Temperature dropping, Scottish Export

[Locham]

I brewed a Scottish Export 8 days ago, and pitched my yeast (S-04) at about 65F. Over the previous 7 days, the temps stayed in the 62-64 area, which is what I was looking for for this yeast strain and for this particular beer. 'Active' fermentation was great, with high krausen and dissipation within 5 days.

I've had a cold front come in over the past 24 hours, and my ThermaK now registers 57 degrees - the lowest range for S-04 based on the package. I've since placed the carboy on a towel and wrapped it with a blanket. I still see some CO2 bubbles coming up to the surface of the brew.

What thoughts does anyone have on this? I could move the fermenter to a different closet, but I'll probably have to move it again in the next 48 hours once it warms up again. Is there any problem with physically handling the carboys during fermentation? Using a heating pad isn't much of an option, since shops are closed for the weekend here.

 

[hercher]

I think you are fine. You don't mention how cold it is going to get, but my guess is that the worst that will happen is that fermentation will slow down, meaning you will have to wait a little longer for your beer than you planned.

There isn't any problem handling the carboys during fermentation apart from the risk of dropping one, breaking a carboy, risking injury, and most important, losing all that wonderful beer.

If temperature continues to drop before going up in a couple days, you might consider giving your carboys a gentle swirl to get some of the yeast back up in suspension.

 

[Locham]

Thanks, good to know! For some reason I thought it was a bad idea to move carboys around prior to racking...it makes sense that it's alright.

It'll get down to the low 30s outside tonight, and probably into the low 50s in that particular closet. I'll move it into the 'warmer' closet to bring it nearer to the low 60s for the next couple of days.

Cheers!