Batch in fermenter, carboy inside igloo cooler... temp question?

I dropped some beer in the ferm and placed carboy in my igloo yesterday.

I pitched the yeast after the temp dropped to about 70ish and then filled the chest half way with water and ice and two bottles filled with frozen water.

The temps as I'm switching out the bottles during the day... 40-45 degrees.

Seems to be going slowely but surely.

Is that too cold for an ale? It's as cold as I can get the water just about... and i know colder is better.

last two batches I didn't care about and were in the low 70's.

thanks
jake

I would imagine that is too cold.

However, the temp of the water doesn't matter. It's the temperature of the beer that's important. Though in my cooler I have found that the temp of the water is usually very close the temp of the beer - within 2-3 degrees.

So I can't really offer you a clear answer, but if your ale is below 60 you are almost certainly going to have issues fermenting out completely.

Colder isn't better. You want to be at the correct temperature for your yeast and your yeast strain should match the beer style. 40-45F is pretty cold for an ale, but check your yeast strain.

Colder isn't better. I think the reason that colder is emphasized is because most people have problems keeping the fermentation cold enough. If a yeast strain calls for mid 60s your already too hot if you keep your house at 70. This is even more difficult in the summer if you live in an unconditioned apartment.

40-45F sounds more like the conditions for lager yeast to do their thing. If you're making an ale, you're probably putting the yeast in an environment that will force them to hibernate. Unless your yeast conditions specify these lower temperatures, I would warm the wort up, probably to the 65-75F, but again, it depends on the yeast. That being said, I don't think you would've ruined anything, just slowed down the fermentation process, or maybe even stalled it. I would imagine by warming it up, you'll be fine.

I stopped putting jugs in this morning and letting it settle.

It's fermenting right now and is around 40degrees and I'll let it get higher to the right temp.

thanks

BADS197 said:

I dropped some beer in the ferm and placed carboy in my igloo yesterday.

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I am doing the same thing. My yeast calls for temp range between 59 and 75F. I found that two completely frozen 12 oz water bottles in the igloo each day keeps the beer at a constant 65F. I just keep a few water bottles in the freezer and swap out two each day. I didn't fill the igloo with any water at all (not necessary).

mahilly said:

I am doing the same thing. My yeast calls for temp range between 59 and 75F. I found that two completely frozen 12 oz water bottles in the igloo each day keeps the beer at a constant 65F. I just keep a few water bottles in the freezer and swap out two each day. I didn't fill the igloo with any water at all (not necessary).

Click to expand...

If I do two every 8 hours I can get the temps to below 40.. close to 30-35 is my record. 60qt Igloo Maxcold cooler.