Fermenting Process too Warm when using starter?

I just racked a belgium amber ale to primary about 11 hours ago. I pitched with a 2 litre starter that I made with 1 packet of Nottingham dry yeast. I have a very healthy and active fermentation already. Starters are awesome!! Anyways, I pitched at 80 degrees, the ambient temperature of my basement is 65 degress. The temperature of my fermentation vessel is remaining a constant 78 degrees since I pitched the yeast. Do you think this is too warm? Is the cause for this rise in temperature the result of the exothermic nature of a healthy fermentation? I don't want the off flavors resulting from a high fermenting temp. I can take measures to cool if necassary.

I think it is way too warm. In my opinion (whatever that is worth) Nottingham fermented at that high of temperature will be terrible and undrinkable. You want to hit the lower end of the temp range.

The recommended fermentation temperature range of this strain is 14° to 21°C (57° to 70°F) with good tolerance to low fermentation temperatures (12°C/54°F) that allow this strain to be used in lager-style beer. With a relatively high alcohol tolerance, Nottingham is a great choice for creation of higher-alcohol specialty beers!

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Nottingham wasn't the right yeast for a Belgian, because 'off-flavors' are a large part of what makes a Belgian. Belgians are fermented warm to achieve the fruity/banana/clove esters and use yeasts that are known to produce specific flavors. Hard to say what you'll get at this point, I've never fermented Notty that high.

I'd bring it down if possible.

I will cool it on down asap! Thank you.

My question is, if the ambient temp is 65 degrees why is the fermentation not cooling down and staying so warm?

The fermentation process is exothermic and is pumping additional heat into your wort as it turns it into beer. It is not uncommon for fermenting wort to be 5-10 degrees hotter than ambient.

That is what I thought. I put the fermenter in my bathtub. I filled the tub full of cold water mixed with sanitizing solution, I then added 20 pounds of ice. I am now rolling at a comfortable 64 degrees inside the fermenter! Hopefully the 10 hours at 77 deg didn't ruin everything.

Probably not necessary to sanitize the water in the tub, but I guess it can't hurt either. I'm with you in hoping that ~10 hours at those temps don't ruin things. I recently brewed a Christmas Ale that got to about 78 degrees 12 hours after pitching before I emptied out my keezer and put it in there at 60 degrees.

In my opinion, nottingham tastes really bad fermented at over 70 degrees. Maybe you caught it in time, though.

For what it's worth, I always pitch my yeast at fermentation temperatures or a bit under. Dry yeast takes off pretty fast, often before any more cooling of the beer takes place. Also, no need to make a starter with dry yeast. It's designed to be ready to pitch, for up to 6 gallons of wort.

YooperBrew said:

In my opinion, nottingham tastes really bad fermented at over 70 degrees. Maybe you caught it in time, though.

For what it's worth, I always pitch my yeast at fermentation temperatures or a bit under. Dry yeast takes off pretty fast, often before any more cooling of the beer takes place. Also, no need to make a starter with dry yeast. It's designed to be ready to pitch, for up to 6 gallons of wort.

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I will certainly pitch below fermentation temp next time. Lesson learned.

I made a starter because I read this article. http://www.scribd.com/doc/2421693/Making-a-Yeast-Starter-for-Your-Home-Brew-Beer

It states that it would take 11 packs of dry yeast to get optimal yeast counts at pitching. So a starter is reccomended.

That article appears to be referring to the Wyeast Propagator packs when it says 11 would be required. A typical 11gm dry yeast packet will contain ~200 billion cells and should be sufficient for directly pitching into wort up to 1.060 or so. I've pitched S-05 into 1.068 and Notty into 1.064 directly without issue.

Excellent, so a starter is not necassary when pitching a dry yeast. Saves me a little time and effort!

just an update, this beer is not good! Notty fermented that high creates huge banana, clove spice esters that dominate the beer....over the last two months it has gotten better but still not my best work.