Any tips for a wort that may not have been cool enough?

I just finished an IPA and when I poured the wort into the glass carboy I don't think it had been cooled enough! Dammit! I don't think I used enough ice in the bath and I thought it would be better to just go ahead and pour it rather than let it sit at room temp.

I put it below an open window for the night to allow cool air to hit and placed a fan blowing on it. I think it was in the upper 70's.

Should I be very worried?

Have you pitched the yeast yet?

And if you did pitch the yeast, any idea what the temp actually was?

Yeast was pitched and the best I can guess on the temp was upper 70's low 80's

Jobe5217 said:

Yeast was pitched and the best I can guess on the temp was upper 70's low 80's

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You might have some off flavors due to the high temp unless it cooled off pretty quickly. I didn't kill any if them at that temp. Nothing you can do about it now but let it ferment and see how it turns out.

I would advice you to get one of those super cheap stick on thermometers for your fermenter to monitor it better. You don't have to pitch your yeast right away if you were sanitary. If you don't quite cool it down all the way beforehand you can let it sit for a while to cool off.

I always pitch at that temp. Not saying it's good. Just saying it ain't bad.

I always prefer to wait and pitch at a cooler temperature, then to rush adding the yeast. Years ago I thought OMG, the wort is getting infected and I NEED to add yeast now! Just my opinion, but next time I would suggest letting the wort cool more and pitch the yeast first thing in the morning, rather than pitch warm.

Always better to wait and pitch cool later, than to pitch hot now, IMHO and cheers!

RDWHWHB

You could always go for the "no chill" method and not worry about it.

wilserbrewer said:

I always prefer to wait and pitch at a cooler temperature, then to rush adding the yeast. Years ago I thought OMG, the wort is getting infected and I NEED to add yeast now! Just my opinion, but next time I would suggest letting the wort cool more and pitch the yeast first thing in the morning, rather than pitch warm.

Always better to wait and pitch cool later, than to pitch hot now, IMHO and cheers!

RDWHWHB

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Now that a little time has passed I will be a little more patient about how long the wort sits. I was thinking that it would be bad to sit for too long but I can think rationally now that why not add more ice/let sit longer/etc. and get to the optimum temp.

ShinyBuddha said:

You could always go for the "no chill" method and not worry about it.

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What is this "no chill" method you speak of?

I think that the big lesson after my second brew is that I need a large strainer (I didn't mention the issue of straining out my first use of whole hops from the wort) and a homemade wort chiller is in order!

Thanks everyone!

Upper 70's is fine for pitching, but you gotta cool it after that to mid 60's.

Jobe5217 said:

What is this "no chill" method you speak of?

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You can google the details. But in short, you let the wort sit in a sanitized airtight container for however long it takes to get down to temp.