Fermentation Question - Temp

[floridarunner68]

I brewed a Belgian Ale with a sg. 1.070 with WLP500 Trappist Ale on Sunday. I used pure O2 with a SS air stone for about 90 seconds. I used a blow-off tube for a vigorous fermentation on Monday and Tuesday. I went back to an airlock yesterday. I turned down the A/C to 73 degrees during this time. I usually keep my house at 75/76 degrees. When will it be ok to bring it back to 75 degrees? I've never worried about temperature before, but I spent a lot of money on this one using 4 different hops and 11 lbs of extract. I live in the Tampa area and there are no basements.

 

[Yooper]

Are you talking about ambient air temperature, or the temperature of the beer? If it's room temperature, even 73 degrees would be high for that yeast.

WLP500 Trappist Ale Yeast
From one of the few remaining Trappist breweries remaining in the world, this yeast produces the distinctive fruitiness and plum characteristics. Excellent yeast for high gravity beers, Belgian ales, dubbels and trippels.
Attenuation: 75-80%
Flocculation: Medium to low
Optimum Fermentation Temperature: 65-72°F
Lower temperatures (under 65) will result in less fruity and more earthy beers.
Alcohol Tolerance: High

Remember that because fermentation is exothermic, the INside of the carboy/bucket could be as much as 8-10 degrees warmer than the air around it. So, if your room was 73, the beer temperature could be 80 degrees.

If you're talking about the wort/beer temperature, it would be ok a little warmer after fermentation is finished. The most crucial temperature time is during fermentation.

 

[floridarunner68]

Room temperature of 73 degrees. I knew the temp range of the yeast. My electric bill is already too high and I wasn't going down any lower. Most of the time the room temp is about 75 degrees when I ferment other beers. I never have a problem that I know. I already have three refrigerators. I am not going to buy another one for fermenting. I'll have 4 beers on tap in a few weeks and then I will either go with the Igloo ice cube design or use a college fridge design. I saw a picture using the college fridge on top of a box. The person cut two holes in the bottom of the fridge and attached it to the top of the box. Does anyone have a link or detailed pictures?

 

[Yooper]

I use an ice cube cooler (by igloo). I made a new top for it out of styrofoam and put water and ice bottles in there. It works great, and was about $20 or so. I've done ales and lagers in there, but we don't really have the temperature extremes you do. I can keep the temp about 10 degrees cooler than ambient, which is perfect for me.

I don't remember seeing pictures of the dorm fridge set up, but that sounds like an awesome idea.

 

[RedOctober]

I like this topic and have a quick question on the subject.

If my basement is a constant 57-60 degrees (and it is), is it safe to assume that most ales will ferment ok?

I know this is not one size fits all, but in most cases is this true?

In other words, can I expect the the primary to be above room tempreture (+5) due to the reaction. If so this works well for me.