colder ale fermentation temps

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coyotlgw

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So, I thought I had a great idea. I got a wine chiller for cheap on clearance and my primary and secondary fermenter fit inside perfectly. Problem is, at the lowest setting it stays at about 59 degrees (F).

This would be fine for Lagers, but I really was planning on brewing ales and was hoping for something between 66 and 75 degrees F

I checked the website for the yeast company and they list the range as 60-75 degrees, so am I just asking for trouble to try to ferment Ale at 59.4 degrees?
 
Actually tbh, that temperature is too high for a clean Lager ferment. You need to be sub 55°F to suppress off flavors. You can do it, you just won't get the clean finish of a Lager. It sounds like a great candidate for Ales. That is actually going to put you in a good spot for Ales because if you aerate your wort sufficiently and pitch enough healthy yeast your actual temperature of the wort itself will rise dramatically from the yeast activity. The head brewer ate Rogue mentioned that he ferments most (if not all) of his Ales at 60°F.
 
zoebisch01 said:
Actually tbh, that temperature is too high for a clean Lager ferment. You need to be sub 55°F to suppress off flavors. You can do it, you just won't get the clean finish of a Lager. It sounds like a great candidate for Ales. That is actually going to put you in a good spot for Ales because if you aerate your wort sufficiently and pitch enough healthy yeast your actual temperature of the wort itself will rise dramatically from the yeast activity. The head brewer ate Rogue mentioned that he ferments most (if not all) of his Ales at 60°F.

I think he meant that the highest setting it stays at is 59°F.
 
cweston said:
I think he meant that the highest setting it stays at is 59°F.

Yeah, the low end was measured at 45 degrees.

That is really good to know about the 60 degrees at Rogue though... I thought that the 60-75 on the yeast page meant that it would stall out below 60 and hang the fermentation.


I am thinking at this point that I will try to tweak the thermostat or possibly invest in an external thermostat. Just found one at http://www.hoptech.com/cart/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16419&category_id=282 but I do not know whether or not my chiller has the the interface port they mention. Will have to check when I get home tonight.
 
hey i just wanted to ask a question here.

im doing papazian's righteous real ale, and the yeast it called for is i think in the 60-75 range. its been cold in the celler i have, around 58-60 it reads on the temp gauge. i was supposed to bottle on last tuesday, which was about 9 days ago, which means that the brew has been fermenting for over the time it recommended by about 10 or so days. thing is i cracked it open to bottle it tonight and to my surprise it is still bubbling. so im thinking should i let it go more? or no? i should have bottled it about 9 days ago, so says the book. but the lower temperature it's been fermenting at leads me to believe the fermentation will take longer than expected.

what to do?
 
coyotlgw said:
I am thinking at this point that I will try to tweak the thermostat or possibly invest in an external thermostat. Just found one at http://www.hoptech.com/cart/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16419&category_id=282 but I do not know whether or not my chiller has the the interface port they mention. Will have to check when I get home tonight.

I would say there is no need unless you are fermenting Belgians, saisons, or other beers that require a particularly high temperature. Your standard ale will do fine.
 
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