Temp fluctuation

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Richard

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I started a batch of Cooper's Real Ale on Sunday afternoon, and by morning it was bubbling furiously. The weather was on the warm side, so the temp in my closet was around 73. Over the next couple of days the bubbling continued, and the temp went up to 74.5. Then the weather changed, and the temp dropped all the way down to 68. The bubbling has completely stopped. My little toddler managed to break my hydrometer for me, so I can't even take readings.

Will my batch be ok? How bad is temp fluctuation?
 
73 to 68 is not enough of a change to have any affect on an ale kit. Your fermentation is probably complete and if you had a hydrometer it would probably be in the 1.010-1.015 range.

The ones I have done were completely done and ready for the secondary after four days.
 
I think it should be fine. I assume you used Cooper's Dry Yeast, if so, it has a wide temperature range. You should try to avoid temperature fluctuations but sometimes it can't be avoided.

You should just bite-the-bullet and buy a new hydromemter, it will make your life easier.

Are you going to a secondary or straight into bottles?
 
I plan on doing primary only for this one, so I'll probably give it another couple of weeks before bottling. For the next batch I'll probably stick it in the basement where it is colder, but the temp stays the same - 65.
 
Thanks for the votes of confidence guys. I will definitely buy another hydrometer. If I'm doing primary-only brews, is it ok to just float the hydrometer in the fermenter?
 
A few degrees swing is really no big deal at all. You have to consider the fact that there is a rate of change for the temperature of you 5 gallons of liquid which is much, much slower than that of the air.

I have a second, brand new Hydrometer that I keep "Just in case".

Cooper's yeast is a very fast fermenting yeast. When I use it, it generally finishes by day 3.
 
or grab yourself a wine thief. I sterelize mine, put the sterelized hydrometer in it, pull a sample, get a reading and dump the sample back all in one motion.
 
If you leave it in there you might have a hard time reading it if it gets caught up in a 'blob' of krausen. If it is in there and get towards the side it might get stuck on the wall and prevent a good reading. Also, what if you need to get it out. Getting a glass hydrometer out of a glass carboy could be disastrous. Plus, when (not if) you start brewing multiple batches at the same time you don't want to have to buy a new hydrometer for each one.
 
In my experience, there is really no reason to check your gravity mid way during the ferment. The only time I check are: Pre-ferment (OG) and then once it has finished fermenting (FG). Unless I suspect something is wrong, or if I am transferring anyway, I never bother. Imo, it is just one more avenue for contamination.

Wine thief or a Turkey baster works fine too. 2/3 of a Cup is what you'll need roughly to get a Hydro reading, which you don't add back into your fermentor.
 
zoebisch01 said:
In my experience, there is really no reason to check your gravity mid way during the ferment. The only time I check are: Pre-ferment (OG) and then once it has finished fermenting (FG). Unless I suspect something is wrong, or if I am transferring anyway, I never bother. Imo, it is just one more avenue for contamination.


Yeah, I don't like the idea of cracking open the fermentor before bottling either. What would make you suspect something is wrong?
 
Richard said:
Yeah, I don't like the idea of cracking open the fermentor before bottling either. What would make you suspect something is wrong?

Well, really the only thing I can think of is if you see no airlock activity...period, for a long time....say after 3 days from pitching you can start to be observant, 4 and it is probably a good idea to crack the lid and peek if you are using an opaque fermentor to see if Krausen has formed. If you see no Krausen, it is time for a Hydro reading.

Other than that, no matter what it looks like, just let it ride. The only way to know if it is truly messed up is to wait until it is bottled and conditioned. There are just so many different flavors and aromas (some normal, some not) and the only way to get a handle on that is to just brew and learn.

Where it gets complicated is when you start doing different things, like adding stuff to the secondary. Then you have to play it by ear really, but you still follow the basic observance and act accordingly.
 
I guess I should be ok then, as the major fermentation has taken place. There hasn't been any airlock activity since then though, so I will just have to wait till I have bottled it. Thanks for the advice.
 
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