Fermentation area to cold?

[Pohljm]

So I have my first batch of brew ever now primary fermenting in our basement and I think it may be to cold. This is Brewers Best IPA. When I first placed it in the basement after 24 hours the airlock was pretty active and the temp on the fermenter was 63 degrees. Seemed to be working well so far..........fast forward another day or so and airlock activity has slowed and fermenter temp is 61 degrees.

I decide to check temp in basement and its about 56 degree. Ooops I think that may be the problem. Most I have read say keep between 65 and 72 Well I guess the fermenter temp was higher because of the activity! Doh. Well I have a small heater in there nearby and the temp in the basement is now 64 derees or so and the fermenter temp is now about 64 as well. the airlock activity seems to have picked up but its not like it was earlier when it was at 64 initially. will this recover or do I need to do anything to help it along?

 

[kevinjo23]

hey pohl welcome

I've got my first brew fermenting as well. Here is my one experience...

I have been fermenting at ~61deg for 7 days now...and the SG has fell as it was supposed to. The first 24 hours was crazy with bubbles but at the 36 hour mark there was little sign of activity, so I popped the lid to find the brew bubbling like crazy. Just because the airlock isn't bubbling doesn't mean that fermentation isn't happening. 56 deg might be a tad too low, but, I bet you are close to complete with your fermentation. Check the SG and see what it reads.

 

[pkeeler]

What yeast did you use? Some yeasts love those temps, some don't. If you used generic yeast from a kit, it is hard to know for sure. If you don't know the specific yeast (and can look it up and see its temp. range), then you might want to bring it up to 68-70.

 

[BrewBoy19]

Never trust the airlock or use it as a sign of fermentation. I made the same mistake. Measuring with a hydrometer is the only accurate way to tell if fermentation is going. I would suggest buying a heater blanket for your bucket from your LHBS(local home brew store). It will still ferment in the cold it will just go slow and not as well as it should.

 

[jonmohno]

depending weather you have a bucket or a glass carboy, you can tell by looking. thats why i like my glass.But if the yeast is below the temps on the type u used thats when they go dormant.keep them at theyre temps and they will make beer.airlocks are good for keeping air out and too much co2 out not always a sign of thriving yeast.foam on top and a yeast cake after a some days are very good signs if you have glass. in fact im not even gonna take a hydro after 3 weeks if i see this.
if you have to revive them try a heating pad for an hour but keep your eye on the temp and wrapp them in an insulator like fleece thats what mine seem to like. but keep it withing the temps thereafter.gO 3 Weeks and bottle 3 unless its high alchohol or a dark beer.then go longer.

 

[Pohljm]

Thanks for the reply's, Unfortunately I am not completely sure of the yeast. It was in the brewers best IPA kit i used. It was a dry yeast. I relocated the fermentor to a little warmer area +/-68 airlocks active, but not like initially. I am not really worried as there seems to be something going on. I will leave for at least 5 days and then take a reading. I was planning on doing a secondary fermentation just to use the carboy, but now i am leaning towards just leaving it in the primary until bottling. There is no harm in leaving it longer than the 5-7 days in the instructions is there? I mean within reason. The reason I am asking is that although I took a OG reading of the wort prior to fermenting like a noob i did not record the temperature at that time. So I am not sure how accurate my readings can be.

 

[Frodo]

Definitely fine to leave in the primary for well more than 5-7 days; 3 to 4 wks you'll be fine. Ideally don't open the lid much though. There will be a blanket of CO2 sitting on top of the beer, but when you open the lid it can disturb the blanket and it can dissipate, allowing air to take it's place in the fermenter. Then oxidation can take place. It's fine to check it, just don't go crazy.

 

[Hannable1975]

I have made the same kit in the past - folks loved it. Mine came with Nottingham, , but due to some of the issues posted here and in my own experience, I pitched US05 with mine the last time. That said, both times this was a "quick" worker - I guess the engineering of the recipe is just a sweet treat for yeasties. But do yourself a favor and use a hydrometer. Airlocks are cool to watch and fun to listen to as you go to sleep, but are not indicative of the true fermentation ending of your beer. When gravity is moving, things are still working. But when you level out, then you know it is over.

So far as your initial question, I think your temp should be OK. I sat mine is a swamp cooler each time and changed the ice out ( 5 MT Dew bottles of ice ) three times a day.

 

[jonmohno]

so a question i have is would it be a bad idea if you dont have an airtight seal to leave it in there for 3-4 weeks say if you took a reading after 2 weeks sealed it back up and left it 1 or two more?
@ Pohljm: do you remember how cool you got the wort, before pitching yeast?sometimes you can tell if you remeber how the outside of the vessel felt. If it was pretty warm it was probably 80+, which i learned not to pitch this high.
Out of the 5 batches i did fermentation activity that was visible was over before a week but keep it in 3.