Fermentation chamber question

[Hayden512]

Hey all, just wondering what you guys initially set your temp at for the first few days of fermentation and how long you leave it at. I have a stout fermenting with notty that I've got set at 60oF right now. Was planning on turning it up to 65oF after 3 days. Should I be setting it even lower during initial fermentation or is this alright?

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Low 60's is good for Notty. Rather than picking a set number of days I usually wait until the krausen is just starting to drop a bit and then I bump the temp up a few degrees to let it finish.

 

[tjosborne]

You should be good there or a bit higher, but no lower unless it's a lager.

 

[Hayden512]

How about for 05? I know fermentation temp can raise up to 10 degrees initially so should I set if I'm aiming for the middle mark at 65 should I set it at 55 until the krausen starts to fall?

 

[FatDragon]

How about for 05? I know fermentation temp can raise up to 10 degrees initially so should I set if I'm aiming for the middle mark at 65 should I set it at 55 until the krausen starts to fall?

How are you controlling and measuring your temperature?

If your controller has a temperature probe, you can tape it to the side of the fermenter and cover it with some kind of insulating material so the controller is reacting to the temperature of the fermenting wort rather than simply the ambient temperature around the fermenter, so you can set it to your target fermentation temp or just a smidge lower to correct for the probe imperfectly measuring the wort temp by way of not being in the wort.

If you're controlling with a built-in thermostat without a user-accessible probe, I would set it closer to 60. If you start an ale ferment at 60 and keep the ambient temp set to 60, the beer's not likely to ferment hard enough to reach temps much above 65.

The warmer the ferment, the faster the exothermic reactions that heat up a fermenting beer will go, so a beer in a 60 degree chamber may heat up to 65 at its peak, while a beer in a 75 degree chamber may reach 85 at its peak because it's producing more heat in the wort. The latter beer will also finish much faster and with far more off flavor compounds and fusel alcohol chains caused by the higher temperature.

 

[Hayden512]

I have a probe taped onto the side of my carboy. Thanks for the advice!

 

[FatDragon]

I have a probe taped onto the side of my carboy. Thanks for the advice!

If the probe is insulated against the ambient temperature, I would set the temp to about 63. If not, probably 60-61.

 

[Hayden512]

It is not. I was going to run out and grab bubble wrap or something tomorrow. Without the insulation should I still raise the temp to ~65 after initial fermentation?

 

[FatDragon]

It is not. I was going to run out and grab bubble wrap or something tomorrow. Without the insulation should I still raise the temp to ~65 after initial fermentation?

The efficacy and importance of raising temperatures partway through fermentation is debatable. Many people do it and swear by it; many people don't do it and still make great beer. I do it sometimes and skip it sometimes and I couldn't really tell you whether or not it makes a difference.

I'd probably recommend a temperature rise for a beer that's supposed to finish pretty dry since the theory behind a late temperature bump (or progressive rise) is that it keeps the yeast active a bit longer so they can ferment out another couple points before kicking it. Whether or not that actually happens as described will depend on the wort, the yeast, temperature, and the timetable of your temperature raises, but, at the very least, using this method in a brew that's supposed to finish dry is proper application of your techniques to your desired results.

 

[RM-MN]

Nottingham will ferment very clean from the mid 50's to low 60's. If you start it at 55 it will take a long time to ferment out, at 60 it will go much quicker. Controlled at these temps (even just at these ambient temps, not controlled) the termperature rise is surprisingly low, like 3 or 4 degrees. As the control temperature goes up, so does the activity and with that increased activity the uncontrolled temperature will rise much more.

I usually chill the wort to around 55 to 60 degrees and pitch the yeast, setting the fermenter in a 62 ambient temp. The temperature I measure at peak fermentation is usually about 64 degrees. I leave the fermenter there for a week, then bring it out to a 72 degree room where the yeast are encouraged to finish cleanup and settle out. At the end of week 3 or 4 (or more sometimes, I've gone up to 9 weeks) I'll bottle the beer.

 

[mabrungard]

Its best to apply one of those liquid crystal thermometer strips directly to the outside surface of your fermenter so that you can better observe what the vessel's temp is. Many brewers have checked and found that the internal beer temp and the temp at the vessel surface are reasonably close.

 

[Kerrbrewer]

63 deg is great for notty, IME it is too low for 05. I did a blonde ale at 63 with 05 and it had really strong fruitty esters. 67 is where I ferment with 05. Just did a lager with WLP810 San Fran yeast at 59 then up to 68. Pretty clean and tasty, kinda like a steam beer.