Varying temperature affecting outcome of beer

The only room in the house that I can keep my fermenting bucket is kind of chilly. I am thinking of bringing a space heater in for a portion of the day (like 7 hours)pointed at the bucket to raise the temp a little and speed up the process. So would varying temperatures affect anything besides the fermenting speed?

(I would bring the heater in all the time but unfortunately its not mine and is in use a lot of the day)

How chilly is it? I chilled my last batch to 78 and pitched yeast. After 3 days it has cooled to 68.

I wish I had this problem, being in the south keeping it cool is an issue.

Higher temps can lead to off flavors and lower temps can slow down or even stall fermentation.

What temp is the room at? 65 degrees is great for most ales. A little chilly is probably much better than warm, as far as the taste of your beer is concerned.

The other thing to consider is what kind of beer is it? Certain styles and yeasts give off different flavors at different temps so varying the temp might be a good idea.

The house is set at 67, and my room is probably around 64.

I'd say it'd be fine at 64 just might take a little longer than at 70. The beer will probably taste cleaner at that temp. A stick on carboy/bucket thermometer would help. If you want you could get a heat belt but I wouldn't take the temp over 67-68 but that's just me.

Don't raise the temp. If you're over 62F ambient, you'll be fine. You don't want to heat to over 70 unless you're doing a belgian or hefe.

Alright thanks for sharing the knowledge everyone.

Keep in mind, fermentation produces heat, try wrapping a blanket or towel around to insulate.

Unless you really dig the esters your yeast produces, you'll like your beer more at 64˚.

i have my ale in my place now where my digital thermometer is reading mainly 60...my apt. walls must be as thin as cardboard, but everything is chuggin away great. one thing i did to try to get it up a few degrees is putting some blankets around it, sounds weird, dont know if its working but its the lowest ive ever fermented in. i guess if its bubblin and sg/fg is droppin its workin.

At 64 ambient, the temp in the fermentor will be more like 68-69 from yeast activity.

I have a wheat going right now. Room temp, 66. Beer temp 72. You'll be fine at 64 room temp.

Do these temps for ales also apply once it is bottled? The place I am keeping my bottles right now ranges from 66 - 69. Is that too low?

I’m also bottle conditioning some ales in the basement now that are at about 55, and I was wondering if that would stall it or just slow it down?

g_rath wrote:

I’m also bottle conditioning some ales in the basement now that are at about 55, and I was wondering if that would stall it or just slow it down?

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Conditioning at 55 is fine, but you should carbonate at around 68 degrees for a couple of weeks before conditioning. At 55 you may never carbonate (depending on the yeast.) Try one out. If it has carbonation, you're fine. If not, get them to a warmer location for at least a week.