Another fermenting temp question

I brewed an extract batch of Austin HBS 4 Hearted Ale Sunday, and put the primary in my basement to ferment where it is running mid 60's for the temp. After 36 hours I noticed the fermometer was reading 73* the Wyeast 1272 has a range of 60-72* So I made a swamp bucket to bring the temp down a bit.

My question, is dropping an active early fermentation by 5* over 12 hours going to stress the yeast? it dropped to 68* within 12 hours.

Second question, should I leave it at 68* and be happy, or can I safely drop it to the mid 60's range which was my original target temp?

This Wyeast Strain Guide is your friend for lots of info (not sure if you have seen it yet). It would probably be better to lower the temp slower than that, but I wouldn't worry about it. Learn from it and monitor your temp more closely next time. I check it about 8 times a day for the first 3-5 days and then just 2-3 after that (usually fermentation is done by that time).

I would leave it at 68 if I were you. I would be worried about stopping the yeast completely with a more rapid drop.

Eric

It should turn out just fine. While it's good to keep things at a steady temp, in your case you're talking about only a 5 degree change in 12 hours. It could be a lot worse so don't fret. Just keep it under 70 while the active fermentation is going and you should have a great beer.

Just use this as a good reminder that the temps inside the fermenter during active fermentation can easily run 5-8 degrees above ambient temps so you can plan accordingly for future brews

i submerged my primary into ice water instead of cool water in a swamp box during my first batch (my only real mistake) and it turned out just fine. it just stalled the yeast for a day or so and they picked back up after that. not to say it didn't damage the yeast it probably killed a lot of them but the beer was still good thank god.