Fermentation getting too cold

[FLhomeBrewer]

I brewed a Pale Ale 4 days ago and am fermenting with US-05. Specs on US-05 say ideally ferment temp range is 59 to 72 F. I use a mini fridge in my garage with a temp controller set to 69. Problem is, Florida just realized it’s winter and overnight temps are now in the 30s! So my barn gets down to about 45 inside and the temp probe in the fridge reads 60. Before this cold snap which started last night the yeast was going crazy and was maintaining a lot of activity for those 4 days. Now I hardly see any activity. Should I try to raise the temp somehow? The next couple weeks here look to be in the 30s and 40s each night. Maybe just let the batch ferment for the full 14 days and check gravity then? I would think the cold just makes the yeast go dormant, will they come back once the temp is increased? Thanks!

 

[day_trippr]

Come down off the ledge, it's going to be ok

Four days of solid fermentation (and especially the highly technical "going crazy" fermentation ) undoubtedly has brought your beer close to its final gravity already. The rest of the time spent in the fermentor will allow the yeast to clean up after themselves if they're allowed.

So...yes, the Spousal Unit was quite dismayed wrt the cold blast down there as it's reaching the Out Islands in the Bahamas and that's not OK with her Subjecting your yeast to that level of cold will likely slow down the clean-up process, so if you could move the fermentor to some warm-ish spot in your home the yeast will continue doing their thing 'til they're spent...

Cheers!

 

[FLhomeBrewer]

Haha thanks for the talk off the ledge!
I’m sure it will be fine just wondering if I’ll need to let it ferment longer or not

 

[Dland]

US-05 does fine at 60F. It might run a little longer at that temp. If you are worried about it, maybe do a hydrometer test, (or even taste it to make sure it is not too sweet.)

 

[day_trippr]

Well...Now that the exothermic throes of fermentation are pretty much done, sans a heat source the interior of that outdoor fridge has nothing to keep it from following the temperature plunge - especially a protracted one as forecast.

I'd move the beer indoors to more yeast-friendly temperatures until Florida gets it together

Cheers!

 

[homebrewer_99]

Florida just realized it’s winter and overnight temps are now in the 30s!

My sister lives in FL. She told me the same thing the other day...I told her I woke up to -1F with a high of 2F for the day.

Take it indoors for a couple of days before taking a reading.

I like US-05 too. Always had a winner-winner beer with it. In fact, it's replaced Notty as my go to yeast...and it's cheaper.

 

[ncbrewer]

Now that most of the fermentation has finished, low to mid 70's would be a good temperature.