fermentation temps question

Going to do my first all grain and make AHS's Imperial Stout next weekend. The Plan is to bulk age it for several months and then bottle it in 22's about September so it'll carb up for christmas time. White Labs says my London Ale yeast should stay between 65-71. My question is: Is this for the entire duration of the time spent before bottling? I would like to be able to free up my fermentaion chamber for more brews this summer and put the carboy with the Imperial Stout in a closet at room temp (75-78) to age. Will doing this contribute any off flavors?

Thanks and Cheers

 

The majority of off flavor precursors come about during the growth of the lag phase. What you need to worry about is the temperature of the wort at yeast-pitching, and the temperature for the first 48-72 hours of visible fermentation. Higher temperatures after the first week shouldn't contribute any discernable off flavors. However, higher temperatures do increase the rate of oxidation considerably. (factor of ~2 every 10C)

I'd pitch below 70, keep it below 70 until the krausen subsides, then stop worrying about temperature.

 

I typically temp control in my primary but once I rack into my secondary fermentation is done so no yeast activity means no need for precise temp control. With no yeast activity there won't be any off flavors, just age it in a cool room or the cellar.

 

I would highly recommend you don't do anything imperial and long term aged for your first all grain. It's extremely likely your efficiency will be low your first time. Power to you if you go for it though. Just keep some dme on hand if you don't hit your numbers. Not trying to buzz kill, just lookin out.

 

Can you explain this a little farther? I think you mean you can adjust a low SG? If so, how do you do that?

 

Check the effiency of your mash to see if you got a good enough sugars extraction . If not you can add DME (use a free online calculator) to the boil kettle. This will up your starting gravity to a more acceptable level for the style your brewing. Same thing as doing a BIAB. BIAB tends to have low efficiency in extracting sugars from the grains. You make up for this by adding DME to the boil

 

Thanks for answering my questions by the way