beer fermenting at 74+ degrees

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I just brewed an irish ale and a stout on Sunday. I piched both at about 73 degrees. Next morning( about 10 hours later) both are fermenting very well. I checked the temps through the next couple of days. The stout stayed at 72. And the irish stayed at 74. Checked this morning. Fermentation slowing down so put airlock on them( had blow off tubes ) there temp has dropped to 68. My question is, is this to hot for fermentation. If so should I cool the wort more before I pich. Or what should I do. Oh and this is an awesome forum.
The irish recipe is 6 lb of light lme, 1lb crystal malt, 1 oz fuggle and crystal hops, irish ale yeast. The stout is 8lb dark lme 1 lb of grain( I will tell witch ones when I get home) fuggle and ? Hopps will update later, and cali v yeast.



edit:grain in stout is 1/4 lb of black malt, choc malt, roast barely and dark crystal. hops are cluster and fuggle
 
in my opinion, 73 is too high, but not too high that it's going to ruin the beers or anything... also it depends on the style, but for your standard ales, i like to try and keep things below 70 at least. i think there's some benefit to cooling a degree or two below what you are planning to ferment at and let fermentation reactions bring the temp back up. but don't sweat it, it's not like you got up to 78 or 80, i'm sure the beers will be fine, it's just that keeping it a little lower will clean up the taste a little.
 
Is that actual liquid temps or ambient air?

Are we talking about fermometer strips or digitals in the liquid?

74 is high either way but less "troublesome" if it's the actual liquid temp.
 
From White Labs' website:

WLP004 Irish Ale Yeast
This is the yeast from one of the oldest stout producing breweries in the world. It produces a slight hint of diacetyl, balanced by a light fruitiness and slight dry crispness. Great for Irish ales, stouts, porters, browns, reds and a very interesting pale ale.
Attenuation: 69-74%
Flocculation: Medium to High
Optimum Fermentation Temperature: 65-68°F
Alcohol Tolerance: Medium-High

California V:
From Northern California. This strain is more fruity than WLP001, and slightly more flocculent. Attenuation is lower, resulting in a fuller bodied beer than with WLP001.
Attenuation: 70-75%
Flocculation: Medium to High
Optimum Fermentation Temperature: 66-70°F
Alcohol Tolerance: Medium-High


So, yes, I'd say it was a little high. I usually cool my wort to about 3-5 degrees BELOW my desired fermentation temperature, and allow it to raise at the beginning of fermentation. That will help to keep the temperatures more easily controlled. When you pitch warm, the yeast often will get started before the wort cools to a desired temperature.

You may notice a few more esters, but otherwise it should be fine.
 
Welcome to the forum, and your new hobby.

Great question about temps, that is one critical point that will certainly impact the taste of your beer.

If you have difficulty controlling temps, you can get as fancy as you want, converting old refrigerators into fermenting cabinets, building a box and piping in window AC air - or you can sit it in a tub of cool water, and monitor the water temp. A few frozen water bottles swapped as needed can keep your brew at the temp you want it.

good luck!
 
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