Slow Fermentation

[Architect-Dave]

I am on my 8th and 9th batch of brewing. they were made this past Sunday and Monday - so just under a week old. Two carboys of beer in my closet (Bourbon Barrel Porter and a Brown Ale). Here in NY it has been cold enough outside to keep my closet in the 65 to 75 degree range (big swing because the closet is on an outside wall that gets sun at parts of the day). The past beers I made, the fermentation was more aggressive than these. I have just under an inch of Krausen on each set of beers and there is activity in the airlock, but not as rigorous as past batches. Both beers made with fresh ingredients (i.e. not old yeast or malts or grains). I know cooler temperatures slow the process down and I am okay with that. My question is, as long as it is not stuck, is it okay to have fermentation that is not as rigorous as usual? Will it still turn out okay? Is there something I should do with it? Or, just let it do its thing, albeit at a slower pace.

 

[hotbeer]

It'll likely be fine. When I just started and had little to no experience there was a lot of difference between one batch and the next in the way they appeared to be fermenting very actively or not very active at all. Neither seemed to be a good indicator of whether the beer was good or bad.

 

[DBhomebrew]

65-75 ambient isn't cool at all for most beer yeast. I'd try to moderate the temp swing. Once the beer is nearly complete, a 5-10° drop overnight can trick the yeast into thinking their job is done.