Concerned about temps for my yeast

[user 165400]

Hello every one. New user to the forum.

I am getting ready to brew my first ipa. This summer has been very strange in Chicago where one day it's 68 and the next it's in the 80s. My apt is maintaining about 77 or 78 degrees. I'm a bit worried that the temp will be too high for my ale yeast to ferment. If the temp is to high will this kill the yeast or just slow the process down? I am using the basic bry-97 for this. Thought about a different yeast that could handle the higher temp but not sure that's a good idea as it may come out too bitter. Thoughts? Thanks!

 

[freisste]

Won't hurt the yeast or slow it down. It would likely speed it up. It WILL however, hurt your beer. Try putting the fermenter into a larger tub of water and swap out ice bottles to maintain the temps in the low to mid sixties, or as low as you can go. Good luck.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Won't hurt the yeast or slow it down. It would likely speed it up. It WILL however, hurt your beer. Try putting the fermenter into a larger tub of water and swap out ice bottles to maintain the temps in the low to mid sixties, or as low as you can go. Good luck.

+1000

For how cheap and easy the tub of water and ice bottles method is, it makes a HUGE improvement in your beer. And it will work for any style but lagers (and even then if you're diligent enough it's possible, but it'd be a LOT of work)

 

[bobeer]

You have to get the beer pretty hot to kill the yeast off. That said 77-78 degrees is a little on the warm side to ferment beer. You wont kill the yeast by any means but the yeast may produce some off flavors in your beer. It'll still be drinkable but try to get the temp down anyway you can. My AC broke with this last batch I brewed, an arrogant bastard type clone, so I'm in the same boat as you. What I did was get a swamp cooler setup going asap. I took a few wet tee shirts and put them over the fermentor and put a fan on it. Keep the shirts wet and it'll bring the temps down some. FYI Rule of thumb is it's 8-10 degrees warmer inside the fermentor during fermentation.
If you are able to, a lot of folks put their fermentor in a bucket of cold water. Search for swamp cooler, or the like, on the forums and you'll find something.
Good luck!

 

[BigFloyd]

Won't hurt the yeast or slow it down. It would likely speed it up. It WILL however, hurt your beer. Try putting the fermenter into a larger tub of water and swap out ice bottles to maintain the temps in the low to mid sixties, or as low as you can go. Good luck.

Steps that you take to keep this fermenting in the mid-60's (beer temp, not air), especially for the first 5 days or so, will reward you with better-tasting beer.

Also, you're going to have to take action to get your wort into the low 60's before pitching. If you're doing a partial boil, that means getting the 2.5-3 gallons that's in the kettle chilled into the 80's and then topping it off with very cold (near freezing) bottled spring water.

 

[user 165400]

You have to get the beer pretty hot to kill the yeast off. That said 77-78 degrees is a little on the warm side to ferment beer. You wont kill the yeast by any means but the yeast may produce some off flavors in your beer. It'll still be drinkable but try to get the temp down anyway you can. My AC broke with this last batch I brewed, an arrogant bastard type clone, so I'm in the same boat as you. What I did was get a swamp cooler setup going asap. I took a few wet tee shirts and put them over the fermentor and put a fan on it. Keep the shirts wet and it'll bring the temps down some. FYI Rule of thumb is it's 8-10 degrees warmer inside the fermentor during fermentation.
If you are able to, a lot of folks put their fermentor in a bucket of cold water. Search for swamp cooler, or the like, on the forums and you'll find something.
Good luck!

Thanks to everyone who replied. I will look into the swamp cooler. We're brewing a saison next so about that time if the year using yeast that ferments at a higher temp we should be good with out it but still will come in handy. Thanks!!!