High Pitching temp

My brew buddy and I tried to brew two batches at the same time today and couldn't get the wort temp on both batches quick enough so we pitched the yeast at approximately 80-82 degrees. I was able to put mine straight in the cooler and put frozen cooler packs on it immediately. I have a glass of water with a thermometer in it next to my better bottle and its reading 59-60 now after about 4 hours from pitching. Not getting any serious bubbles yet but there is some activity in there. Am I ok?

Should be - 80-82 is warm enough it might shock the yeast a little bit, but definitely not warm enough to kill anything off, and it sounds like you probably got it chilled quickly enough as it was.

In the future though, try to take your time a little more - even if it takes you 4 hours to get to pitching temps, wait that 4 hours before pitching to ensure best results!

I was under the impression that cooling and pitching quickly was paramount. Get some alcohol in there fast to help with contamination. I gotta get a wort chiller. This "hobby" keeps tricking me into spending more money!

All my AG so far I have pitched 75 degree yeast into 79ish wort. I then put the carboy into my ferm fridge set on 67. I haven't had any probs yet. As long as you're with in 10-15 degrees from ferm temp and the yeast and wort are with in 5-10 degrees your ok. You just have to have it cooled before ferm starts.