Question about fermenting at correct temps...

[banks412]

Hi guys,

Today I made a honey brown ale for the fall. S.G. was 1.066 (adjusted for temp). I made a yeast starter using Wyeast 1056 and about 1000mL of water with 100g of DME about 24 hours prior. I pitched at 66F about 3 hours ago and set it in my new fermentation chamber that's set to about 64 degrees (19.5C). My question is this - since I've never fermented a 5 gallon batch at a proper temp (always used my closet which sat at 78F) is it normal for the yeast to seem to be suspended about 2/3 of the way from the bottom? I have absolutely no krausen yet and nothing floating to the top.

Hopefully I'm just impatient?

 

[flars]

Thee hours ago. Yes, you are very impatient. The yeast is suspended in solution, just getting ready to wake up in their new surroundings. They should be really hungry in about nine more hours.

 

[EVBrewing]

Give it untill the morning and i bet it will be bubbling away and maybe even coming out of the air lock. Get a blow off tube ready if your in a five gallon carboy. 65 is fine and your gonna love the difference controlled ferment temp is gonna make in your final product.

 

[banks412]

I know I'm impatient. Just nervous I guess.

I'd be happy to have a blowoff ready, but the only tubing I have is on my 1 gallon cider that's sitting next to it.

Anything I can do in a pinch? I have some smaller tubing but for the life of me I can't get it over the middle tube in an airlock. That was how I made one for the cider anyway - I took a standard three piece airlock, removed the cap and cover and stuck a piece of tubing onto the stem, then placed the other end in a big cup full of sanitizing solution (starsan and water).

Thanks again for the affirmations. Will give it till morning and see how it looks.

 

[Demus]

The cooler temps will slow things down a little from what you are used to. This is a GOOD thing. Yeast will ferment quicker at warmer temps but generally produce more off flavors. When it comes to yeast temperature control = flavor control. Your fermentation chamber should greatly improve your beers, and give you flexibility to brew with a wider range of strains. Remember they produce their own heat so your chamber will need to be about 5 degrees colder than desired beer temp until activity begins to slow. Then it's good to raise it so the beer doesn't cool off as the yeast slow down. You can even try and raise the beer temperature a few degrees to get more attenuation, as the majority of off flavors are produced during peak activity.
Enjoy!!

 

[banks412]

So Demus, what do you suggest setting the temp at? Right now I have the probe insulated with some foam and taped to the side of the primary. My temp is set at 19.5 C (about 64 F I think). If my target is 65, should I go a degree or two lower? My surface temp strip on the side of the primary reads 63-64.

Thanks again everyone for the advice....it's much appreciated! I think part of my issue was r/t an apple cider issue I was having in the fermentation chamber (wasn't seeing bubbles in the airlock after two days but it was because the lid didn't seal well... ) so I was a bit apprehensive when I didn't immediately see activity in the brown ale. Here I am now supposedly doing everything right and I don't see any signs of immediate fermentation. It just me nervous, but I now know I just need to be more patient.

 

[EVBrewing]

I use tubing and stick it right in the bung hole. No pun intended.

 

[banks412]

Thanks EVBrweing! I just went and tried this with the smaller tubing I had and a spare stopper and it worked great! I chunked the whole thing into my sanitizer in case I need it tomorrow. Hoping I don't - I'm using a 6 gallon primary, but I'm ready just in case.

Oh, and I checked it one last time for the night - yeasties are making their way to the top. Yay!

 

[BigFloyd]

I'd leave everything set just the way you have it.

Good for you for taking the steps to use precise ferment temp control. This is probably going to be by far your best batch yet.

 

[Helly]

The cooler temps will slow things down a little from what you are used to. This is a GOOD thing. Yeast will ferment quicker at warmer temps but generally produce more off flavors. When it comes to yeast temperature control = flavor control. Your fermentation chamber should greatly improve your beers, and give you flexibility to brew with a wider range of strains. Remember they produce their own heat so your chamber will need to be about 5 degrees colder than desired beer temp until activity begins to slow. Then it's good to raise it so the beer doesn't cool off as the yeast slow down. You can even try and raise the beer temperature a few degrees to get more attenuation, as the majority of off flavors are produced during peak activity.
Enjoy!!

Can you share a little more as to how/when to raise the temp? I don't mean to hijack I'm just also doing temp control (swamp cooler with ice bottles) for the first time and had a similar concern with lag times and not seeing the vigorous bubbling I'm used to at higher temps. I've kept mine between 63-66 and hit what I believe are my proper FG's.

 

[BigFloyd]

Can you share a little more as to how/when to raise the temp? I don't mean to hijack I'm just also doing temp control (swamp cooler with ice bottles) for the first time and had a similar concern with lag times and not seeing the vigorous bubbling I'm used to at higher temps. I've kept mine between 63-66 and hit what I believe are my proper FG's.

I normally keep an ale at or near the low end of the optimal range for the yeast and then start to slowly raise the temp at around day 4. That usually means 63-64*F (beer temp) at first and then on up to 67-68*F to finish.

If using Nottingham, I'll start it down in the 50's. Belgians (non-saison) start a few degrees warmer and finish around 73-74*F.

Lagers tend to ferment more slowly (upper 40's), so it may be a few extra days before I bump the temp on those for a bit before going up to 60-62*F for the d-rest..

 

[terrenum]

So? How is fermentation going?

It must be bubbling by now.

I find 63 is perfect for pale ale. It gives a nice clean finish product. You'll see quite an improvement in quality if you were fermenting around 78 before...
Keep us posted

 

[Demus]

I agree with BigFloyd. Generally you want to start at the lower end of the range for the strain you're using. I didn't have great luck taping the probe to the side of the fermenter with insulation method. 5+ gallons of wort has quite a bit of thermal stability so I found the fridge would get way cold if the wort was even a few degrees warm leading to significant overshoot (wort got too cold). Now I sort of wag it knowing the fridge temp needs to be 5 or 6 degrees cooler than my desired beer temp. I check on it once or twice a day and compare the fridge temp to the beer temp, also observing the rate of fermentation. Using this method gives me a much better feel of what's going on and better control. As fermentation slows I know the beer will cool off if I don't raise the fridge temp. The slower the ferment the closer the fridge temp needs to be to beer temp. Once they're only 2 degrees or so apart I raise the fridge to a few degrees OVER the beer temp which helps with complete attenuation.
There are many other ways to do this; this is just what makes sense and works for me...

 

[Helly]

I wasn't the OP but thanks for explaining all this. I just did two batches in a swamp cooler for the first time. Until this point I just put it in the basement and let her rip. Recently I tasted (or recognized) some off favors for the first time, almost a hotness to the alcohol taste. My best guess is I stressed the yeast out (it was a cake from previous batch) and also fermented too high (I didn't measure but adding it all up it wouldn't surprise me if it hit 80). Short story long, set up the swamp cooler, but I've kept them between 63-66 for two weeks. I didn't realize I should raise the temp sooner. Took them out yesterday, they were at 68 first day, 69 today. We'll see how they come out.

 

[BigFloyd]

I wasn't the OP but thanks for explaining all this. I just did two batches in a swamp cooler for the first time. Until this point I just put it in the basement and let her rip. Recently I tasted (or recognized) some off favors for the first time, almost a hotness to the alcohol taste. My best guess is I stressed the yeast out (it was a cake from previous batch) and also fermented too high (I didn't measure but adding it all up it wouldn't surprise me if it hit 80). Short story long, set up the swamp cooler, but I've kept them between 63-66 for two weeks. I didn't realize I should raise the temp sooner. Took them out yesterday, they were at 68 first day, 69 today. We'll see how they come out.

We're here to help each other out.

Now that you're paying closer attention to your fermentation temps, you can look forward to better tasting brew.

 

[Demus]

Yep, nice work. And you don't really HAVE TO ramp up the temps, it's just a technique that helps reach higher attenuation.
Happy brewing!!!

 

[Helly]

We're here to help each other out.

Now that you're paying closer attention to your fermentation temps, you can look forward to better tasting brew.

I'm pumped because it's not like I'm making terrible brews now but I know there's a ton of room for improvement.

 

[banks412]

Well I'm happy to say that not only did my honey brown kick off, it actually blew the airlock yesterday. It didn't pop off thankfully, but I did have to put a blowoff tube on it, so I think that was a good sign. It's happily bubbling away as we speak at right around 68 degrees. When I first started it off, I think it was a bit cooler, around 65, in the cooler, but I did set it back up to 68 out of a fear that it might be too cool in there. I think I'm where a lot of people are now in regards to airlocks on primaries. I'm done with 'em. Blowoff tubes from here on out...

So do I also need to consider raising my temp in a day or two? Today is the end of two days in primary and I'm sitting at a constant 67-68 degrees. I'm thinking no as I didn't really start much cooler than this. I had no idea some folks started cooler and then warmed up a little. Once again, lesson learned!