Colder Ale fermentation question

[coyotlgw]

Sorry to repost, but the Beginner forum seems to be low-traffic and I am hoping for more reassurance.

I got a wine chiller for cheap on clearance and my primary and secondary fermenter fit inside perfectly. Problem is, at the lowest setting (warmest) it stays at about 59 degrees (F).

It gets down to 40 degrees, which would be fine for Lagers, but I really was planning on brewing ales and was hoping for something between 66 and 75 degrees F. Since it is not a real fridge, there is no jack for an external temperature controller

zoebisch01 mentioned that Rogue ferments all of their ales at 60 degrees, and worst comes to worst I guess I can pop open the back and try to find somewhere to adjust the thermostat.

I checked the website for the yeast company and they list the range as 60-75 degrees, so am I just asking for trouble to try to ferment Ale at 59.4 degrees? Will my ales stall out under 60 degrees due to the poor little yeasties falling into a torpor?

 

[clayof2day]

Well the actual temp of your fermentations is going to be above the ambient temp. As the yeasties are working they will be generating metabolic heat, I think some suggest that it can be upwards of 3-4*F above ambient. I think you should be OK. You may want to pitch at room temp. and once you start to see postive pressure in your airlock move to your cooler. Don't know how well that would work, though.

Give it a shot and let us know how it goes. If it does work, you'll get a really clean ale. The range varies from strain to strain too. For instance a Kolsch yeast would be very happy at that temp.

Matt

 

[coyotlgw]

Give it a shot and let us know how it goes. If it does work, you'll get a really clean ale. The range varies from strain to strain too.

This will be my first brew ever, so I don't want to risk failing right out of the gate...

 

[WOP31]

I agree about pitching at room temp and allowing the yeast to kick off. I would also suggest to try and slowly lower the temp of the wort. Do you have a closet or somewhere that you can stick your primary, that stays at or below 70? You can test different spots by filling it with water and leaving it in different places to see what the temp is. The only problem I see with fermenting around 60 is it might take a little longer.

Cheers

 

[Drunk Monkey]

You could try hooking up an external temperature controller. You could get it to higher temps that way.

 

[coyotlgw]

Do you have a closet or somewhere that you can stick your primary, that stays at or below 70?
Cheers

heh... I'm in AZ and my wife has no body fat... I am lucky to get the house down under 80

Good idea though

 

[Evan!]

One of these might work...

It doesn't require a special jack or hookup or anything. You plug the controller into the power outlet, then plug your chiller into the controller, and put the controller's temp probe in the chiller.

 

[casebrew]

I think the yeast choice would be important. Find one that is reccommended for brewing down into the 50's.

I just did a batch with Cal V and had some probs here in San Diego. Here's my thread:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=19698

Maybe next 'winter' I'll remember to use Nottingham.

Here's a page form Palmers book re: dry yeasts:

http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter6-4-1.html

 

[joshpooh]

Fermenting with any ale yeast at 59f will work, but it is not as effective as as temps closer to 70f. I do my brewing/fermenting in a basement and I find that the colder the temperature when fermenting ales the more sediment in the bottom of the fermentor, and therefore you lose more beer. my problem is sometimes it is too cold for ales and too warm for lagers down there so I either live with it or carry everything upstairs. The beer you do get however is excellent. Windsor yeast isn't too bad for fermenting at cooler temps, but you might think about getting some Rogue pacman yeast b/c it is optimum at 60f so it should be perfect for your situation. I have never tried this yeast however, so I can't say for sure but it sounds like it would work well.

 

[Drunk Monkey]

I have a chest freezer set to 60 (58-61 range) and Pacman worked great. Problem with the Pacman is that it isn't sold anymore, or at least isn't produced.

 

[McCall St. Brewer]

Use German Ale Yeast (Wyeast 1007), or Kolsch yeast (Wyeast 2565). They both will ferment well at 59 F.

Also, steam beer yeast would be a good choice (Wyeast California Lager).

My beers all ferment in the high 50's in the winter and do very well. They may take a little longer, but the results are excellent.

 

[Monk]

Pitch two packets of nottingham into ~70F wort. Leave it for about 6 hours and then put it in your fridge at 60F. It will take a while to drop the temp, and in the meantime, most of the fermentation will happen in the 67F range. This works fine for me. I've never had problems. If you pitch a really good amount of yeast and give it a head start, it'll heat the wort up as the fridge is cooling it down. You'll keep it about even that way.

Good luck!

Cheers,
monk

 

[Bugeaterbrewing]

Regarding the "recommended" temperature range for yeast. These temps are higher than what the actual range at which the yeast will work. The liquid yeast packages (either the White Labs vials or Wyeast smack packs) contain only about half the yeast you need for optimal fermentation of 5 gallons of beer. The recommended temperature range will give you a quick start in spite of underpitching your yeast (which is what you are doing when not using a starter). The recommended temperatures will not give you optimum flavor in the finished product.

What you need to do is make a starter with about 2 quarts (liters) of wort of about 1.040 gravity and let the yeast ferment that out. This takes 24 -36 hours. At the end of that time, stick the starter in the fridge and let the yeast drop to the bottom of the container. Drain off the clear "beer" leaving just enough to cover the yeast. Swirl the container around to get the yeast into suspension and pitch that into your beer. This method will work fine for most beers to ferment them in the upper 50° to low 60° range. You will get much cleaner flavors in your beer by fermenting low.

As a rule of thumb, ferment your beer at or below the lowest minimum recommended temperature for your yeast. Your beer will be better for it.

For a great resource on yeast and starters, check out www.mrmalty.com.

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company