Is my fementation temp is too high

[sptough]

Firsttime brewer here. I'm brewing a brewers best kit beer.

I am having a hard time keeping my wort in my carboy below 70 degrees. The yeast is working, but, the temp is constantly sitting at about 75 - 77degrees. I have it in a tub of cold water but I can't get it lower. Is this ok? Also, if it stays at this temp, how long should I keep it in my carboy? I appreciate any info.

 

[brewit2it]

Are you using frozen water bottles? It seems like it should be fairly easy to get the temp lower if you have it in a tub of water. Just add more ice and do it sooner than later if you can because it is the active fermentation stage that is most important to control temps.

 

[sptough]

My fermentation isn't very active anymore. How long should I keep in my carboy?

 

[Boleslaus]

That is DEFINITELY too high. Like brewit said, adding ice and/or frozen water bottles should get the water down to at least 60.

 

[Boleslaus]

Minimum 2.5-3 weeks in primary

 

[h22lude]

Yes that is too high. An ok range is 65 to 70 for ales. I like to try and keep mine at 68.

Ice in that water will do the trick or a wet towel wrapped around the carboy. Water evaporation from the wet towel cools it down too.

I never touch my wort until at least 3 weeks. Just let it sit and do its thing. After 3 weeks you can take a reading. Or you can let it sit for another week and then take a reading but let it sit for at least 3 weeks.

 

[DoubleAught]

Firsttime brewer here. I'm brewing a brewers best kit beer.

I am having a hard time keeping my wort in my carboy below 70 degrees. The yeast is working, but, the temp is constantly sitting at about 75 - 77degrees. I have it in a tub of cold water but I can't get it lower. Is this ok? Also, if it stays at this temp, how long should I keep it in my carboy? I appreciate any info.

Is that ambient temp or wort temp? I keep my brewing closet between 60-65 degrees but my wort temp is always a few degrees above the rooms temp.

in any case at those temps your yeasties could start producing some off flavors

 

[elpenoso]

That beer is toast. Carb it up and bottle then invite some buddys over and drink it all. The flavor will worsen with time. No amount of aging will bring that back.

 

[dcp27]

That beer is toast. Carb it up and bottle then invite some buddys over and drink it all. The flavor will worsen with time. No amount of aging will bring that back.

well thats just not true. we don't even know what yeast was used. if this was a belgian/wheat then theres absolutely nothing wrong with that temp range. plus, if this started lower and ramped up into the 70s, then theres likely not much wrong with it. in any case, the beer will definitely still be drinkable, it just may not be at its best.

 

[unionrdr]

I've found with average off flavors/smells,you can age them out for the most part. Primary for at least a week after reaching FG. Then,at least 3 weeks in the bottle should help tremendously. It did for my 1st batch.

 

[prrriiide]

Get an old, dark-colored t-shirt and put it over your carboy. You want the water to wick up the shirt, so a new one won't work, some kind of scotch-gard or something. If you have a small fan, use it to circulate air around the wet t-shirt. Your temps should drop dramatically.

Your beer probably isn't ruined, but you'll likely have some estery flavors - clove, banana, etc. Might be tasty! Just get the temps down and bottle it a couple of weeks after your hydrometer tells you that primary is done. Don't dump your beer, even if it tastes bad. Give it time to clean up. Might be 3 months or so, but your patience will be rewarded.

 

[jfowler1]

That beer is toast. Carb it up and bottle then invite some buddys over and drink it all. The flavor will worsen with time. No amount of aging will bring that back.

Low to mid 70's is certainly not insane. Too high for an English/American strain, yes, but not insane. In fact, I believe that the unwanted esters from a warmer fermentation will actually subside with time. That is why you see a push for 4 week primaries -> they are kind of a magic bullet to minimize the effects from less than stellar fermentation temperature control. Granted, if you fermented in a lower range with better control, the beer will be ready earlier - something to keep in mind on future batches. For now, you will just need to have a bit of patience.

The off flavors associated with poor sanitation will get worse in time - perhaps that was the confusion from the post I quoted. However, things like slight esters from a warm fermentation, too much roast, and too much hop bitterness will subside during extended conditioning. In a perfect world, you wouldn't have those issues, but that is what practice and recipe logs are for.

Joe

 

[birvine]

I would not throw it away, either. Keep the temp coolish as suggested and let the primary do its things for a number of weeks, then bottle/keg it. Keep good records as you go and I'll bet you'll learn a number of ways to improve it even if it turns out good to begin with.

B