First brew, a few questions

[Purki]

Hi all, first post, first brew started 4 days ago .

I got a kit , both hardware and ingredients from my local store. I started off with a Witbier which is listed as "intermediate" . I am a chef as profession so following recipes and and maintaining temps (for steeping) and such was not a problem.

I followed everything the brewing instructions told me but I didn't aerate (dry yeast, instructions said to not hydrate). I also didn't realize how crucial pitching and overall fermenting temps were so I pitched at around 85 degrees and put it in a room without A/C. When I came home from work the next day, the airlock was going off every few seconds and the temps on the side strip read 82f. I started researching more and realized it was WAY too hot so i put the fermenting bucket in the bathtub with ice packs and the temps were down to 68f within 6-7 hours.

Airlock activity completely stopped and has not returned. I cracked the lid like 1/2 inch and it smelled good with a hint of alcohol and minor bubbles on the surface of the wort but no krausen . I got another pack of yeast in case I needed to re-pitch so I came home from work tonight and still no changes so I hydrated the yeast with 4oz of 86f water , left it alone 15 mins with the container covered with plastic wrap , aerated the wort with a paddle (sanitized everything, including counters, the fermenting bucket itself, my hands etc..) then re-pitched.

The strip on the side of the fermenter read 70f at the time of the second pitching.


Could the high pitch temp/"quick" cool down have killed the yeast?

 

[Sadu]

My guess is that its done. When you ferment warm the yeast work faster. 4 days is enough to ferment out a batch even at normal temps and 82 will not kill yeast (you need to be around 100 for that). Yeah, you might have some fruity off flavours going on from the warm ferment, just carry on as planned and they will either go away with time or not.
My advice is to check the gravity with a hydrometer - I bet it is at FG or close. If so, leave it alone another 10 days then bottle. If your gravity is still high, report back for next steps. I don't think you need to pitch fresh yeast here.

 

[tomoncanterbury]

I did the same thing on my first brew and it turned out fine. A little bit fruity but not a banana bomb. It'll be ok. Just leave it alone for now. I put my fermenter in a tub of water with a towel around the fermenter and that keeps it at 68.

 

[65C]

Purki - that part is critical - and first lesson I learned too (I had one of tomoncanterbury's banana brews) - people talk about sanitation, water profile etc. but they are side shows to the ferment temp

I hear the first 72H are most critical

Too hot - you get tropical flavours and often blow outs (they can happen regardless of temp - so always use a blow off tube in first week)

Too cold - slow ferment, but usually no downside other than more time

85F sounds way too hot - I consider too hot to be 68F - it's possibly getting close to killing the yeast

Your brew will be several degrees higher than room for the ferment

I picked up an old fridge which is about 63F at it's lowest setting, I just put the fermenter in there for first 5-7 days

If you do get a brew out of it and it tastes off - all is not lost - I bottled my first tropical one - in a few weeks the off flavours had gone and it tasted good

Give it some time now and see what happens

 

[bolus14]

As others have stated you'll be fine. I would take a hydro sample to see where it's at, if the gravity is still high you may want to raise the temp, move it to a slightly warmer spot in the house, and give it a few days and see if you see any signs of fermentation again. Just remember airlock bubbles don't mean it is fermenting and not seeing them doesn't mean it isn't fermenting, especially if you're using a plastic bucket, air can leak through the lid. Hydro reading is the only sure where to see if it's doing anything.

As for flavor, you made a Wit so getting some fruity esters isn't a bad thing. As you get into brewing more, especially Belgian styles, you'll find that sometimes you want some higher fermentation temps. Typically though, even with Belgian strains, you still want to start out somewhere in the 60's, for ale yeast anyway.

As to what may have happened. Pitching in the 80's is certainly high, but not unheard of, higher temps will usually cause them to ferment quicker but can cause off flavors, fusel alcohol taste, etc. Then, you moved it into an environment in the 60's (20+ degree drop) which can "shock" the yeast and cause them to go dormant.

@65C - 85F sounds way too hot - I consider too hot to be 68F - it's possibly getting close to killing the yeast

As someone else stated 85F will not kill any ale yeast strain that I have ever heard of, I'm far from an expert though. As for 68F being too hot, almost all ale strains are rated to have optimal temps into the low 70's. Many Belgian strains are rated to be fine into upper 70's or low 80's. You can look into WY3711 and WLP644 where people have pushed the strains into the 90's with a lot of success in getting better ester flavor from them, depends on if that's what you want or not though.

In the end this brew will be fine. Make sure you give it time to finish fermenting and for the yeast to clean up though. It may take a couple extra weeks for the flavors to come together because of the high fermentation temp, but I doubt you'll be unhappy.

 

[65C]

the yeast being rated for low 70s is what caught me out - the temp of the ferment was much higher than the room temp so I was at the top end or higher for the yeast - so I thought I was fermenting at low 70s but it was actually higher

when I got the fridge - the whole problem went away but even in UK room temp (for me) is too hot for most ale yeasts to give my desired flavour - I don't like tropical when I'm drinking a beer and I don't have patience to let it rest for months for it to go

interesting that 85F is not too high though - I always worry about pitching at 73F when I've finished the boil and just about to put it in fridge (I've read some people fridge first but I can't wait ...)

 

[azmark]

Yeast LOVE 85F. They have a party! But like any party there may be some spills and smells that linger. We put the yeast into a cold jail cell to make them behave and produce the flavors we want.

 

[Sadu]

If you read the instructions on how to rehydrate yeast the manufacturers recommend a pretty warm temperature, although I don't have the info handy. Pretty sure 85 is a long way from killing the yeast, although way higher than ideal for fermenting at.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

The only way to know for sure is to use a hydrometer and take readings, but in my experience, the "most active phase of fermentation" is generally finished by BrewDay+3, sometimes 4.

If you see little or even "no" air-lock activity, this should not be alarming. A bad seal on a fermenting bucket can be the culprit, or the yeast might simply be almost done, and the residual fermentation is simply too slight to see.