Fermentation Temp Screw up.. What now?

[r8rphan]

So yesterday, I brewed EdWort's Haus Pale Ale.. A beer I have brewed several times over the eyars and is always a hit..

LINK TO RECIPE

Everything went 'perfect'.. Nailed the SG and everything.. Transferred to the fermenter, added three packs of nottingham (12.5G in the fermenter) @ 68F, and then cleaned up and went inside and forgot about it...

A few hours later, I went out to the porch to check on it, and realized that the fermenter had been set to 15 degrees celsius (59 degrees F).. I thought I had reset it to 20C, but I guess I forgot to hit the power button to confirm the change...

Anyways, the fridge uses a 100w light bulb on the heat side and it takes a long time to heat the wort up for major changes.. Took all night in fact... Checked again at midnight (3 or 4 hours later) and it was only up to 17.4C

This morning, I went out and looked, and it is up to temp.. No airlock activity, but it's possible I didn't have the top on the speidel sealed properly.. But I can smell the ferment inside the fridge.. There was some positive pressure in the hose leading into the sanitizing water in the mason jar I use for an airlock, almost all the way to the bottom, but not moving..

This is concerning as I know Notty is a very fast aggressive yeast.. But it usually goes pretty crazy for most of a day before it starts to calm down...

It's only been 17 hours since I pitched the yeast.. I opened the top and here looks to be a faint krausen ring about a half inch (maybe less) above the beer..

Is it possible that it is through fermenting? If so, this means it fermented at a low temp, probably mostly happening in the 60-68F range, with the temp rising through the whole process over several hours..

If it is indeed through fermenting, what can I expect? Unfinished ferment? Odd taste? What?

Gonna take a sample later today, to see what is up in as far as progress...

But will starting a ferment that cold cause problems? I have done it a couple degrees before, but this was actually outside of the ferment temps for ale (just barely).. If it does, is there any way to 'fix it?'

Kinda pissed right now..

 

[triethylborane]

59f? That is within nottingham's temp range. If you smell fermentation, I wouldn't worry and look forward to a very clean beer thanks to the lower temps. 17hrs is probably too soon for hitting your fg, but take a sample after a few days and check.

 

[chickypad]

Agreed, I highly doubt it fermented out in 17 hrs but either way leave it be a bit. As mentioned 59* is not out of Notty's range and 20 celsius may even be a bit hot for it. I never ferment it over about 63-64* F myself.

 

[r8rphan]

59f? That is within nottingham's temp range. If you smell fermentation, I wouldn't worry and look forward to a very clean beer thanks to the lower temps. 17hrs is probably too soon for hitting your fg, but take a sample after a few days and check.

I should have said through primarying rather than fermenting, I guess..

But basically, Was talking about to the point of having the Krausen already fall..

Seems like the stage of initial evidence of ferment, to krausen fall would have had to take place between midnight and 8AM...

Is that possible, and still get a full ferment out of it? Seems 'way' to short and is acting more like the batches I brewed that failed ferment a couple months ago (but that was due to old grain with a lot of unfermentables in the wort)

This beer has always been brain dead simple for me, almost fail proof, but it's not acting like previous times..

That being said, this is the first time I have used Notty with injected oxygen and yeast nutrient, so 'maybe' it just went nuts with that and is now in secondary already???

 

[ChelisHubby]

Patients and do a gravity check in a week!

 

[r8rphan]

Patients and do a gravity check in a week!

"If I had any patience, I could have been a doctor"
~Groucho Marx


Well, inbetween the first post and the second, I went out and rocked the fermenter some..

Just went and checked again, and now the mason jar is bubbling away like a motor boat...

So I guess it's just now going into the aggressive primary stage (is there a term for that?)

All appears to be well.. I think the beer just wanted to make an ass out of me.. LOL

Breathing sigh of relief.. I need this beer for a party I want to throw in honor of my becoming elderly! LMAO

 

[ChelisHubby]

Congrats on becoming elderly! by the way what is the qualifications for that?

 

[kh54s10]

The 59F start was a tiny bit on the low side so it might have slowed fermentation a little bit. 17 hours is about a day and a half too early for any concern at all.

You have fermentation started as evidenced by the krausen.

Leave this alone in the mid sixties Fahrenheit for about 10 days, then, maybe, start taking readings. I go at least 14 days.

 

[r8rphan]

Congrats on becoming elderly! by the way what is the qualifications for that?

Well, middle age ends with the fifties, and what they call the 'golden age' (I think that has to do with what you need to pay for all the health issues) begins with the sixties..

I've never had a birthday party, figuring this might be my last chance while I can still walk.. lol

 

[r8rphan]

The 59F start was a tiny bit on the low side so it might have slowed fermentation a little bit. 17 hours is about a day and a half too early for any concern at all.

You have fermentation started as evidenced by the krausen.

Leave this alone in the mid sixties Fahrenheit for about 10 days, then, maybe, start taking readings. I go at least 14 days.

Previous times I've brewed this, Primary is pretty much done in 24 hours.. (other dry yeasts I have used seem to take 60-72 hours to get to the same point) That's why I was alarmed that nothing was going on after 17 hours and the only thing I could think of was the cold temp..

I think the low temp just delayed the start, and my rocking the fermenter got things to take off...

This beer 'should' be ready to keg in 7-10 days, if the recipe and past experience is any indicator..

Planning to leave it on the yeast for 14 days, with the last three being cold crash (providing that samples verify).. Then a week to carbonate, should get this beer done 'just in time' for the party on the 29th (couple weeks after the day I officially become 'old')

 

[Smellyglove]

You had a mishap where you went from low to target temp, instead of warm to target temp. What you can expect? A pretty clean tasting beer. Nottingham is a forgiving strain, almost like 05. A hefty krausen is often due to temperature combined with strain. Lagers do ferment fully, without a big krausen. don't worry about visual signs, take a reading. You most probably have nothing at all to worry about.

 

[r8rphan]

You had a mishap where you went from low to target temp, instead of warm to target temp. What you can expect? A pretty clean tasting beer. Nottingham is a forgiving strain, almost like 05. A hefty krausen is often due to temperature combined with strain. Lagers do ferment fully, without a big krausen. don't worry about visual signs, take a reading. You most probably have nothing at all to worry about.

Yeah, I'm pretty happy with the way it's acting now... I just delayed it, is all...

BTW, LMAO @ your user name!