Affect of temperature post active fermentation

All,
I very carefully control my ale fermentation temperatures in a small cooler water bath for the first 10-14 days. After that time I need my cooler for my next batch. I'm wondering about the affect of very warm temperatures after the 10-14 day time period. This time of year my place gets up to the 80's for most of the day, meaning my aging beer does too!

I also control my fermentation temps for the first 2-3 weeks like you do. I then let it sit at room temp which is about 75ish. My beer turns out great, without any esters or "off" flavors. You should be ok with what you are doing.

Once practiaclly all of the sugars are fermented, letting it sit at 80* won't produce any off-flavors. It might help the yeast re-absorb their byproducts quicker, if anything. I usually remove my fermenters from the cooler after two weeks, whether they're completely finished or not, because by that point the yeast is through more than 90% of the sugar and the temperature increase will help them finish it off and clean up after themselves. I've never noticed any off-flavors associated from high ferment temps doing it this way.

This thread answered my latest question.

Thank you HBT posters!

also was looking for advice on the same subject tonight. will allow me to keep a beer on its yeast cake for another week or so instead of bottling "too soon". thanks HBT!

Bassman said:

This thread answered my latest question.

Thank you HBT posters!

Click to expand...

+1 on this, I think alot of people are asking this question with the weather being the way it is. On a side note I put my primary in a cooler and filled it half with water. This was two days ago, and the carboy is surround by water 1/2 way up. The water is 72 degrees and the carboy reads 75-76ish. Now should I fill the cooler up all the way or is covering the bottom half safe to do? Also will this affect my yeast as I put the carboy in the cooler two days after fermentation started?

I used an immersion chiller and brought the temperature of the wort down to about 78', which was the best my tap water could do. I then put the fermenter in about 6" of water in a bin with a ton of ice. That brought the temperature pretty quickly to about 72'. I then wrapped a towel around it and put a fan blowing on it. I have the fermenter in the living room, which is the only room with AC, which is at 73'. The thermometer strip is showing 68' on the fermenter.

I think the secret to the evaporation method of cooling is getting the temperature down with an iced water bath and paying Con Ed a lot of money for the electricity to run my AC 24-7!

Bassman said:

This thread answered my latest question.

Thank you HBT posters!

Click to expand...

Ditto!!! This has been on my mind the last few days.

It's actually a good idea to raise fermentation temperatures regardless of equipment/time restrictions. Once the bulk of fermentation is done (and reproduction), it's an excellent idea to bring up up 10 degrees or more. It increases yeast activity after the dropoff and they clean up after themselves sooner and more completely.