Extended Primary - Temperature

[gobluedc]

After reading all 25 pages of the thread below, I've decided to try out an extended primary (4 weeks) for my next few batches to see if I notice any differences.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/secondary-not-john-palmer-jamil-zainasheff-weigh-176837/

I have a question that doesn't appear to have been addressed in the thread, and I can't find anything after searching...any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I brew in an urban condo and don't have access to a basement or any other colder storage option. My stabilized fermentation temp has typically been around 72F (temps have gone up to 74-78 during peak fermentation). From just reading through threads, it seems as though most people are able to ferment at cooler temps in the 60's.

I've also read about swamp buckets and the wet towel/fan method, but I felt like they might have been unnecessary since I was fermenting within the recommended temp ranges (albeit on the high side) for the yeasts I used (WY3787, S-04).

Should I be worried about or rethink the extended primary method given the relatively high temperatures I have to work with?

Thanks for your help!

 

[HexKrak]

As long as you're within the recommended temp range for your yeast I wouldn't worry about it. For US-05 I'll keep my ferment on the low side of the temp range during primary fermentation, then let it climb up to the high side for the last week or two, and it seems to work out very well.

 

[hoppymonkey]

If you keep at least the most vigourous portion of the fermentation in the those lower temps( even 68-70) I think you will end up with a better beer. However if have been enjoying what you make already make and don't want the extra work then screw it.

 

[mthelm85]

If you keep at least the most vigourous portion of the fermentation in the those lower temps( even 68-70) I think you will end up with a better beer. However if have been enjoying what you make already make and don't want the extra work then screw it.

+1 to that

Depending on the style of beer, you will generally want to keep fermentation temperatures towards the lower end of the range at least until the most active stage of fermentation is complete. Once the krausen dissipates I would actually recommend that you let temperatures rise towards the high end of the range for your particular yeast to make sure it fully attenuates. Once you've reached your expected FG and you're sure it's not going to fall any more, you don't need to be as worried about the temperature.

That's not to say that you can totally disregard it at that point, it's just much less likely that you will get off flavors from the yeast during the aging/maturing phase.

 

[gobluedc]

Guys, thanks for the input. I'll give the towel/fan thing a shot first. I hope that will bring the temps down at least a few degrees...from what I've read, large bins and ice seems to be more effective, but storage space is a little hard to come by.