Accidentally pitched at 85 degrees F

[Jimbodaman]

Pitched 11g of dried Lallemand Nottingham ale yeast at 85 F directly onto 5 gallons of 1.062 porter wort. No excuse I just forgot that it's not Okay to do that (maybe a few too many homebrews throughout the day).

Anyways, fermentation took off within about 5 hours which was a surprise and slowly cooled to 68 F.

Should I be concerned about about the yeast not being healthy enough to finish fermentation, anyone else have this issue? How'd it turn out.

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

It will be fine.

 

[theseeker4]

Pitched 11g of dried Lallemand Nottingham ale yeast at 85 F directly onto 5 gallons of 1.062 porter wort. No excuse I just forgot that it's not Okay to do that (maybe a few too many homebrews throughout the day).

Anyways, fermentation took off within about 5 hours which was a surprise and slowly cooled to 68 F.

Should I be concerned about about the yeast not being healthy enough to finish fermentation, anyone else have this issue? How'd it turn out.

Warm fermentation won't hurt the yeast's health, yeast actually prefers to be a lot warmer than beer fermentation temps. The problem with high temps is off favors produced by the yeast's rapid fermentation. The best thing you can do now is just keep the temperature well regulated, and give the beer three to four weeks in the primary fermenter to clean up after itself.

 

[m00ps]

I would say its not going to ruin it, but there will be a good chance of yeast off flavors from too wamr a fermentation. 68 is likely still too warm. If the temp on the strip outside the fermenter says 68, the actual wort temp is above 70. Plus, the amount of yeast derived flavors is basically inversely proportional to time from onset of fermentation. Those earliest hours are the most critical. At least you got it back down, but I still think its a bit high

 

[Jimbodaman]

Yea the fermentation is a week old now here's the schedule

Pitched 11g yeast onto aerated wort at 85 F.
Fermented in 66 F degree closet for first 24 hours, krausen formed.
24h krausen was falling, moved carboy to 62 F cellar for the last 6 days.
Krausen Lingered for the next 48 hours.

I plan on leaving it at 62 F for the next 3 weeks.

 

[histo320]

It will be 100% fine. I've made the same mistake and one of my beers turned out great. It may have some off flavors but that might just add to the flavor of the beer. Next time be sure to use a checklist or another method to ensure you aren't pitching at too high of a temperature.

RDWHAHB!!

 

[kh54s10]

Not the best but off flavors in a porter will not be as noticeable, if at all. Good to go.

 

[Calder]

I'm not as optimistic as others. Maybe you will be OK, but I suspect you will have a lot of fusel alcohols. Beer may taste of alcohol, but worse it could give you headaches from drinking just a little.

The only way to find out is to drink a few and see what happens.

.......... And in answer to your original question: the yeast will be fine.

 

[Big Monk]

I'm not as optimistic as others. Maybe you will be OK, but I suspect you will have a lot of fusel alcohols. Beer may taste of alcohol, but worse it could give you headaches from drinking just a little.



The only way to find out is to drink a few and see what happens.



.......... And in answer to your original question: the yeast will be fine.

^
This. Brewing is generally pretty forgiving but pitching hot is never best practice.

 

[Big Monk]

I'm not as optimistic as others. Maybe you will be OK, but I suspect you will have a lot of fusel alcohols. Beer may taste of alcohol, but worse it could give you headaches from drinking just a little.



The only way to find out is to drink a few and see what happens.



.......... And in answer to your original question: the yeast will be fine.

^
This. Brewing is generally very forgiving but pitching hot is never a good thing.

 

[Big Monk]

I agree with Calder. Brewing is forgiving of a plethora of mistakes and bad choices but pitching hot typically is t best practice.

 

[Jimbodaman]

Headache Porter, well at least I have a name for it.

 

[Rhumbline]

I hope the OP will update us on the beer. I'm in the camp that says "don't sweat it" but I'm always willing to be proven wrong.

 

[Big Monk]

Every mistake carries with it the opportunity to learn and grow.

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

When you get done drinking it you will wish you had 72 instead of 52. Brew on and pitch a little cooler next batch. Also keep good notes so if it turns out good or bad you can duplicate or manipulate.

 

[Qhrumphf]

I would say its not going to ruin it, but there will be a good chance of yeast off flavors from too wamr a fermentation. 68 is likely still too warm. If the temp on the strip outside the fermenter says 68, the actual wort temp is above 70. Plus, the amount of yeast derived flavors is basically inversely proportional to time from onset of fermentation. Those earliest hours are the most critical. At least you got it back down, but I still think its a bit high

Don't disagree with anything but the bolded. The temps on the sides of fermenters actually seem to be quite accurate (usually within a degree I've found). That's miles beyond going by the ambient air temperature.

I suspect that this statement was based on the fact that ambient air temp and fermentation temp are often ~5 degrees apart. But if you're going by a thermometer on the side of the fermenter, you can reliably assume that to be accurate enough. A thermowell inside the fermenter is better, but that's a whole new ballgame.

As everyone has said, you wouldn't kill the yeast, you should have rehydrated it at that sort of temperature anyway. And it's not surprising that it took off like a rocket in that temp. But while the yeast love it (hence the speed of fermentation), they don't produce ideal flavors outside of a very few select strains when you're that hot.

 

[bethebrew]

You'll be fine OP. That yeast is very neutral and forgiving as to temperature. It is happy at even lower temperatures as well and so clean as to give a lager like flavor while fermenting at 58 f for example. You lowered your temperatures early in the process before it really got going.

Remain calm.

 

[tagz]

Brulosophy did a hot pitch experiment. I believe there's was 75 degrees so not exactly the same but the hot pitch was indistinguishable in the triangle test if I remember correctly.

 

[Big Monk]

Brulosophy did a hot pitch experiment. I believe there's was 75 degrees so not exactly the same but the hot pitch was indistinguishable in the triangle test if I remember correctly.

It wouldn't matter to me who tested what (I love the experiments over at Brulosopher BTW), I wouldn't ever pitch any ale yeast 15-20 degrees above my nominal temp.

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

But if you did it wouldn't
hurt anything if cooled quickly.

 

[Big Monk]

If I did 85 in a 65 I wouldn't get a ticket if I slowed down really quickly? [emoji4]

Just a joke. Best practice would be to pitch at or around your desired temperature. Never a good idea to bank on being an outlier.

 

[Jimbodaman]

I hope the OP will update us on the beer. I'm in the camp that says "don't sweat it" but I'm always willing to be proven wrong.

I will keep y'all up to date. 10 days in primary and beer is starting to clear up, won't bother racking it to secondary as I haven't opened the carboy since pitching yeast so not worth the risk of contamination/oxygenation.

 

[Jimbodaman]

I hope the OP will update us on the beer. I'm in the camp that says "don't sweat it" but I'm always willing to be proven wrong.

Update: Bottled last Tuesday 1/5, at that time the warm flat hydrometer sample tasted pretty darn good, but definitely had a green apple smell and thinner than expected mouthfeel.

Today 1/12: Chilled one bottle in fridge for a few hours sampling now. Less apple smell, malt comes through better, and as expected its a little flat and most CO2 has yet to dissolve into beer. I believe this one might take longer than normal (4 weeks) to age out the off smell but it's looking like it'll turn out alright.