Hot Brew

[dnickerson]

Hello, I have just tried brewing an extract Honey Brown Ale and have really nervous about every little step thus far. So far so good until today the brew is in the carboy for secondary fermentation. I have a towel wrapped around it to eliminate light from getting to it but when I wrapped it up i put the brew belt on it. I was hoping to keep the temperature at a constant but when i check it today it was hot above 88F. Have i just ruinede the beer or am i still ok?

 

[KevinW]

If it is just secondary you should be OK. Temp is really critical during the early phases of fermentation, mostly! Once active fermentation is over the beer will usually reach the ambient temp of the room within a day or so.

Obviously if you are lagering then temp control is very important!

88 is pretty high though. Might want to take off the belt!

BTW relax, it's beer! It practically makes itself! lol

 

[capulinflicker]

You haven't ruined it, but the high temps will cause the yeast to ferment faster and produce some off flavors, but it's nothing that a little extra conditioning won't take care of. Move the carboy to a place with a steady temp and try to keep it in the mid 60s to low 70s. What yeast strain did you use?

**Edit: skimmed over the part where you mentioned it's in secondary. No worries!

 

[dnickerson]

Thanks for the help. That is a relief I hate wasting perfectly good beer.

 

[dr_sanch]

Thanks for the help. That is a relief I hate wasting perfectly good beer.

Save that brew belt for our Canadian winters! I'm sure your brew will be just fine... If you have a few off flavours in the worst case scenario you can always condition a little longer as suggested above