1 Week temperature drop

[CosmicJam]

Hi people, been reading a lot and this is my first post so be gentle

I’m in the middle of my first ever home brew and I’m 1 week into fermentation. It all looks good so far and the airlock is still bubbling at around twice per min. I know this doesn’t really mean much so with an OG of 50 I was down to 25 on day 5 and now (7 days) on 22. I know my beer is fine – in fact it is very, very tasty. But I feel like this is a little high for this stage.

My question is what should I do now? I have tried to keep a constant temp of around 60-65F with Safale US05. Now the temperature is beginning to drop to around 58 and will continue to drop unless I do something (its really cold where I live at the moment). Should I heat it up until the SG drops to my estimated FG (about 1.010)? If it gets too cold will the SG still continue to drop the necessary 10 or so points during the 2 weeks of conditioning?

Thanks

 

[Ingvaroo]

Thats a bit low, what kind of beer is this ?

I would try to get the temp up to 65 and wait 2 weeks more, you get better beer then

A small tip someone once gave me, if its to cold and your fermentor is sitting on the floor, put like 2-3 towels togeather and let the fermenter sit on that, the floor is the coldest part of the house and might be the reason temp is falling. (unless you have floors with heat pipes like in some of the newer houses)

Edit: Then again i also read somewhere that when the yeast kicks in the wort gets 2-5° warmer, and when it slows down the wort cools down a bit

 

[CosmicJam]

Thanks for your reply

It’s an American Pale Ale from a kit which the recipe says the OG is 1.048 (mine was a little higher) and the FG is ~1.012.

I already have my fermenter wrapped in blankets to try and keep it warm with only the airlock sticking out

The method I have been using to keep it warm is take the blankets off and use a little heating fan to raise the temperature a bit then wrap it up again. Its a pretty hot fan so only do it for short burst, but it keeps it in that range.

I have read about people fermenting with US05 yeast at around 58-60 before so I think I’m ok, especially since it’s still bubbling (but slowly). For the first 3 days it was bubbling at around 30 per min so when it slowed down I assumed it was almost at its FG but it seems it isnt really very close. I dont think it has stalled but will it drop that much in conditioning? I have heard about people cold crashing but is that only done after they reach their FG?

 

[bowiefan]

US 05 will still work fine in that range with your OG. If you were brewing a high gravity beer, then you could worry about it. As it is it should finish up fine, it will just take a little longer. Give the beer at least 3 weeks in primary and you should end up with a very clean flavor profile from those temps. and welcome to the boards.

 

[CosmicJam]

Thanks! Looks like I'm going to have to keep checking it then to make sure it doesn't drop too far.

As far as heating goes do you guys recommend a heating mat? I'm a little worried about it heating the trub and causing off flavours... maybe wrap it around the side? I think its a bit more useful than a belt because I can heat bottles too.

And yeah, I was going for a cleaner one this time since its an APA. I find I prefer English pale ales to have more esters to get more fruit due to the lack of hops. Maybe will do one when the weather warms up a bit... or saison! (I think this hobby may become an obsession, lol )

 

[unionrdr]

I wish I could get my temps lower. I brewed my 1st IPA from a good APA recipe I came up with (all extract). It was cool that day,& was supposed to be for another day or two.
Instead,it shot up to 88F. Even a wet tee shirt & fan don't help much. So you're good with the US-05.

 

[bonzombiekitty]

As far as heating goes do you guys recommend a heating mat? I'm a little worried about it heating the trub and causing off flavours... maybe wrap it around the side? I think its a bit more useful than a belt because I can heat bottles too.

Meh, don't worry about the trub causing off flavors. What you might find helpful is an aquarium heater. For the winter months, I put about 10 gallons of water in a rubber maid container, put the heater in on its lowest setting, and then put in my fermentation bucket. It keeps the temp around where I want it to be.