Poor ferm temps for an IPA - Now what?

I brewed a batch of an AHS Stone IPA clone this weekend but foolishly didnt have my ferm cabinet completed. Im more than positive that the yeasties were kind of warm during this time, and I am going to have plenty of off flavor. Its been in the primary less than a week (duh) and I plan to give it at least 1 or 2 more weeks before I keg and dry hop it.

I know that my off flavors will fade with time, but so will the bitterness and aroma. No?

So - should I just leave it in the primary for at least a month (as I normally do) then dry hop it for the allocated '10 days'?

Or should I just follow my (original) planned sched and keg/dryhop after 2 weeks in the primary and hope for the best?

OR should I primary it for a month, keg it (possibly prime), let it bulk age for another 3+ weeks, THEN dry hop and serve?

Or even better yet, follow plan 2 and drink it fast.
Thoughts? Suggestions?
-Me

How warm? Also, do you know what the recommended fermentation range for the yeast strain you used is?

If you taste it and think it's too estery, and you want to age it but still have bright hop flavor you could let it condition at ferm temp or warmer for a few weeks (as long as you want really) and then dry hop at the end. You might lose some of the brightness of the late addition hops, but at least the dry hop will be bright.

If it were me, I'd want to know what's going in the keg (because if it sucks at all my husband won't drink it), so I'd bulk age until I like it, then dry hop and then keg. I wouldn't put the dry hops in the keg myself because I don't like to leave them in that long.

Im thinking it was at least 70-75+ range. Like I said, I didnt have the ferm cab ready and it sat in my closet (still there) with the occasional ice pack wrapped in a towel.

Ill see how it tastes when it comes time to keg.
Thanks!
-Me

The yeast I use for IPAs is typically WLP001 (White Labs California Ale Yeast) and it recommends fermentation in the 68 - 73 F temp range for optimal results. I made a couple batches of IPA before I had much control over fermentation temp and I know I was near the mid to upper 70s on occassion. I might be biased but every batch of IPA I have brewed has turned out delicious. I would definately treat it as if everything was going to plan if I were dealing with the same dilema. Although I will concede I am no authority on the matter. Just an FYI from my experience.

I ferment my IPAs (And all beers) at 72 because that's just what I get at room temp. Always taste great to me. I use WYeast 1056 American Ale.

What type of yeast did you use? I regularly use Safale S-05 (same strain as WLP001 and Wyeast 1056) for my IPA's and ferment them in the low 70's. They always come out fine (i.e. delicious!). I would continue on, dryhop and drink. If you get some esters, just take note and adjust your temps next time. Chances are the hops will hide most of the imperfections anyway.

I used 2 packets of Safale-04 (rehydrated) and it appears that the initial fermentation went off normally. (I used my BoT as a precaution) but I dont think the kraus rose too terribly. Now that its chilled out a bit it appears that the temp is steady at around 72. I would imagine that it will come out just fine, as every other beer I have brewed without controlling ferm temps have (eventually)

I guess I was just more excited about the fact that I have a ferm cabinet now, but didnt get a chance to utilize it. (Yet) Maybe this weekend?
Another case of RDWHAHB, and follow the preplanned schedule I initially was going to.
-Me

I aquired a freezer with temp controller and im using it as a fermentation chamber. i boiled an AHS stone ipa clone last night,pitched a big wy 1968 starter, threw it in freezer and set the temp to 70. Just now I peeked in to see how the bubbles were coming along, and boom. The top has blown off my ferm bucket, airlock clogged, and yeast sex excrement all over the freezer. The temp on the strip reads 78. I cleaned up the mess from the yeasts wild party last night, re sanitized the airlock, and put it back on. I guess my starter was a bit too big? Well my question is fermentation temps. Should i set my freezer down to like 60? The yeast chart says 64-71(just found it today...). So i guess my ferm temp has completely gotten away from me. I turned the temp on the freezer down to 64, but should it be lower to offset the temp increase due to heat generation associated with yeast activity?

Haasobrew said:

I aquired a freezer with temp controller and im using it as a fermentation chamber. i boiled an AHS stone ipa clone last night,pitched a big wy 1968 starter, threw it in freezer and set the temp to 70. Just now I peeked in to see how the bubbles were coming along, and boom. The top has blown off my ferm bucket, airlock clogged, and yeast sex excrement all over the freezer. The temp on the strip reads 78. I cleaned up the mess from the yeasts wild party last night, re sanitized the airlock, and put it back on. I guess my starter was a bit too big? Well my question is fermentation temps. Should i set my freezer down to like 60? The yeast chart says 64-71(just found it today...). So i guess my ferm temp has completely gotten away from me. I turned the temp on the freezer down to 64, but should it be lower to offset the temp increase due to heat generation associated with yeast activity?

Click to expand...

No, your starter wasn't too big! The fermentation chamber is too warm. A vigorously fermenting beer is often 8-10 degrees warmer than the surrounding air. Setting the control to a lower temperature is the way to go. Pitching at 70, and then setting the temperature at 70, was not a good way to start! Next time, pitch at 65ish, and set the thermostat for 63-64, and you should be fine. But turn it down if the beer temperature creeps up.

For now, I'd probably do my best to cool it without cooling it too much. I don't think it'll drop too fast at 60 degrees, but check it in the morning and make sure it didn't get too cool.

thanks for the quick feedback! I set the freezer to 60 and ill watch it and adjust every hour or so untill bed to get fermentor down to 65. This is my first shot at fermentation with a cooler, as well as my first time using a starter. I'll know what to do for the next batch to keep it under control better. As far as this one goes i guess ill have some off flavors. Should i just age it a couple extra weeks in the keg to combat this? Or Leave it in the fermentor an extra week on the yeast? Or just do whatever AHS recipe says, get it done and drink it quick so i can try the stone clone again without the hot fermentation mistake?

Also, the recipe calls for dry hopping in the secondary. Ive never dry hopped before, but should i use a secondary or keg?

Advice on this forum is golden, as i just started brewing a couple months ago and am blindly jumping in, but the beers i made so far have come out better each batch. Im hooked for life