new guy with first brew question

[numpty]

Hi all. I learned everything I know about home brewing from this site and have to first express my appreciation for this awesome resource. The humor, wit and knowledge is much appreciated.

Anyway, I hope this is the right place for this post.

Well, I did my first extract brew on Sunday (Caribou Slobber) and everything went according to plan. I hit all the additions on time, was meticulous about sanitizing, etc. etc. Pitched the yeast at about 71 degrees and let it sit. The next morning I had a bubbling airlock and a layer of krausen. (sp?) I added a couple drops of fermcap s (afraid it would explode while away) and went to work. I was stoked all day. When I got home the stick on thermometer was reading 78'ish degrees and the more reading i did the more freaked out I became. Did I ruin this first batch with a high temp? My house is at 69 degrees and that sucker was 10 degrees higher. I moved it to the garage which was closer to 60 degrees for a few hours, but after freaking out again about stalling everything, I moved it back inside. It's 36 hours since I pitched the yeast and 24 hours of active bubbling...and it's still bubbling (about once every 8 seconds) at about 72 degrees. The wet t-shirt D) and fan didn't do much so I've decided to just leave it be for now hoping for something at least drinkable. Can anyone put my mind at ease? I'm planning on another batch in a couple of weeks just in case this one causes my eyes to pop out...but do I have any chance of a decent beer from this one? I guess I'm going to have to get a chest freezer and a temp control.

Sorry for the lengthy post...thanks for any suggestions for this green brewer!

Still excited to have gone through the process...can't wait to do it again.

 

[bwirthlin]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. 78 definitely isn't ideal but its not the end of world. You're going to end up with a drinkable beer. I'm sure lots of people will disagree with me but I'm not a huge temperature stickler. I don't have a stick on thermometer on my buckets or carboy, I don't use the tshirt and fan method. I keep my house at about 68 and let nature take its course. My beers turn out just fine. Eventually I'd like to build a fermentation chamber of some sort but for now the bathtub works great. Congrats on your first batch. It's a fun hobby, try not to let it stress you out. I know from personal experience that it's hard not to worry about every little thing at first. Once you get a few batches under your belt everything mellows out.

 

[BrewerBear]

Depending on the yeast used you might have some off flavors but it will still be drinkable beer I would bet.Fermentation puts off heat so the brew will be above room temperature.A cheap and easy way to control temps is a swamp cooler, a bucket or some other container that you put your bucket or carboy in,put water in and swap out pop bottles of milk jugs you have filled with water and frozen. I think all of us has had brews get that high or higher and still made drinkable beer. Good luck,enjoy and let us know how it comes out.

 

[numpty]

Thanks guys! I definitely tend to overthink things and am too critical of myself, so I'll take bwirthlin's advice and try not to stress. Nothing went catastrophically wrong, so I guess that's a good thing. I'm reading that maybe I should let it sit on the yeast cake for a while to "mellow out". I'll RDWHAHB and "mellow out" as well. Brewerbear, I figured that the yeast working would produce heat, but I had read that it would be a degree or two higher than ambient. When I looked further last night, I found that it can be as much as 12 degrees. I know what to watch for next time...so live and learn.

One question...if I pitched the yeast at say 65 degrees, would the yeast still rise in temp the 8 or so degrees from that point or does it just keep going until it reaches its own max and end up at 78 anyway?

I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks again for the reassuring responses.