Fermenting at lower temps

I have a quick question. Is it bad to ferment an ale yeast at a lower than recommended temperature, say somewhere in the high lager range?

It depends on the yeast, but you are much more likely to run into problems such as sluggish fermentation, underattenuation, no fermentation at all, and flavors you don't expect from the ale strain you are using.

Let me second that. My swamp cooler's water ended up being in that low range and it completely stalled my fermentation. I have had to bring up the temp to get it kick started.

B

If you're going into lager temps...why not lager?

It'll be fine, but it might be slow.

What is the recommended Ale Yeast range? I'm currently fermenting my first batch of Brown Ale at 67 degrees F and it's kickin'!

Brewnoob1 said:

If you're going into lager temps...why not lager?

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I don't want to wait 35 years to drink the beer! Haha.

I live in Oklahoma and I brewed two batches of beer the other day. I normally use a swamp cooler setup for fermentation, but since I already have the other batch in it, I decided to put the other batch in the garage where the temp is cooler than the ambient air in the house. It stays to warm in the house to just sit out IMO. The fermometer on my bucket says the temp is hovering 56-58 degrees, but it hasn't gone any lower than that. Its colder outside, but the temp in the garage has been pretty consistent between 52-56 according to my thermometer in the garage.

This time of year might be perfect to ferment lagers and hybrid beers- mid to low 50s in my basement. Lager in my keezer that I am about to put together or my mini fridge. Brilliant!

If you want to brew up normal ales then look around for ale yeast that can ferment lower: Notty, wy1728, etc. They do sell heating devices for carboys too.

I don't want to wait 35 years to drink the beer! Haha.

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Personally, I make way more than I can drink in any realistic amount of time. So I don't mind as much; I'm fixin to make a maibock soon. The bock is from "brewing classic styles" it looked great.

Or a Kolsch! I just fermented one in the 55-ish basement and am now lagering it in the cold mud room.

JonM said:

Or a Kolsch! I just fermented one in the 55-ish basement and am now lagering it in the cold mud room.

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Kolsch, alt, cream ale, or steam beer. All kinds of possibilities; all very yummy.

I also brewed up a london porter clone and edwort's robust porter in my bedroom closet, insted of my basement. It is the warmest room in my house. It will heat itself a little when fermenting.

harrydrez said:

This time of year might be perfect to ferment lagers and hybrid beers- mid to low 50s in my basement. Lager in my keezer that I am about to put together or my mini fridge. Brilliant!

If you want to brew up normal ales then look around for ale yeast that can ferment lower: Notty, wy1728, etc. They do sell heating devices for carboys too.


Personally, I make way more than I can drink in any realistic amount of time. So I don't mind as much; I'm fixin to make a maibock soon. The bock is from "brewing classic styles" it looked great.

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Sorry - What bock recipe? I did one that my LHBS store had from 1 of their customers. It's in my keg now. It's extremely sweet to my taste. It started around 1.082 and finished at 1.020. 8% beer though and comes up to kick you right in the face after 1 or 2. I'll definitely brew this again, but need something different to tame down the sweetness.

It is called Angle's Wings, it is a maibock: 1.07 og and 1.017 fg

10.5 pounds pils
5.5 pounds munich malt

Mash at 156 and have enough volume for a 90 min boil.

.56 oz of Magnum 13% AA 60 min

Big starter of WLP833