Are Pitch Temps Universal

Hello all, first REAL post here, though I've been poking around for weeks.

My friend and I were brewing our first beer last week - an IPA from a kit. The instructions had us pour our 2 gallons of hot Wort into about 3 gallons of cold water, and let cool to 80 degrees before pitching our yeast.

Well, when we mixed the wort with the cold water (3 gallons or so to bring up to 5), the temperature of the mixture was already at 78 degrees, so we pitched immediately.

Later, we read in a book that brewers should pitch yeast at 68-75 degrees. We also heard from another local brewer source to specifically target whatever your fermentation temperature is going to be given your storage setup, and then pitch then (cooling quickly in a cold bath if required).

We figured this book suggestion was a general rule of thumb for lowest common denominator brewing, since our instructions were specific to the recipe we made. Also, I know that German and Bohemian beers like Lagers and Pilsners cool their beer a lot lower temperature for fermentation.. and I assume they don't pitch at 68 degrees, either. Could be wrong.

And just as recently as today I read in this forum some other conflicting information: people should pitch yeast at higher temperatures if possible, because the added warmth helps cultivate the yeast faster than otherwise, starting fermentation quickly which seems to be important.

So anyway, long story short, a few questions:

1. Does each Beer recipe have a different pitch temp, or is variant by style?

2. Are Ales, Pale Ales, Indian Pale Ales, and all generally the same temperature?

3. Should we let the beer cool to the fermentation storage temperature, or pitch at a higher temperature to help kickstart the fermentation process?

Thanks in advance! :rockin:

1. I would say that each style has it's own range. You wouldn't want to pitch lagers at the same temp as a Belgian ale, but you could say all English ales will be pretty close on the pitch temps.

2. Yeah, for the most part. But it depends on what flavor profile you are looking for.

3. Depends on who you talk to, but I always pitch on the cool side and let it warm up.

1. The pitch temp is actually per the yeast however typically colder is better. To hot and it can kill the yeast or give off flavors.

2. Same as above.

3. Higher temperature is bad. Cool as much as you can I usually get into the 60's before pitching.

1. Varies by recipe-maker.

2. No. Different ale yeasts can have very different recommended fermentation temperatures.

3. This is my method: I always pitch at the low end of the yeast's recommended fermentation temperature. The beer will only warm up as the fermentation progresses, and warmer fermentation = more off-flavors.

I would rather pitch and ferment cooler than recommended temps, and just make a nice big starter to make up for the difference. That seems to work better for me.

You should match your pitching temp to your yeast and match your yeast to the beer style. So if you brew a lager, you pick a lager yeast, and then match the temperature to the recommended temperature range for the yeast. I'd like to pitch the yeast at the recommend fermentation temperature. I've found that if I pitch the yeast at a higher temp, it is hard to bring the temperature down after fermentation begins.

You generally want to start the fermentation as soon as possible. However, don't go crazy with that rule. Don't ignore temperature recommendation so that you can pitch the yeast sooner. Pitch sooner by cooling faster (ice bath).

Also some strains of yeast are much more temperature sensitive then others. The wrong temperature with some yeasts will really produce some nasty flavors. I used a Trappist yeast strain at 85F and it came out tasting like bubble gum flavored acetone. I've also fermented with Cooper's ale yeast at the same temperature and it came out fine.

I don't think anyone would recommend pitching at a high temp. Most of the yeasts initial work is propagation. They won't work as quickly at lower temps, but they don't produce as many off flavors, either. The safe bet, as expressed already, is to pitch at the low end of the yeasts recommended temperature range.

For beginners, stick with a good, clean fermenting dry yeast. Safale US-05 is my favorite. Rehydrate your yeast in warm (about 95°) boiled water an hour before pitching. Dry yeast is in hibernation and cannot control its intake until the cell walls are rehydrated. An analogy I like, "I like scrambled eggs for breakfast, but having someone stuff them in my face while I'm asleep is no fun." Cool your wort to 65°, or so, and pitch. Keep your fermenter between 65° and 70° until fermentation is done.

There are so many variables in making beer that being able to simplify as much as possible will help you in move to more complex procedures and ease troubleshooting.

As always, RDWHAHB, welcome to the forum, read "How to Brew"(Google it), good luck, and good brewing.

This is why this forum rocks. Not more than just a few hours now and already there are gobs of replies.

Thanks for all the input folks. I gleaned some great pointers for our next batch on Wednesday, and a better general understanding, too. Awesome.

Different yeasts have different optimum fermentation temperatures. Since many styles are heavily dependent on the yeast strain, you could say temperature is style dependent. The most extreme cases are Belgians at the high end and lagers at the low end.

Since the first phase of the process is yeast growth, I tend to pitch near the top of the yeast's range and let the fermenter cool. Typically, growth lasts 12-72 hours. Once fermentation starts, things will heat up again.

But, everything has exceptions and if I am pitching a big beer on the yeast cake from another batch, I cool the wort to the low end of the range. Fermentation starts almost immediately in that case.