64 Degrees

Hello All,

I do all of my homebrewing down in my basement. It's unfinished, so we keep it a little cooler than the rest of the house. I currently have a Porter in primary, Oktoberfest in secondary, and a hefe bottled and ready to go!

Now, onto my question... I checked on my brews today, and the temp on my primary was 64 degrees. It's bubbling fine and I'm not overly concerned, just curious. Will this have any adverse affects at all to my brews? I'm thinking worst case scenario my FG may be a little high. Should I drag my primary and secondary out of the batcave for the next week or so where the temps are closer to 70, or will I be fine leaving them alone?

Thanks in advance.

Oh Yeah, I used Nottingham yeast with both the Porter (primary) and Oktoberfest (secondary)

64 is a fine temp for Nottingham.

A big hello to Jasper, IN...a friend of mine was born & raised there, as I was in Terre Haute. I also do all my fermentation in our basement. Except for the three warmest months, it runs around 61°F. I pitch my yeast between 70-75°F, and by coincidence, the main fermentation indicates around 64°F on the bucket thermometer. After a week in the primary, I pop off the top and check for FG with a hydrometer; normally it's in the correct range. I've done 17 batches down there so far (all extract kits from MW), and have only had attenuation issues with two. Both were repeats, and it's difficult to pin down a cause. The remedy was simply to leave them in the fermenter for a few more weeks. I have brewed a variety of beers- ales, hefes, porters, an Imperial Stout (the latter gave NO attenuation problems!), and I always use the recommended Wyeast Activator liquid yeast. When I started, I was concerned about he temperature, and used a "brew belt" appliance to maintain a temperature of about 68°F, which it did. Afte several batches foamed out of the airlock, I discontinued use of the belt, and everything goes fine. Most of the beer primaries in about a week, and secondary goes in two (except for a few styles that call for longer).

I brew all my ales at or around 65*F because I'd rather they be clean than ferment fast. You'll be fine, it just make take a few days more to ferment to finish.

If you find consistently high finishing gravities, you may need to ramp temp up at the end of fermentation to get the yeast to finish off. The brew belt mentioned above would help with temps at the end of fermentation.

RDWHAHB!

captianoats said:

I checked on my brews today, and the temp on my primary was 64 degrees. It's bubbling fine and I'm not overly concerned, just curious. Will this have any adverse affects at all to my brews?

Click to expand...

If by adverse you mean clean and crisp yummy beer, then yes. Imo most new brewers ferment at way to high temps. Notty likes it cool.

Check out the 2 pictures I posted (ugh, the only 2) on my profile. It shows how I regulate fermentation temperature:

Supplies
Big Rubbermaid tub ($8)
A bunch of pink insulation wrapped around ($5)
Cover with packing tape ($0.99)
Fill it with water ($0.00001)
Put an aquarium heater in it ($20)

You'll be able to maintain basically any temperature you want as long as it's above the ambient (room temp). In summer I can easily hit 90 for saisons and it's easy to keep a beer at 62 or so in winter.

You are making me green with envy.

I have to fuss with ice packs and a water bath to ferment at 64*F. I primary all my ales at 64*F or lower except Belgians. Makes for squeaky clean ales. Some day when I build a fermentation room, it will be 64*F by air conditioning...

Saccharomyces said:

You are making me green with envy.

I have to fuss with ice packs and a water bath to ferment at 64*F. I primary all my ales at 64*F or lower except Belgians. Makes for squeaky clean ales. Some day when I build a fermentation room, it will be 64*F by air conditioning...

Click to expand...

Time to start scouring craigslist for a big old freezer and a dual zone ranco?

Thanks. I wasn't concerned, but the guy at the LHBS said I would be better off at 70ish. Then again, that's the same temp as the brewing belt he tried to sell me..... Makes you think.

70*F isn't bad, but it will make a fruitier ale than fermenting at 65*F. It's a whole lot better than fermenting at 75 or higher.

Saccharomyces said:

You are making me green with envy.

I have to fuss with ice packs and a water bath to ferment at 64*F. I primary all my ales at 64*F or lower except Belgians. Makes for squeaky clean ales. Some day when I build a fermentation room, it will be 64*F by air conditioning...

Click to expand...

no ****, I tried brewing this summer and tried to tell myself that 72 was ok for my hefe....

64-68 is great for all your ales.