to get your wort into the 60-62*F range before aerating (required with liquid yeast) and pitching. That will make it so much easier to manage the fermentation temp in the 63-64*F range. After the first 3-5 days, you can let it then slowly come up on its own into the upper 60's to finish.

Alright. Lesson learned. What to do with this wort? Forget about it for a few weeks then bottle and wait a few months? I read that would melow it out.

And any suggestions on a beer I can have drinkable by Christmas to make up for this one? I'd like to have a good homebrew ready to enjoy around the new year.

This may very well still be a pretty decent beer. Chances are it will be a little more fruity than normal (high ester production) and it may also have a slight to moderate solvent flavor due to any fusel production. This being said: learning experience and in all likelihood still totally drinkable beer.

Forgetting about it in the bottle for a few weeks to months never hurt anybody (but I would still taste regularly because I'm just that kind of person).

As for beers to be ready by christmas...
That's about 6 weeks away so you can make pretty much anything that doesn't need significant aging.

Jupapabear said:

Alright. Lesson learned. What to do with this wort? Forget about it for a few weeks then bottle and wait a few months? I read that would melow it out.

And any suggestions on a beer I can have drinkable by Christmas to make up for this one? I'd like to have a good homebrew ready to enjoy around the new year.

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You could have a good celebration ale ready by Xmas.

So, take a look and my airlock.




I just got home from work (I had actaully left work to check temp and bring the tub and ice block, then ran back) and I have added water to the bottom of the tub. I am at 71*F now. And I'll work on getting it and keeping it lower.

And I'll probably brew another beer anyways. "Just in case" ;-)

The post is stretching and turning my pic. Hope this one looks better.

Jupapabear said:

The post is stretching and turning my pic. Hope this one looks better.

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You may want to clean that out so it doesn't clog and cause a pressure build up.

BigFloyd said:

You may want to clean that out so it doesn't clog and cause a pressure build up.

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How about a blow out tube into the chilled water of the tub it is sitting in?

Jupapabear said:

The post is stretching and turning my pic. Hope this one looks better.

View attachment 159692

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What was the OG of this beer? Typically any wort that has an OG of 1045 < should have a blowoff tube for the initial days of fermentation. Just run a tube from the center of your airlock to a bottle of sanitizer. This will save the hassle of constantly cleaning your airlock. Blowoff tube and controlling temps will help you control the fermentation a bit better.

Og 1.056

I'm chillin' at 64*F, and probably going to sleep soon. Will check this baby in the am.

Thanks for all the replies and for following along.

Just an update... my primary is kickin it at 60 still and bubbles through the clean airlock and coming often, even rapidly still.

At this point let it ride. Because you started too hot you may not have the greatest beer, but it might still be good. Get the next batch started ASAP, while controlling the fermentation temperatures. If the first one is decent you will be amazed at how fast it disappears!

Well it's been in the bottle for week. So it's still green but perfectly acceptable. Better than BMC all day. The rest is still conditioning in the pantry. Thanks for all the replies.

My second batch was Ed Wart ' s Haus Pale Ale. It's in the keg.

Jupapabear said:

So it's still green but perfectly acceptable. Better than BMC all day. The rest is still conditioning in the pantry.

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Awesome, you should really see improvement in them over the next few weeks.