Temperature Question

[pfalor]

On Friday I started an American Brown Ale with Wyeast Thames Valley 1275. I pitched when the wort was 75 and placed in a room that was about 72 (couldn't get it cooler). In the morning, my strip thermometer showed a temperature of 74 and I got concerned since the recommended yeast temperature is 62 to 72. In the early evening, I moved the fermenter to my garage in a dark corner and by the next morning, the temperature was at 66. It is staying steady at 66 and my airlock is still bubbling. According to the Wyeast website, it has a medium-low flocculation level, so hopefully I'm in the clear. Do you think I did any damage by 1) starting out at a pretty high temp, and 2) dropping the temp during fermentation? Anything I should/need to do right now to ensure optimum ending results?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[Nanobru]

In general, warmer fermentations are more active and flavorful (for better or worse). You will be ok, but a stable temperature is best but hard to achieve with out a temperature controlled fermenter.

 

[pfalor]

It seems to be staying very constant now, so hopefully I dodged a bullet by going too high.

 

[Nanobru]

Worst case from fermenting too high is off flavors (more esthers etc), from fermenting to low would be stuck or incomplete fermentation, and of course the yeast flat out going dormant. As long as your in the range, your golden. For experimentation, split a batch and ferment at different temperatures to understand how the temperature variable impacts the beers flavor profile.

 

[OpsGuy68]

I don't have good temperature control either. From what I've seen, temperatures will rise a few degrees for the first few days and once the activity drops off, the temperature steadies for the rest of the fermentation. On one batch, I lost power during fermantation for a few days and, despite my best efforts, the temperature rose more than I would of liked. If that affected my batch, I couldnt tell, the beer was still good and drinkable.