Place your bets... fermentation temperature problem

[ayoungrad]

I brewed an IIPA on Sunday. During active primary fermentation, the multi-outlet surge strip to my fermentation frig was inadvertently turned off. I found this out about 50 hours into fermentation. I checked the temperature to see that the fermometer was reading 79-80 degrees.

My first thought was that this batch was toast. But then I decided to see where things sat. I checked the FG. It was 1.010, down from 1.078. Yes, more than 85% AA. It tasted fine but the sample was saturated with yeast which could have easily hidden diacetyl, acetylaldyhyde or harsh alcohols.

Some details:

Malt bill was Maris Otter and Crystal 20 with one pound of corn sugar
Mashed at 154 for 60 minutes
Pitched two packets of well-rehydrated S04 at 67
Fermentation was churning within a few hours with an active airlock at 3 hours
Fementation was held at 67 until the power was turned off
My guess is that the power was turned off at about 36 hours after pitching

I decided to keep it out of the frig and at room temperature which is about 74-77 degrees from this point forward. My thought is that lowering the temp back to 67 might encourage flocculation and would therefore decrease any secondary conditioning and decrease any possible clean-up of off-flavors. I'm planning to leave it be for 2-3 weeks at room temp to see what happens.

My hope is that because everything was by the book for the first 36 hours, things will turn out well.

Anyone have an opinion on this one?

 

[cheezydemon3]

You will probably have to age this one, sacrificing some Hop flavor and aroma.

If you can let it sit bulk for 3-4 months, I would plan on that.

If you need the space, think about bottle conditioning for a long time.

 

[Bmorebrew]

Don't dump it, even if it tastes bad three months from now. I brewed an 8% Belgian IPA a day before my wife went into labor in the end of May. I put the bucket into the fermenting chamber at 65°, which is in our partially insulated laundry room - that was Saturday. Sunday afternoon we were in the hospital and didn't get back until Thursday. It was also over 100°. When we got back and I checked it, the temperature was about 88°. After three or four months it still tasted pretty hot with a bunch of estery off-flavor. They've been in the fridge since, and just last night I popped one - it was fantastic. Now I wish I hadn't drank so many before they were 'ready'.

Moral of the story: give it time, especially with a big beer that fermented hot. It may take some time, but give em a chance.

 

[geer537]

I had a pretty big IIPA with Marris Otter, a little Crystal, and a little wheat (for head retention). I pitched it onto a Pac Man yeast cake. The fermentation was so active it shot right up fro 68 to 78 degrees in my fridge and I couldn't get it back down until fermentation was complete. 10 weeks later and my buddy said it was the best beer I have made yet.

Agreed with everyone else- age it

 

[ayoungrad]

I'm absolutely going to let it ride.

I was just curious if anyone has purposefully or inadvertently raised the temps in early fermentation and had beer without any off-flavors without an extended conditioning period.

I often condition at my ambient temps and even place the bucket in ambient temps as primary is winding down. But I've never done it after 36 hours and never during extremely active fermentation.

 

[EternalHoppiness]

I had a pale ale back in May (before my ferm chamber build) that sat at about 79-80 degrees for the first couple of days of active fermentation and then about 75 for the rest of a 3 week primary. That was with Notty, and it turned out a little estery, but was still drinkable. The biggest problem I had was that it often gave me headaches, even after only drinking one. I guess the high temps resulted in too many fusels. That said, I still drank it all. As for extended conditioning, I didn't see too much difference in flavor at 4 weeks vs 4 months in the bottle, other than a little loss of hop aroma.

You might be better off with S-04, as its recommended temp range is higher than Notty. Plus, if you dry hop, any possible flaws might be less noticeable. Let us know how it turns out!

 

[mafeeker]

In my opinion, you probably have a pretty damn good beer there. You are really lucky that the strip was turned off 36 hrs after pitching, as most of the yeast growth was over at that point, and the rise in temp allowed the yeast to remain active late into fermentation, drying the beer out and cleaning up any off-flavors. Don't be surprised if this turns out to be one of the cleanest beer you have brewed.

 

[ayoungrad]

UPDATE:

I just took another sample.

FG is actually 1.015 which makes a lot more sense to me. The 1.010 was probably the result of carbonation from excessive dissolved CO2 at 3 days.

The taste is great. I chilled a sample for 45 minutes and then decanted to try to get rid of some of the suspended yeast. It's bitter (this was my goal) and has a strong, citrusy hop flavor. I could be wrong but I taste only citrus and no apple.

I'm thinking I might even dry hop this soon and bottle it at 2 weeks from pitching. I'm wondering if my misfortune is actually fortuitous. Who knows, it might only be that the 182 IBU/10+ ounces of hops is hiding off-flavors.

Time will tell.

 

[ayoungrad]

UPDATE:

5 weeks after brewday... 2 weeks in primary, 3 weeks bottle conditioning...

It tastes really, really good. No off flavors and no harsh alcohol.

Hard for me to believe but I'm drinking it next to a Big A IPA and it tastes different but comparable (quality, not actual taste). I'll be darned.