Forgot to cool wort after boil. Still okay?

So it's only my second brew. I'm brewing up some Strathcona pale ale. After the boiling process was done, I completely spaced out and immediately poured the hot wort in my kettle straight into my primary fermenter (through a strainer) and then topped it up with cold water to 23 litres, and then added the yeast. The wort at this time, wasnt boiling hot by any means, but I really doubt it was at the 68-72F temp range that is desired. I know, this was very foolish. Is the brew still going to be okay? Will the yeast be able to survive in hotter temps?

As we speak I have my primary fermenter sitting in a tub of cold water, cooling.

What are you guys' thoughts?

It really depends on how much your water addition cooled the wort. You could have pitched hig henough to kill the yeast, start them off high enough to produce off-flavors, or not-high at all. You didn't check the temp after realizing your mistake?

Tough to say not knowing the hot/cold liquid ratio. It is POSSIBLE that the yeast got cooked, but the only way of knowing is to wait and see. Yeast isn't all the same, but I have seen beers pitched at 95F and make perfectly decent beer. It may be exceptionally fruity or some such, but I wouldn't stress on it. If you don't see any activity within 24 hours, dump another sachet of yeast in and you should be fine.

Approximate your cold water temperature, say 50F.
Your wort was probably around 200F (lost a few degrees while straining).
Approximate your wort volume, say 8L
Your cold water volume would be 23L - 8 L =15L

Water = 15L * 50F = 750 L-DegF
Wort = 8L * 200F = 1600 L-DegF*

total, 2350 L-DegF, divided by 23L = 102F

So your end result is 23L @ 102F. Likely, the yeast is toast. Let it cool down some more, add a packet of dry yeast.

* Yes, I am aware that wort has a higher thermal mass than water, but I'm ignoring it because I'm lazy.

M_C

I had about 13L of boiling water in the primary, and then i added another 10 of cold water. I didnt measure temp after adding the cool water, but it had cooled enough for me to be able to keep a finger in semi-comfortably. Should I continue to let the primary cool? Or would the yeast have already been killed off.

I was also wondering since i didnt leave the loose hops floating in the hot wort as it cools, will the flavor be much different? Since it lost about 15 mins of extra time to infuse.

Hope this post made sense.

wailingguitar said:

Tough to say not knowing the hot/cold liquid ratio. It is POSSIBLE that the yeast got cooked, but the only way of knowing is to wait and see. Yeast isn't all the same, but I have seen beers pitched at 95F and make perfectly decent beer. It may be exceptionally fruity or some such, but I wouldn't stress on it. If you don't see any activity within 24 hours, dump another sachet of yeast in and you should be fine.

Click to expand...

Yeah this could go two ways. Cooked yeast add more, or you're good with a particularly individual beer as an outcome. If you have to repitch it might not be a terrible idea to get your wort off the dead yeast as soon as you can.

Repitch as in bring to a boil again?

All of which depends whether or not the wort begins the fermentation process over the next 24 hours right?

Educate me, as I have a question regarding cooked yeast?

Don't we cook some yeast on purpose for yeast nutrient?

So in essence, if the temp was too high, he just added some yeast nutrient for the new yeast he may have to pitch?

I know, say what you want if this is absurd. However, I am just thinking out loud again.

CWind said:

Repitch as in bring to a boil again?

All of which depends whether or not the wort begins the fermentation process over the next 24 hours right?

Click to expand...

NO! Just add another packet of dry yeast.

The dead yeast becomes food for the new yeast. It's all good. Just make sure you're at 70F or less.

M_C

CWind said:

Repitch as in bring to a boil again?

All of which depends whether or not the wort begins the fermentation process over the next 24 hours right?

Click to expand...

Repitch as in, add a fresh batch of yeast to the wort.

CWind said:

Repitch as in bring to a boil again?

All of which depends whether or not the wort begins the fermentation process over the next 24 hours right?

Click to expand...

Repitch as in add more yeast.

"...but it had cooled enough for me to be able to keep a finger in semi-comfortably."
I would use a thermometer next time, unless your finger had recently been cleaned, sanitized and calibrated (to be dead-on balls accurate. It's an industry term.) that is. Purchase some more dry yeast and get to re-pitchin'. Apologize to the recently departed yeast.

If the pitching temp was 102 the yeast is fine. I rehydrate dry yeast in 110F water every time, that's the recommended temp.. That doesn't mean the beer will be good but if you were able to cool the wort down to 70F or less I think your beer will be good too.

Yup, you've got a wort full of nice fresh delicious (expensive!) yeast food now. You could give it a day or two and see if they made it though all the same.

If Canuk's calculations are right you would be right on the edge of killing them outright, but even if they lived they are suck as heck shocked. It'll be a slow start up if they did live (which leaves room for some other malevolent critter to move in instead).

Your safest bet is to pitch again, consider it a $10 lesson well learned

Do let us know how it turns out!

Hey, a fellow Vancouver Brewer. Welcome to the hobby! Strathcona PA is indeed a great recipe, and Dan's is probably the best LHBS in Canada.

There's no way to know, but you want to hope that the your wort was too hot and killed the yeast when you pitched--because otherwise you will have horrible beer. It's one of the rare instances I recommend dumping. But, if you wait two days and there's no fermentation, you're in the clear (mostly) and can pitch some more yeast.

Honestly, though, if it was cool enough to put your finger in, the yeast is probably okay, which means you will have some nasty fusel alcohol flavours which will never go away. Its true that your aroma hops will turn in to flavouring hops, but this is not a problem--it just means you make different beer. Your main problem will be that your beer will taste like ass.

Whether or not fermentation would take really depends on what temp you pitched at. If it was below 80, it would probably be fine, but as others have said your best option is just to repitch and minimize your lag time.

I don't know about the rest of you, but a 106° hot tub I can sit in more than comfortably for at least a few minutes. If his finger (arguably more heat tolerant than my pastey white hiney) was semi-comfortable, I would speculate closer to 110-112°. Isn't 140° the kill point for yeast? Or is it lower?

Also, what yeast are you rehydrating at 110°, corky? I recently read the directions on the back of a us-05 sachet and it said 80 °F. I don't have much experience rehydrating though, so I'm curious.

If my info is correct (definitely not a gaurantee), the yeast will be alive, but stressed, and will create the associated off flavors. Unless you are strapped for primary space, though, I wouldn't give up on it that quickly. Might as well let it ride, put it in bottles, and forget about it for a few months. If it hasn't improved, cook with it, or give it to your moochie neighbors late in a party, when no one will care anyway.

IF You pitched pretty high temp, what temp did you have it sitting at after you pitched? I would leave it if it starts well, i also would let it sit at least a month in primary,\
. whats going on? If it doesnt start in a day with foam on top then i would repitch.

Wait a few days... If no yeast activity, then re-pitch a fresh pack or vial of yeast. Honestly... It seems like it would be better to have cooked your yeast and pitch a new batch. I have left wert sit for a couple days before pitching (not intentionally ) and it was fine. Just be sure that your wert is covered as if it was being fermented. Don't take the advise from above and dump it.

Obviously don't dump it until you taste it (I did not advise dumping, I just said that fusel alcohol flavours are the only thing that have ever induced me to toss beer), but if he pitched at >100F the beer will be awful. Unless you've pitched hot before, you have no idea how awful it will be.

Bwhhahahahaa!!!!!!!!! Ok ....there..... its out of my system,
It leads to say that if the yeast was not killed there would be a very fast incubation/growth phase due to the hot temp, if not, most died and only some of the "other" yeast survived (maybe even the 0.005% (or something) of bacteria that is spesified on the spec sheet?) repitch ...quick!

Wert ?