Suggestions for fermentation that went over 80 degrees

[ogdogg]

I brewed a big imperial ipa yesterday, the gravity is 1.094. I used 2 packets of us-05 yeast. Got home from work today & the temp on the side of the carboy read 80! So I turned on the air conditioner to cool it down.
My question is: since I caught it early, and since it is a big ipa, and has only been about 12-18 hours after the fermentation started, will adjusting to the correct temp effect it much?

The highest recommend ferment temp is 75

 

[Nateo]

Recommended fermentation temperatures are for the actual wort, not the ambient temp. Those stick-on thermometers are notoriously inaccurate. If you stick a thermometer in the wort itself it will be 5* or so above ambient. Most of the flavor contribution of the yeast happens in the first couple days. Bigger beers will generate more heat than others.

Bigger beers also generate a higher density of yeast byproducts, good and bad. So for higher gravity beers I would ferment at lower temps. 60* would be appropriate for a beer like you're making.

 

[ogdogg]

Sooooo... Do ya think I'm screwed? Or will the speedy corrections help or hurt the outcome?

 

[Nateo]

Whether or not you're screwed, it's too early to say. It's definitely better to lower the temp than not lower the temp, but I would ferment a lot colder. Extended aging will help if you do have off-flavors. The single most important factor in brewing good beer is to have solid fermentation temperature control.

 

[bovinejony]

your not screwed. My first few beers were completely not temp controlled in SoCal heat. In my experience the high temps just create a harsher beer, something that people who aim for colder temps do so to avoid. If you fermented the same wort in two different conditions, one at 60F and the other at 80F, you would notice the colder fermentation having a more clean taste, a more controlled conversion with less side-products.

However, besides conditioning your beer now (after hot-fermentation) there is nothing I know that you can do to remedy it, what is done is done,m besides conditioning and hoping that it may mellow overtime. That being said, your beer is not screwed, it will be delicious, and at least, you will learn more about treating your yeasties correctly, to your tastes.

 

[ogdogg]

I was just freaking out cause its the first day of fermentation & I didn't know if this would set the mood for the beer, or if the yeast would become dormant from being cooled after being so hot. Thanks so much guys for your knowledge.

 

[volkvanmyn25]

Funny thing is, I started with the coopers kit and moved on to all grain brewing without having a fermentation fridge. Here in South Africa it gets way above 80F during summer. I've only had one bad batch of beer before. After setting up my fermentation fridge and making my first lager I'm to scared to brew during summer without using the fridge.

 

[Thedutchtouch]

I've read on here and elsewhere that it being an IPA will also help, as hops help mask off flavors

 

[The542]

Just give it three good weeks to get through both fermentation and clean up, then dry hop that bad boy for a week with a good citrusy hop. It may have a little Belgian-like twang to it, but it should drink just fine.

 

[BigFloyd]

You ought to do more than simply turn down the air conditioner to cool a big beer that's cranking along way over the right ferment temp. Once that 1.094 wort gets rolling at the high temp, it will tend to generate quite a bit of heat. Simply cooling the room to 70*F isn't going to cool the ferment down for at least several hours. If you can get it into a tub of water with ice or frozen water bottles to cool it into the mid-60's, do it. US-05 is great in the 64-65*F range.

Telling the OP, "no worries, it will be delicious" or "it will definitely taste like yuck" is pretty speculative. Each beer is different and high gravity brews are way different than a 1.045 beer when fermented too warm. An 80*F ferment of a really big beer like this one on US-05 is quite likely to generate some pronounced off-flavors. Whether or not those mellow with age is something that remains to be seen, but you may end up having to let this bottle condition at least a few months, maybe more. It's possibly going to have an alcohol bite and may have a solvent-like flavor.

 

[Madcarl]

How did this beer turn out ? the same thing happened to me

 

[Madcarl]

I brewed a big imperial ipa yesterday, the gravity is 1.094. I used 2 packets of us-05 yeast. Got home from work today & the temp on the side of the carboy read 80! So I turned on the air conditioner to cool it down.
My question is: since I caught it early, and since it is a big ipa, and has only been about 12-18 hours after the fermentation started, will adjusting to the correct temp effect it much?

The highest recommend ferment temp is 75

How did your beer turn out? A similar thing just happed to me , thanks

 

[Jag75]

If he remembers hes got a way better memory then I do. Welcome to the forum btw.