I'm new with only 3 batches under my belt... and just one of them in bottles. I'm trying to understand some conflicting advice I have received on how to pitch yeast.
My LHBS recipes all say, "... cool the wort to 80F and pitch the yeast. Be sure to follow the yeast manufacturer's directions."
But around here, it is commonly said that you should pitch the yeast at or under the fermentation temperature.
Obviously, you do not want the wort to be too hot or the yeast are in peril. And equally obviously, each strain has an ideal temperature range, or schedule.
But is it really necessary to cool the wort all the way to fermentation temperature? It doesn't *seem* to be necessary because the wort will cool from 80F to fermentation temperature within a couple of hours, for a 5 gallon batch anyway.
And during this cooling time, the yeast are adapting to their new home, reproducing, using up the oxygen, and not yet fermenting. The wort will have hit target temperature well before we enter the anaerobic domain. At least, that's how I reason it out. But the weight of opinion is apparently stacked against me.
Are there other byproducts of aerobic metabolism that impact the flavor of the beer?
Do the yeast use up the oxygen quickly enough that they could be fermenting in a warm wort?
Is there another factor that I am overlooking, making a cool wort an ideal home for the yeast?
Cooling the wort further is not a great hardship, but it does mean more time babysitting the immersion chiller... those last 10-20 degrees will take a while. So if I can get equal end results with a pitch just under 80F, that's what I would prefer to do.
I am curious if anyone has done a split batch test with differing pitch strategies, and evaluated the tastes of the final products.
My LHBS recipes all say, "... cool the wort to 80F and pitch the yeast. Be sure to follow the yeast manufacturer's directions."
But around here, it is commonly said that you should pitch the yeast at or under the fermentation temperature.
Obviously, you do not want the wort to be too hot or the yeast are in peril. And equally obviously, each strain has an ideal temperature range, or schedule.
But is it really necessary to cool the wort all the way to fermentation temperature? It doesn't *seem* to be necessary because the wort will cool from 80F to fermentation temperature within a couple of hours, for a 5 gallon batch anyway.
And during this cooling time, the yeast are adapting to their new home, reproducing, using up the oxygen, and not yet fermenting. The wort will have hit target temperature well before we enter the anaerobic domain. At least, that's how I reason it out. But the weight of opinion is apparently stacked against me.
Are there other byproducts of aerobic metabolism that impact the flavor of the beer?
Do the yeast use up the oxygen quickly enough that they could be fermenting in a warm wort?
Is there another factor that I am overlooking, making a cool wort an ideal home for the yeast?
Cooling the wort further is not a great hardship, but it does mean more time babysitting the immersion chiller... those last 10-20 degrees will take a while. So if I can get equal end results with a pitch just under 80F, that's what I would prefer to do.
I am curious if anyone has done a split batch test with differing pitch strategies, and evaluated the tastes of the final products.