Temperature issues and their effects

Ok, I have two beers in primary right now. Both are well past initial fermentation and are patienly awaiting their month in primary. Until today I've been able to keep things right around 64 degrees the entire time as I have my carboys in my water heater closet with an electric heater that untill this morning has been perfect. This morning when I woke up the heater wasn't shutting off at its set temp and just keeps heating things up. My guess is it would be better to let the beer sit cold than risk it getting hot. I would think cold would be nothing more than an extended cold crash if I let it sit the entire month. Will there be any reason to let it primary the month in the cold (low 50's)? Should I just let it crash for a week or so and then bottle? I'm not in a situation where I can keep it warm for a while as I am stuck living through another hard winter without heating the casa...too much $$ for propane that I just don't have to spend. They're both ales btw...just looking for a little of "what would you do in this situation??"

Take gravity readings to make sure they are done. If they are, then cooling them will not hurt the beer. Also, if the beers are "well past" the initial phase of fermentation, the heat won't hurt it much either. RDWHAHB

I would avoid the heat. Definitely take gravity readings though. If they don't change for 3 days then they are done. If you're in a hurry then just check to see if they reached your target.

They're both at target...I guess my thoughts were do you think there's still benefit to letting them sit in bulk with the lower temp? They're at 57 at the moment... Or at some point am I better off to go ahead and bottle? Just don't know if the yeasties will be doing much cleanup with the beer being colder or is it just as beneficial to let stuff settle out during that time frame. Guess it would boil down to how much extended storage benefit can be attributed to the yeast vs just the actual aging, settling, etc...

I cold crash most of my ales after a week or two. As long as it doesn't freeze you will just end up with clearer, cleaner beer. I don't have any use for a four week primary anyway.