What should I expect if I pitched at a low temp?

Hello all,

I brewed last night (caribou slobber-extract with danstar windsor ale yeast). I used some new methods and equipment. I wont go into too much detail. However, when pitching it was approx 60 degrees and the fermentation chamber was at 61 degrees when I checked this morning, now 63....controller set at 67.... The fridge ran yesterday as a "normal" fridge with no controller, so its slowly warming up.

I am getting small signs of fermentaion

I know is to late too change what has already happened. Will this low temp begining effect the flavor at all, or just slow down the yeast for a bit. Just curious about what I should expect ?

60F isn't too low for most yeast particularly if you're referring to the ambient temp (not the actual temp inside the fermenter). You'll probably want to set your temp controller about 5 degrees less than what you want the beer to ferment at; fermentation creates heat, sometimes a lot of heat. If I want my beer to ferment at 67, I usually set the temp controller at 60F to start, then monitor the fermentation temp with a stick-on fermometer and adjust the temp controller up or down as needed.

Better too cold than too warm. It'll be fine, and probably have no effect. It may slow things by a tiny amount, but I'm thinking by a couple hours out of the weeks it'll be fermenting---i.e., nothing you'll notice. Different yeasts and different batches take off differently, so even if it does seem slow, you can't immediately blame it on the temperature.

Many people advocate pitching below the target temperature because the yeast will warm themselves up when they go active. This is especially true with lager yeasts, but it's not going to hurt an ale yeast, either.

You will actually benefit from this and should make it a habit. It is recommended that you pitch slightly colder than fermentation temperature and allow to rise to desired temp. This is discussed at length by Jamil and Chris in the book "Yeast" as it creates a steady controlled growth phase of the cells.

duboman said:

You will actually benefit from this and should make it a habit. It is recommended that you pitch slightly colder than fermentation temperature and allow to rise to desired temp. This is discussed at length by Jamil and Chris in the book "Yeast" as it creates a steady controlled growth phase of the cells.

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I totally agree! It's always my goal to pitch at about 60 or so for ales, and then let it rise to my desired fermentation temperature. It makes for happy and healthy yeast.

Pitching warm and then cooling stresses yeast (they don't like to be cooled), but the opposite optimizes healthy yeast reproduction.

I think I feel like the guys who discovered penicillin by accident !!

Responses are sooooo apreciated !!!!

The weekend just got better

CHEERS

I'm another one who pitches at about 60F. It really doesn't even seem to slow the yeast down, and my beers taste great!

So just to clarify. Its better to be too cold then too warm. Is there a "bottom" ? Like dont go past 50. Obviously it wouldnt go past 31...

Frodo: I actually use blue painter tape and attach the temp probe to the side of the glass primary. So, hopefully this is a more accurate reading then just an ambient temp.

No harm in getting colder temps like down to 50 other than that is that much sooner you could have had the yeast pitched and starting to do there thing.

Slightly off topic question, but would the stick on thermometers be a better indication of fermentation taking place? The reason why I asked is because I brewed a 1 gallon batch of Caribou Slobber Friday night and I'm not seeing as much airlock activity as I have with the IPA I brewed two days earlier. Funny thing is the IPA is showing at 60F while the Caribou is at 62F.

I'm tempted to have a looksee, but better judgement is telling me to just wait it out the next two weeks and take a gravity reading.

would the stick on thermometers be a better indication of fermentation taking place?

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Too many variables to be any kind of reliable indicator. The tolerance/inaccuracy of the thermometer; variations in room temperature; thermal properties of the fermentation vessel....

I'm not seeing as much airlock activity as I have with the IPA I brewed two days earlier.

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Someone's probably already told you not to use the airlock as a fermentation meter. It's a pressure relief valve. Your 1 gallon batch will naturally produce less gas than a 5 gallon batch anyway.

better judgement is telling me to just wait it out the next two weeks and take a gravity reading.

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Do this!

^^^ Thanks. I'll just ride it out then.

Captain Damage said:

Someone's probably already told you not to use the airlock as a fermentation meter. It's a pressure relief valve.

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Good advice. If it's not burping, though, you may want to check that your air lock is in securely. My last batch didn't burp through its blow-off tube at all, after 8 or 10 hours. While many people have longer delays before active fermentation, I have always had a big start within about 5, so this made me suspicious. I checked, and my blow-off was not fully seated in the bung (that's what she said!). Didn't cause a problem, but it meant the blow-off tube wasn't really doing its job keeping stuff from crawling into the fermenter.

zeg said:

Good advice. If it's not burping, though, you may want to check that your air lock is in securely. My last batch didn't burp through its blow-off tube at all, after 8 or 10 hours. While many people have longer delays before active fermentation, I have always had a big start within about 5, so this made me suspicious. I checked, and my blow-off was not fully seated in the bung (that's what she said!). Didn't cause a problem, but it meant the blow-off tube wasn't really doing its job keeping stuff from crawling into the fermenter.

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The airlock for the Slobber seemed harder to put in than for the IPA, but it's seated in enough to not fall out of the grommet. The lids aren't as snug as I would like, but I think they're good enough to keep any nasties from falling in the fermenting wort.

The 2 gallon buckets I'm using I got from my local BiLo's bakery dept. They use a variety of buckets, so worst case, I can go back for a different bucket if the one I'm using now is not providing a good enough seal.

Yesfan said:

The 2 gallon buckets I'm using I got from my local BiLo's bakery dept. They use a variety of buckets, so worst case, I can go back for a different bucket if the one I'm using now is not providing a good enough seal.

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I wouldn't sweat it. For primary, as long as it keeps bugs (like insects) from crawling in, it's a good enough seal. If you're doing more than a few weeks, you might want a more airtight seal, but mostly there is plenty of gas coming out, so nothing much goes back in.

Yesfan said:

Slightly off topic question, but would the stick on thermometers be a better indication of fermentation taking place? The reason why I asked is because I brewed a 1 gallon batch of Caribou Slobber Friday night and I'm not seeing as much airlock activity as I have with the IPA I brewed two days earlier. Funny thing is the IPA is showing at 60F while the Caribou is at 62F.

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Maybe... it should be a decent indicator since fermentation is a specific reaction that produces heat; however I think in practice there could be a few variables that could be coming into play, like the type of compounds that are being fermented would give off different amounts of heat, and micro-climate differences in the floor that the carboy/bucket is sitting on due to heating/cooling ducts, that sort of thing.

Bronco1500 said:

So just to clarify. Its better to be too cold then too warm. Is there a "bottom" ? Like dont go past 50. Obviously it wouldnt go past 31...

Frodo: I actually use blue painter tape and attach the temp probe to the side of the glass primary. So, hopefully this is a more accurate reading then just an ambient temp.

Click to expand...

I've tried taping the thermostat to the carboy in the past, but I couldn't tell if it was really working that well. For simplicity I just now hang the thermostat and monitor the fermometer strip and keep an eye on the fermometer strip and adjust as needed; I think that's a "better" thermometer than the thermostat anyway, though that's just a guess.