did i add the yesast too soon?

[erollinc]

my temps were at about 90 deg after i added the boil to very cold water in the primary... is this too hot to add the yeast?

well i did it anyway ( fogetting to lest it cool to 70-80 deg)......and over the past 48 hrs its def fermenting cause the airlock has been bubbling.... am i ok?

also fyi this is a True Brew american wheat kit (extract)...... it says nothing in the instructions about using a secondary ferm.... it also says after about 7 days in the primary that i can bottle.... this doesnt seem like enough time for the beer to condition.... and i would rather try to use a secondary just for the clarity and such...

i have read that wheats in genral dont need the secondary.... but it seems like everyone has thier own opinion on that... i was thinking about leaving it in the primary for about a total of 2 weeks and then the secondary for a week... then see where im at and bottle.... what do you guys think?

also after bottling the instructions say to let age for 3 weeks ... is this sufficient?

thanks so much
your newb Jake

 

[Kevin Dean]

well i did it anyway ( fogetting to lest it cool to 70-80 deg)......and over the past 48 hrs its def fermenting cause the airlock has been bubbling.... am i ok?

The important thing when cooling wort is to reduce the risk of contamination, prevent the coagulation of proteins and ensure you don't scald your yeast.

If your yeast is alive and kicking (evident by the airlock) then I'd say you run the risk of cloudy beer, but this won't make it undrinkable.

i have read that wheats in genral dont need the secondary.... but it seems like everyone has thier own opinion on that... i was thinking about leaving it in the primary for about a total of 2 weeks and then the secondary for a week...

If you're going to use a secondary, try the other way around... 7-10 days in the primary, and about 14 days in the secondary. Your equipment, patience and recipie will dictate this to you, but in the end it's YOUR beer. A 1-2-3 strategy is common. One week in the primary, two weeks in the secondary and three in the bottle.

after bottling the instructions say to let age for 3 weeks ... is this sufficient?

That depends on you. Your beer will certainly be drinkable then, or even before. Aging often gives character to your beer. If it's your home brew, who cares! Pop it open and drink it when you think it tastes best! Again, the 1-2-3 is a VERY common strategy for tasty beer, but some things require more aging to hit that peak.



~Edit: Fixed a drunken typo~

 

[erollinc]

thanks very much ill do exactly that.... the 1-2-3 .... sounds good to me... hopefully the secondary will clear up the beer..... regardless its the first attempt in brewing so any semi decent beer out of it would be great

 

[brewt00l]

While pitching @ 90 wont kill your yeast what you want to be concerned about at this point is what temp your fermentation is rolling at. Fermenting hot will produce all sorts of off flavors and fusels.

Palmer suggests the following about pitching above temp:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter8-1-3.html
If the wort is, e.g. 90¡F, when the yeast is pitched and slowly cools to room temperature during primary fermentation, more diacetyl will be produced in the early stages than the yeast can reabsorb during the secondary stage. Furthermore, primary fermentation is an exothermic process. The internal temperature of the fermentor can be as much as 10F above ambient conditions, just due to yeast activity. This is one good reason to keep the fermentor in the proper temperature range; so that with a normal vigorous fermentation, the beer turns out as intended, even if it was warmer than the surroundings.

I have pitched a few batches somewhat above temp that turned out decent after a longer conditioning phase and some additional bottle time.