Brewed a doppelbock style beer a few weeks ago...it has been fermenting away at 42 degrees as suggested by the instructions for a 2 week period..i moved it to secondary a few days ago at 35 degrees for its remaining 4 to 5 months.....Everything has been fine with it...up until i went out of town for 3 days..when i returned I checked my temp in the keezer...it was between 75 to 80 degrees...i dont know if the power had went out or what..the thermostat was at 37 when i left..i've got the temp started back down to the 35 degree range now...question is ..Is the beer already ruined now?....should I continue with it?....or discard it and move on to something else...Any and all comments welcome....Thanks very much for any help. JT
Major Problem....Need Advice!
- Thread starter trainz71
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It will be fine. It was in secondary. The only really crucial time where temp control is really important is during the week of actual fermentation. Which, since you're in secondary, you're long past.
now I am thinking I have a problem with my temp control unit...got it to the correct setting for around 35 degrees....checked it this morning and it was 25 degrees in my keezer.....i cracked open the fermenter just for a sec to check for ice...and the top maybe 1 inch or so had some ice on it....i readjusted the temp again..trying to shoot for 35...its an old temp control unit...may have to upgrade....suggestions, comments...any help at all would be great....has the ice now ruined the beer?...thanks for the help guys....JT
Ice wouldn't have ruined it either. The water that formed the ice came from the beer to begin with, so when it thaws it will get mixed back in like nothing ever happened. The only issue that may happen though, is the yeast may not be any good due to the freezing, so if you are going to bottle it, you may need more yeast at bottling time. But if it didn't completely freeze into a solid block, I wouldn't worry about it. If you are kegging and force carbing, forget what I just said.
