Can you ferment safeale 05 too cold?

[smokenjoke]

I pitched Safale 05 last night in about a 77 degree wort. I turned the mini fridge down to 47 degrees thinking it would take a long time to come down to my target of 52 degrees. I was wrong. When I woke up this morning the fridge was 47 and no action in carboy. Did I set too low?

 

[ong]

What's the wort temperature? 47 degrees is way too low, of course, but maybe you're just measuring the ambient temperature? I either use a thermowell or tape the sensor to the side of the carboy, and set the actual desired temp. It's not like setting it colder will make it get there quicker.

Edit: wait, your target temperature is 52? Why are you fermenting so cold?

 

[smokenjoke]

I taped the temp probe to the carboy. 52 is target since fermentaion causes heat. Was going to rasie it to mid 50s after it started.

 

[broadbill]

I found S-05 won't do much if under 55 degrees.

 

[boydster]

If you can insulate your probe (styrofoam, bubble wrap, etc) then you'll get a better reading and you can adjust your temp to what your target fermentation is supposed to be, which for me would be between 65 and 68.

As you already know, it's too cold right now. It just won't do much all at 52. You might get some peach or stone fruit kind of flavors from it when it's active and still below 65, I know I have and I've seen others post with similar comments.

 

[smokenjoke]

If you can insulate your probe (styrofoam, bubble wrap, etc) then you'll get a better reading and you can adjust your temp to what your target fermentation is supposed to be, which for me would be between 65 and 68.

As you already know, it's too cold right now. It just won't do much all at 52. You might get some peach or stone fruit kind of flavors from it when it's active and still below 65, I know I have and I've seen others post with similar comments.

If I raise the temp will it ferment or will I have to pitch more yeast?

 

[boydster]

Oh, it'll ferment You didn't kill it, it's just a little chilly. 05 are tough little buggers.

 

[smokenjoke]

Okay. Thanks for the guidance. I turned it up to 65 and will see what happens.

 

[EtchyLives]

Not US-05, but WLP910 can be brought down to near freezing temps, heated back up, and make a delicious beer. I'm drinking my Belgian IPA - the beer that I did that to - right now. Yeast are hardy creatures. Relax, Don't Worry, and Have a Home Brew.

 

[Bosh]

US-05 can be a bit lazy about starting in any case so with it cold it'll be very sluggish. Too cold gives some peach taste as does too hot with 05 but it does better with high temps than most clean yeasts. Have done fine with it in the 70's.

Now that I'm doing split batches I'm going to see how high I can push it this summer.

 

[SilverZero]

I pitched 05 at 64F this weekend and have BrewPi holding it at 65F, had a full kraeusen within 18 hours and it's going strong 48 hours later. Let it rise up to a beer temp of mid-60s and hold it, if it starts creeping up to 70 on its own then try to keep it from getting much warmer.

I've heard you can get peachy flavors with low temps and that high 60's are better for this yeast, but I've been conditioned to ferment low and let it rise after it's close to terminal gravity. I just started a 2-day rise from 65F to 68F, and then it will go up to 70F over the following 10 days. If it's peachy this time I'll think about doing the next one at 68F from the beginning. Or just go back to Nottingham, my first love.

And I know I'll sound preachy for saying it, but if you've already got a mini-fridge, you could easily get a BrewPi rig going yourself for a minimal investment. Check out the huge thread in the DIY forum if you're interested.

 

[smokenjoke]

I rasied the temp to 62 and it took off and has been going strong for the last 2 days. I kept it low to experiment with the flavor. Is the peachy flavor off-putting?

 

[boydster]

It's not an off-putting flavor by itself, but it may or may not play well with other flavors you have.