Temperature Slightly Too High?

Hello there, fairly new brewer here. I brewed a 5 gallon extract American stout a couple days ago and it has a decent amount of airlock activity so I assume it's fermenting away nicely.

I am slightly concerned because I think the temp may be a few degrees too high. The bucket is kept on the cement floor in my basement, which has an ambient temperature of about 68F. The termometer on the bucket reads 70F-72F. I know the optimal temp range is about 65F-70F and I was wondering if the 72F would really have that noticeable of an effect on the flavor, as opposed to it fermenting closer to 68F.

Should I be worried? I know I need to come up with a solution so I can control the temperature, but I had hoped that this one will be ok.

Thanks in advance for any opinions/advice.

You might have some off flavors but a few degrees isn't too bad. You can use a swamp cooler or a wet shirt\towel to help keep the temps down.

The first 3-4 days are the most important. If you can keep the temps towards the lower end of range during the first few days you will end up with better tasting beer.

Considering I brewed on Sunday and it's already Tuesday, would it be too late to try and use a wet shirt or towel? I was going to set up a swamp cooler with frozen 2 liters but I didn't get a tub in time.

Kind of depends on the yeast and flavor profiles. Belgian yeasts tend to provide some vastly different flavors at different temps, so it kind of depends on what you are looking for. With a stout, that's probably less likely though.

If you are fermenting at 70-72, you should be fine. Above 75 and that's not good, but from my experience I've had good luck as long as I keep it under 74.

I'm experimenting with that now, having brewed in the PNW where I could keep it in range all the time, Texas is a real challenge. The house is never below 75, so it's not really possible, but am having success with ales of the Irish Stout and fruit wheat varieties.

The big caveat is to not try lager yeast at that temperature. Agree that the first few days is most important. Over 78 all manner of probs develop, but the main thing I'm avoiding at 75 is that woody taste that an ale can develop at higher temps.

76 is OK for fermenting wash for distillation, so two things now make more sense. 1) Why whiskey was more popular than beer in Texas in the 19th century, and 2) how important those caves are that Shiner uses! I want a cave...

RDWHAHB

It will still be beer and will still taste good.
No need to be the guy going "OMGooses!!!!!MY BEER WONT BE PERFECT!!!!!"

Paps is right, you get what you get , it's always your beer, I don't get this trying to measure against someone else's brew, commercial or homebrew. Enjoy what you get. But sitting on a concrete floor isn't good, easily improved by a couple of layers of timber to absorb the the diff between the floor and the ambient, whilst the floor will be quite stable temp, that means the bottom will be cooler the top hotter, the heat that rose will stay at the top, if you employ my timber plinth idea you will get a small convection in the bin, so a more stable brew temp.
Wow ! I talked myself into that one, couldn't stop typing. Now I am going to have another homebrew, that won't be like anything anyone else has ever had !

Thanks everyone. Im not trying to go for perfection haha. I was just curious of the effects considering its a very small temperature difference. Thanks again

fartinmartin said:

Paps is right, you get what you get , it's always your beer, I don't get this trying to measure against someone else's brew, commercial or homebrew. Enjoy what you get. But sitting on a concrete floor isn't good, easily improved by a couple of layers of timber to absorb the the diff between the floor and the ambient, whilst the floor will be quite stable temp, that means the bottom will be cooler the top hotter, the heat that rose will stay at the top, if you employ my timber plinth idea you will get a small convection in the bin, so a more stable brew temp.
Wow ! I talked myself into that one, couldn't stop typing. Now I am going to have another homebrew, that won't be like anything anyone else has ever had !

Click to expand...

When it's warm here (not very often), I set my fermenters on the concrete basement floor also. It keeps it quite a bit cooler than without being on the ice cold concrete. If the ambient is 68, being on the cold floor keeps fermentation temperature just under 68 degrees usually.

When it's cold here, I use foam sheeting insulation to keep the fermenter off of the floor, and warmer.

Thanks yooper thats genius! I have plenty of foam sheet insulation at work

The thermometer is currently reading about 72-73. Im trying not to worry too much haha.

I'm in Singapore, so I can say that immersion of FV in a large, cool water can save you. With a/c going in that room, I can hold the wort temp between 16 and 21 as I see fit. Highly recommend.

What yeast are you using? US-05 or similar?

Yes I rehydrated about 1.5 packets of US-05.

US05 is very forgiving. You might get some off flavors if the temp is ~72-73, but nothing that is too terrible or will ruin the beer.

A really easy way to help control temperature is to get a rope bucket with some water and throw your fermenter in there. Add ice if you need to cool it down. I think people around here call that a swap cooler. I've used this method a few times when my fermentation fridge is full with other beers and it has always worked for me.

Yea im going to do that for sure for next time.