Fermentation Temp Problem--too high?

[Shermanati]

I brewed a Brewer's Best Wit on Saturday and pitched at 70 degrees at around 4:30 p.m. I just got home from a party and it's Sunday at 4:00 a.m. and my fermentation stopped going. It initially did start and on Sunday morning, the airlock was bubbling at a nice clip. The temperature in the house (A.C. was not on) rose and the wort got up to about 81 degrees (temp on the LCD thermometer). Is this a big problem? I moved the wort to the basement (off the floor) where the ambient temp is more like 66 degrees. Will the yeast come alive again or did I kill it? If I killed it, should I re-pitch? Any insight is appreciated.

 

[thezepster]

you didnt kill the yeast, but 81 is high. Raising the temp will only activate the yeast more (to a certain degree) but it will create some off-flavors. Leave it where it is at 66 degress and you should be fine. I guarantee those yeast arent done.

 

[jsweet]

Also, search this site for "airlock is not an indicator of fermentation". There's a million and one reasons it could have stopped bubbling.

 

[unionrdr]

I think the lower temp will help the yeast wake up & get going again. Had that happen to me the first time. Got the temp down,gently swirled the yeast off the bottom to help rouse them into action.
Just give'em time to get going,then let them finish & clean up their mess.

 

[Shermanati]

Whew! Thanks, folks. The temp is down lower, but only around 71. Hopefully that is enough to get things moving again. Unionrdr: Did you pop to top and stir with a sanitized spoon? Or did you just shake it up a bit?

 

[BeerJorge]

The drop in temperature from 80 to 66 F is steep, and that's more than likely the reason why your airlock isn't bubbling...

That doesn't necessarily mean fermentation is done, but to make sure take a gravity reading over the next couple of days...

Here's two videos that explain this in more detail...

No Airlock Bubbles

Fermentation temperature control

 

[unionrdr]

Neither. You don't want to shake or stir violently,as o2 will get into the fermenting beer & ruin it. Just move the firmenter on edge,& move it so the beer gently swirls around inside a bit. Once you see the yeast getting stirred up a little,you're good.

 

[Yooper]

At 80 degrees, the yeast would go crazy and finish up fast. It's not uncommon for a "hot" ferment to finish in less than 24 hours.

The beer is finished, or nearly so! Please don't shake/swirl/agitate. You'll risk oxidizing the beer. No swirling!

 

[beng]

Next time ferment in the basement!

If you keep the fermenter sealed it shouldn't risk oxidation(during moving), after all it is filled with Co2, shouldn't be any oxygen left.

 

[Shermanati]

Okay, I took a hydrometer reading. OG was 1.049 (upper limit of what the instructions said, so that's good). This reading came in at 1.040. So, the ferm stalled or something. Any thoughts on whether or not I can restart it? Should I get a yeast starter going and pitch it?

 

[ThePearsonFam]

Again, it probably isn't stalled out, it's just that the temp was lowered enough to cause more CO2 to go into solution, thereby reducing airlock activity. Nothing to worry about unless it goes on for days without the gravity reading getting lower (note gravity reading, not airlock activity).

 

[beerkrump]

Leave it be.

This weekend, take a hydrometer reading. If you are still at 1.040, you will have issues.

My guess is that you have stressed the yeast colony and it will just take a little time to get acclimated before it finishes out fermentation.

 

[HexKrak]

Check it in 2 days, if it hasn't dropped then start troubleshooting. It's still too early to worry, relax and have a beer.

 

[edie]

it'll be fine. the one time i felt it necesary to move the primary (we use 6.5gal bckts) i simply lifted it by the handle and turned my wrist back and forth 1 time and set it right back down. don't know if it did any good but didn't hurt it.

we've brewed the BB wit, give it a good 3 weeks in primary - it's gonna be good!!

 

[Shermanati]

You guys are awesome. I really appreciate your information. I'll chill out and have a beer. Or 4. There's a great bar in Scranton that has $10 buckets of fine micros (4 per bucket). That should get my mind off my basement laboratory. HAHA!

 

[Shermanati]

UPDATE: Great news! My hydrometer reading was at 1.018 down from an OG of 1.049! You guys were totally right. I'm letting this baby continue to run out because I'm still not in my FG range. I sampled the beer after I took a SG reading and it tasted great. No real off-flavors. I was also told that the temp of my wort was probably not the 81 degrees that the LCD thermometer read because it takes room temp into account. Made sense to me. It also wasn't at that temp for more than a few hours. Overall, next time I will relax and have a homebrew and stick to SG readings to determine fermentation activity.