COLD pitch temp Ale

[jdemars]

Well, I had a thermometer that was reading super high and yada, yada, yada, I had some homebrew and pitched at 46°F.

SA US 05 dry yeast
Northern Brewer's Extract Sierra Madre kit

The fermenter is in the basement with a warming wrap set for 71°F

Any predictions?

Also, I've never measured the gravity of my beers, just ended fermentation based on airlock activity and gut feelings. On this batch I tried to take the OG twice and was getting readings of 1.072 when I was expecting to see 1.052. Measurement was taken at 70°F and some sediment was in the sample. Am I correct in thinking that the sediment is responsible for this difference?

 

[kh54s10]

The yeast will get to work as soon as the temperature is in the sixties. IMO set the warming wrap to 65 degrees. If you have no cooling, the fermentation could take your 71 degree wort close to 80 degrees - way too warm for US05.

Your OG was probably off due to uneven mixing of your top up water. It is often difficult to get the wort to fully mix, then depending on where the sample was taken in the stratification, you either get a high reading or low reading.

This is assuming that you used all the ingredients and ended up with the proper volume in your fermenter.

Your hydrometer is also calibrated to either 60 or 68 degrees. It should be written on the paper inside the bulb, what the calibration temperature is. The difference from the sample being too warm should not make a 20 point swing, though.

 

[jdemars]

Thanks for the advice! I retested the OG before I read this and it was a much more believable 1.044. However my hydrometer is calibrated for 60° and my OG sample was at 70°. I'll run FG at 70° also and pay more attention on the next batch.

I did decrease my warming wrap to 65°, thanks for the tip!

 

[yowzers]

You'll be fine, but I'd recommend that you set the belt to low 60's as well.

 

[jdemars]

Well, after turning the temp back to 62° and getting a few days of fermentation I decided to try out a diacetyl rest(?) just because I have never done it before and read that it would not harm an ale. I checked the gravity and was getting a reading of 1.01 ish , again at 70° (rather than the calibrated 60°).

After doing this I tasted and got a bubble gum scent and a lingering alcohol flavor.

Is the batch toast or will these (what I'm thinking are isoamyl acetate or ethyl acetate) off-floavors mellow with maturation?

What I'm gathering from John Palmer's how to brew book is that they will not mellow.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Beers brewed with US05 taste awful at about the 3 to 5 day mark, but it cleans up nicely. Leave it alone for at least a couple of weeks.

 

[kh54s10]

Fermentation typically is done in 3 to 5 days sometimes a little longer. Then another couple of days for the yeast to clean up off flavors created during fermentation. It should be ready to bottle at about 14 days. I never do anything to my beers before day 14
so I don't know flavors before then. I have bottles some at day 14 but through procrastination most of mine go at least 3 weeks.

You may have off flavors from the warmed up start. But it is too early to tell. I suggest leaving the beer alone until at least the end of next week, then give it a taste.