62 or 68--best temp for US-05 IPA?

[midlifecrisis]

I have a choice of two locations for my first fermentation. One holds a steady 62 F and the other 66-68 F. I am brewing an IPA with US-05 yeast with a 1L starter culture.

Which location would you use (taste is more important than time but I don't want the fermentation to stall if it happens to get unusually cold).

thanks,

midlife

 

[AnOldUR]

Both. (If you're feeling strong.)
Put it at 66 until fermentation starts. At that point it will be generating heat, so move it to 62. Once it slows, move it back to 66.

Damn, that's too much work.

 

[lamarguy]

62F (actual) - Very clean beer with a low ester profile.
68F (actual) - Clean beer with a higher ester/fruity profile.

I usually ferment US-05 at 64F (actual), so I would recommend the 62F ambient location.

 

[samc]

I think you will be fine with either but I vote towards the lower end of the range. 1 liter starter culture for SAF 05 is not needed, just rehydrate the packet(I know you did not ask!).

 

[Grizzlybrew]

I'm almost always a fan of cooler ferm temps. I explain it to my non-brewing friends like this. If I have to help someone move in the heat, we're going to move fast (to get it over with) and probably sweat alot. If it's a little cooler, I'm going to take my time and not sweat so much...

...I don't like yeast "sweating" in my beer.

 

[jmo88]

I honestly don't think you'll notice a difference either way. I've brewed with that yeast almost exclusively for two years ranging from 58-72. With an aggressively hopped beer, it will hide just about any yeast character tht 05 has.

 

[skyzo]

At least in my experience, I have started to notice that when I ferment 05 in the higher 60's there is a slight bubble-gum sort of taste that appears. Most of this taste goes away after conditioning in the bottles, but in lighter bodied beers, you can still taste a very small hint of that bubblegum. However ones that Ive fermented in the low 60's tend to turn out very nice and neutral tasting.

 

[MurderMittenBrewing]

I'm using US-05 in an American Golden ale right now and I'm fermenting in the 58-60 range, so I'm sure it'll be fine at 62.

Why did you feel the need to make a starter with US-05? I normally just rehydrate and pitch, and I notice fermentation starting within 8 hours (although my current batch had a 20 hour lag, probably because of the low temp).

 

[PseudoChef]

62F (actual) - Very clean beer with a low ester profile.
68F (actual) - Clean beer with a higher ester/fruity profile.

I usually ferment US-05 at 64F (actual), so I would recommend the 62F ambient location.

I actually disagree. I find that the dry US-05 throws a peach ester at lower temps, but is actually more clean in the 68 range.

Try both and report your findings.

 

[Brewin06111]

62F (actual) - Very clean beer with a low ester profile.
68F (actual) - Clean beer with a higher ester/fruity profile.

I usually ferment US-05 at 64F (actual), so I would recommend the 62F ambient location.

This.

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[midlifecrisis]

Thanks for the input--I've put the beer in the cooler location but kept the door open so temp is 67 F for now--I'll shut the closet door once the fermentation gets going to get down to a cooler temp .

Why did I do a starter culture with US-05? Mostly for kicks. A kit I have on deck make use of liquid yeast and I wanted to try out the process of making a starter. Actually it turned out to be fun--as the starter density went from 1.04 to 1.016 in 24 hours--a few hours later (about 7pm this evening) I used it to pitch my IPA. Now I know how to make a starter, how to watch fermentation using a hydrometer and most importantly I'm quite sure I pitched my first batch of beer with very active yeast.

 

[PseudoChef]

By doing a starter with dry yeast you are actually depleting already available nutrient stores.

 

[midlifecrisis]

Well the fermentation was going very well (judging by airlock activity) when I checked it this morning 13 hours after pitching. The thermometer on the side of the fermentation bucket says 66 F (in a closet that is about 62 F).

From reading Palmer some more this morning--I understand what Pseudochef is concerned about. Hopefully the fermentation will go OK anyway

 

[PseudoChef]

It shouldn't make too big a difference, really. Like you said, you just wanted to do it, so you did - and that's the essence of homebrewing.