brew room temp around 60 degrees

My brew room is hovering around 60 degrees and I am wondering if and what kind of problems that creates for my yeast?

I have moved primary into an upstairs closed but that temp fluctuates between 55-65 due to the way our thermostat is set.

Is it better to have primary in constant 60 degree room or in a 55-65 degree room?

I brewed a Dunkel 8 days ago and OG was 1.051. The reading I took yesterday was 1.020. FG is supposed to be 1.011-1.014.

Thoughts??

Thank you!

I have found that 60f. is too low for the ale yeasts that I use for my Dunkel weizen. It performs best at 65f.-70f. expecially if I brewed with malt extract which is less fermentable than my all-grain recipes. A simple way to get the fermenter a little warmer is to place a 60w lamp next to it and monitor the temp. to adjust lamp proximatey. I wrote about it here:
http://backyardbrewer.blogspot.com/2009/11/3-more-easy-homebrewing-tricks.html

mark
www.backyardbrewer.blogspot.com
www.thebackyardbrewer.com

See what your FG is in a few days.

Your ferment temp will be a little higher than ambient temp of the room, so a 60 degree room would be great for most ales. Some of us would kill for a steady 60F without having to use a temp controller and fridge/freezer.

Thanks for the comments everyone.

mbird, thanks for the blog link, since it's currently -6F outside, that info may come in handy!

Think i'll take osagedr advice and see where SG is in a few days and then rack to carboy.

kabrew, I'm also in Iowa. Mason City, actually. -14 this morning with a -35 wind chill. Absolutely took my breath away when I went out to get the paper.

My primary has done well in my basement which is constantly 61-63 in this cold weather.

bennyd, i hear ya! i'm near dubuque and it was -13 here!

good to know on your basement temp....i can't help but think that a constant cooler temp room is better than a fluctuating temp room.

thanks for your help!

Remember too, that your fermentation temp will rise above ambient. My fermenter was sitting in a room with an ambient of 63 and the fermentation temp got up to 72. I think next time I'll make sure that the fermenter is in the section of the basement that stays at 61.

Also, I was just in Dubuque a while back and went to the Bluff Street Brew Haus. Seems like a nice guy that runs the place. In fact I'll probably pick up another primary bucket and carboy there when I'm in town for my cousin's wedding this summer.

bennyd,

The Brewhaus is where i get all my supplies. Jerry is good guy and knows his stuff. The Dunkel we're talking about is his recipe.

thanks again for your help!