Cold Ale Fermentation

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ere109

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Here in Denver, we had a long indian summer, with temps consistently above 80. For that reason, I held off brewing my next ale until the weather became fall-like. I brewed 10 gallons of a dark wheat and placed it in my basement. The temp was perfect - 68 degrees - for the first week. However, we had a cold snap on Wednesday, snow, and temps in the 30's. The basement dropped to about 60.
My question, will ale yeast perform like lager yeast - continue at a slower pace as the temp drops? Should I just plan to give it longer in primary, or will I have to wait til next spring for this fermentation to wake back up?
 
What yeast did you use - as there's a dependency on the particular yeast strain how well they'll perform, some do much better than others. But generally yes, ale yeast will just work slower, but they will keep plodding on the job as long as there is work to do...

Cheers!
 
if you're using something like US05 or cal-ale yeast, then you're fine. it will suppress esters that might be expressed at higher temps. but if you're doing american style ales then that's no problem. if you're using british, belgian or hefeweizen yeasts you will have to check the specs on each strain to see how they perform. some lower temp under-performers can be compensated by pitching more yeast at the beginning.

bottom line: it depends on the yeast strain. if you don't want to invest in equipment to control fermentation temp, select the strains that work best at your ambient temperature.
 
bottom line: it depends on the yeast strain. if you don't want to invest in equipment to control fermentation temp, select the strains that work best at your ambient temperature.

This. Some yeast are rock stars in the low 60s, others, not so much.

Keep in mind fermentation is exothermic so if your ambient temp is 60, your fermenting beer might be 64-67* (common mistake I see in a lot of homebrew)

With that said. I ferment most of my ales below 65* (wort temp)
 
Thanks. I believe I'm using s-33 and white labs 380. Two 6.5 gallon carboys. I'll have to look up specs on those.
 
Your yeast should already be complete with fermentation at 68 within that first week, so there should be no worry about it going dormant or getting shocked.
 
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