question about temp before pitching yeast

First off, i would just like to say that you guys are great. With that being said, I do have another question. Tonight I brewed an Irish Red Ale. I think its gonna be good. After my boil I cooled down the wort and topped off to 5 gallons of cold water. It says to pitch the yeast between 70 to 80 degrees f. It was Wyeast liquid smack pack. My temp was more like 60, which made for an accurate hydrometer reading but is that too cold for the yeast? I dont think so but wanted to make sure. Nothing I can do now anyway. Thanks in advance.

Might want to bump it up a little to 65 - 70F. I have been fermenting all my beers at 72 F lately and they have all, as long as I got decent efficiency, come out very good. I would definitely bump it up a few degrees at least though to make sure your fermentation occurs in a reasonable amount of time. I am not saying to rush it, but a few extra degrees won't hurt and will keep fermentation going strong.

-AJ

60 degrees is fine..RDWHAHB

Should be okay, it might just take a little bit longer to get going. However, bumping the temperature up a few degrees wouldn't hurt.

I live in snowy NJ so my house is in the low 60s. All of my beers have turned out great. Don't worry about it. Raising the heat and having to pay more for gas is not necessary.

I almost always pitch my yeast at 60-65 degrees, and I ferment almost all of my ales in the 62-65 degree range. Many ale yeast have the best flavor at under 72 degrees.

It does help if you've made a starter for the yeast, though.

thanks guys, i feel better and it started fermenting already.