Holy crap, my IPA just fermented at 85 F for a day...

I just put 3 fermenters in my ferm chamber: IPA, ESB, and a blueberry cyser. Set the temp for 68 on the cyser, which happens to be the furthest fermenter away from my heat source (2 75 watt light bulbs.) Ferm chamber is an insulated box in my 54 degree basement. Temp was spot on 68 on the cyser fermenter.

I checked after a day and the IPA fermentation was slamming away like i have never seen a fermentation before. I didn't seem right so I checked the internal temp and got 85 on this one! Ugh. I don't like esters and i don't like Belgians. The ESB was at 75 which is too high but at least somewhat within reason.

I turned off the heat source right away and i'm going to let it cool down, but i don't think i am going to like the results of this. For right now i am going to RDWHAHB. But do you think there's anything i can do to salvage these brews? My guess is the IPA turns out horrible and the ESB is OK but not what i was shooting for.

 

Sadly, you maybe right. Only time will tell. Just for further reference, the temperature in an actively fermenting vessel can be 5-10° F warmer (maybe more for your IPA) than the ambient temperature.

 

down to 71 overnight. i think a large chunk of fermentation is done now. But i'll wait it out and see what i get!

 

At what point in the fermentation process did the temp get that high? From what I understand, ester production is mostly in the earlier stages of fermentation, so if it didnt get up too high until 2 or 3 days into fermentation it might not be as bad as you think.

 

It was about 12 hours into fermentation, and i believe it was elevated for about 12 hours.

 

I had a similar thing happen in November to a brown ale. My temps were about 85 on the outside of the carboy (sticky thermo). I've had this brew conditioning since then and I am finally about to dump it; too estery (even for a brown ale) and I think I also taste fusel alcohols.

 

Man that's not what i wanted to hear. I figure i'll give it 4-5 months and see what i've got then.

 

Totally different profile with the hops especially. Maybe yours will be ok...

 

Don't throw it out, but man, I gotta believe it's not going to be the best IPA you could have brewed.

The nice thing is that the hops in an IPA may be able to pull it into the "drinkable" range. You'l have to see what happens.

 

Yeah, give it a bunch of time on the yeast and they will start to clean up some of the esters/fusels that might be floating around. Once that's done, give it a taste. If its completely awful I probably wouldn't bother doing much with it (I'm of the conviction that I'd rather not drink bad beer, even if it means dumping). If it doesn't taste completely awful, dry-hop with 2-3 oz and try to drink it up shortly after the dry hop is done, hoping that the hop aromas can cover up some of the esters.

Just thought of something else, but from your description of your ester preference it might not be up your alley. Something else you could do is pitch some wild bugs/dregs and let that bad boy ride out for a year or so, see what you get in the end. Might be awful, might be downright tasty if you're into that sort of thing!

 

Sorry to hear this but as many have said time heals almost everything. If it turns out to be a great IPA call it "Tha Double Boil"

 

Don't throw it out. Send it to me I'll one by one see if it gets better over time.

Seriously, I had a similar problem with a Black IPA and most recently a IIPA. The black IIPA turned out great and maybe it being a black IIPA the off flavors were masked. The IIPA is still fermenting so I don't know how that one will turn out.


I also believe that age may cure some of the off flavors.

 

Depending on the yeast strain you used it may or may not be that bad. I've had the same thing happen twice, once with nottingham where it had so many fusels it was barely drinkable even after an extended aging, and once with S-05 where it was a little estery but mellowed out nicely after 3 weeks.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but raising the temps again after fermentation has finished will help the yeast clean up after themselves. That and some extra time as others have suggested should help most off flavors considerably.

 

Hmm, i did use S-05 so that's a bit of a bright spot. I'm down to 66 now and i'll let it coast there for a while and then nudge back up to 72 for a few days. I ALMOST pitched notty b/c i've got like 8 packs in the freezer, but decided to use my last S-05 instead. May have dodged a bullet!

 

Yeah, the chico strain (S-05, WLP001 etc.) is pretty forgiving with temp changes. I really like notty, but it absolutely has to be fermented at the cool end of the range.

 

I brew a pale ale 1.5 weeks ago and it got about 85 on the second day of fermentation. Took a sample yesterday and didn't have any unexpected off flavors.

 

I've had similar experiences w/ both yeasts.

 

Man not what I wanted to read I just had a ipa that jumped up to about 75 on notty. I originally used yeast 1098 but it didn't take off so I added a package of notty. Oh well I guess I'll see what I have when i transfer it tomorrow.