73º ale fermenting

[Drinks3point2]

My basement is a constant 73º (not ideal...I know). Will I end up with banana flavor or some other off flavors? or Will it be fine since the temp is constant throughout the entire fermentation/ conditioning process.

 

[samc]

Depends on yeast and recipe to some degree.

 

[jmo88]

If I were you I'd buy a fermentation fridge or exclusively make saisons or maybe a few other Belgians. It will not be as good as a beer fermented in the 60's.

 

[Drinks3point2]

I have 3 batches at different stages downstairs right now (my first 3). The youngest of the three is 6 days into fermenting. A fermentation fridge is out of the question for me. Should I act now to try to help these batches?
Is a constant temp going to work in my favor?

 

[jmo88]

I have 3 batches at different stages downstairs right now (my first 3). The youngest of the three is 6 days into fermenting. A fermentation fridge is out of the question for me. Should I act now to try to help these batches?
Is a constant temp going to work in my favor?

You can do a swamp cooler.

Constant temp is a good thing, but that's assuming you are in the suggested range of a yeast. If you can't use a fridge, a swamp cooler may be your best bet, but it will be more attention on your part. Who doesn't like spending a little extra time with their fermentors?

 

[Drinks3point2]

Can't help but check on em' at least a couple of times a day anyway.

 

[belmontbrew]

I think that if you can chill your wort down to about 68º or so before you pitch your yeast, you'll be totally fine. The yeast will get cooler temps during its growth phase, since it'll take at least 12 hours for the wort to get up to ambient temperature. Once active fermentation starts, esters aren't really much of a problem.

I've done two batches this way (it gets warmer in the summer for me); one a golden ale and one a stout. I used 2L starters to minimize the amount of growth required, and I can't detect any esters or clove-like flavours.

If you listened to last weekend's "Sunday Session" on the BN, the White Labs people talked about their home brew setups. They're in San Diego, rarely use temperature control, never use starters and brew beer that they're happy with. And I bet their bar for "happy" is higher than mine.

 

[Drinks3point2]

I'll make sure on the next batch that I get the wort down a bit more before pitching.

Thanks again to everyone for the advice!