Belgian Yeasts at Cold Temperatures

[Brann_mac_Finnchad]

I have a couple ciders fermenting with Belgian yeasts (just small batches, with yeast harvested from commercial bottle conditioned beers*). My problem is that it is rather cold in my house--high 50s at best.

Could this be the cause of the sulfurous odors and slight off tastes coming from the brews? And will they age out?
No comments about "I shouldn't be using a Belgian in cold temps", please. I realize that.



*Ommegang Double, and Unibrew Wheat tripel

 

[Calder]

You will often get the rotten egg smell from cider fermentation. It has nothing to do with your yeast selection.

50s is too cold for the yeast, and will stall as it slows down. The good news is, it will re-start when temps rise again.

 

[Brann_mac_Finnchad]

Except I haven't actually gotten it before, and I mostly make cider. Including something like 10 batches with the Unibrou yeast.

Yeah, it is slower than usual, but still fermenting.

 

[porterpounder]

I tend to use Wy 3787 at around 65F to depress the fruit character. Lends a nice lager-like crisp finish to Belgian session strength beers. Never dropped it below 62 though. Sulfur is fairly normal and almost any fermentation and should age out.
Harvesting from a bottle may bring about some nasties that create more sulfur if your harvesting method was somehow not entirely sanitary. Give it time and see how it plays out.

 

[davejanssen]

I have gotten sulfur from some belgian fermentations at cooler temperatures, and I also feel that I am more likely to get sulfur from a fruit based fermentation than a grain based one with those yeasts.

If you want a relatively inexpensive and easy way to warm your fermentations up, here's what I do:

I get a rubbermaid tote and an adjustable aquarium heater to create a warm water bath. The adjustable heater allows to to dial in the ambient temperature that you're looking for and the large thermal mass of the water helps prevent the fermentation from getting too hot. And the whole system takes up only a little more space than a carboy and is easily portable.

 

[2drunk2]

I have gotten sulfur from some belgian fermentations at cooler temperatures, and I also feel that I am more likely to get sulfur from a fruit based fermentation than a grain based one with those yeasts.

If you want a relatively inexpensive and easy way to warm your fermentations up, here's what I do:

I get a rubbermaid tote and an adjustable aquarium heater to create a warm water bath. The adjustable heater allows to to dial in the ambient temperature that you're looking for and the large thermal mass of the water helps prevent the fermentation from getting too hot. And the whole system takes up only a little more space than a carboy and is easily portable.

I was planning to do this. I want to brew a big Belgian Tripel, but heard that wlp530 can just shut down if it cools down after it hits its stride. My current brews are sitting at 62 degrees without any type of controls on them. Thank you Indiana winter.

So, I'm planning to break out the swamp cooler and toss in a cheap adjustable aquarium heater. It only goes down to 68, but with the optimal temp being 66-72 and the mass of 5 gallon of wort and a few gallon of water I think the heater should keep it within range. The ambient temperature should keep it from getting ridiculously warm.

Once it starts to wind down, I can crank it up into the 70's and squeeze out the last few gravity points. In theory anyway.

Thoughts?