First Brew: Fermentation Temperature Fluctuation Problem

[SleepwalkRisk]

SO and I started our first brew on Sunday. We used the BB Pumpkin Spice Porter kit, as we figured a kit will be the best way for us to go for our first few tries. Everything went to plan, with exception that we forgot to check the OG. Now here's the problem...

We couldn't get the freezer chamber set up until today, so the past few days it's been sitting where we thought the temp would be fine. Unfortunately, it got up to 75 at one point, so after researching, we learned about the water bath and t-shirt. Got it down to a good 66 overnight. (BB Kit instructions say to keep it between 64-72.)

Yesterday was supposed to be hot, so we swapped out the ice bottles for a couple fresh ones. The weather ended up being cool and when he got home, it was down to 58! We removed the t-shirt and ice, got it back to 64 where it has stayed steady since, but there is little to no bubbling activity in the airlock.

Are we screwed from these fluctuations? Is this batch done-for?

 

[eastoak]

it's not screwed because of the temp fluctuations, it could be for other reasons, but not from that. the ideal is to ferment at the best temperature range for the yeast without 10 degree fluctuations but if it happens and you are not up in the 80-90 degree range (and it's not a saison yeast) you will be ok.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Relax and let it sit for at least 2 weeks...likely with the higher temps your ferment went fast and furious and I would guess it is very close to, or done fermenting.

At this point the temperature is not that critical as the bulk of fermentation is over...best of luck w/ batch 1.

 

[Homercidal]

75 isn't ideal, but it's not generally a dealbreaker either. The wild swings probably caused the yeast some minor issues, but likely the majority of the ferment was already done by then, so it's probably not a consideration.

Stay calm and let it do it's thing for a week or so. You can rack to secondary if you wish and if the instructions for that kit calls for it, or just let it clear a week or so extra before bottling. I'm betting that your beer will be just fine. Good job to know that temperature is a key element to brewing good beer and actually doing something to help it.

 

[SleepwalkRisk]

it's not screwed because of the temp fluctuations, it could be for other reasons, but not from that. the ideal is to ferment at the best temperature range for the yeast without 10 degree fluctuations but if it happens and you are not up in the 80-90 degree range (and it's not a saison yeast) you will be ok.

Thank you! We're hoping nothing else went awry, but I'm sure we will know when we taste test before bottling.

Relax and let it sit for at least 2 weeks...likely with the higher temps your ferment went fast and furious and I would guess it is very close to, or done fermenting.

At this point the temperature is not that critical as the bulk of fermentation is over...best of luck w/ batch 1.

Thanks! I will let it sit for at least another week, then start testing the gravity.

75 isn't ideal, but it's not generally a dealbreaker either. The wild swings probably caused the yeast some minor issues, but likely the majority of the ferment was already done by then, so it's probably not a consideration.

Stay calm and let it do it's thing for a week or so. You can rack to secondary if you wish and if the instructions for that kit calls for it, or just let it clear a week or so extra before bottling. I'm betting that your beer will be just fine. Good job to know that temperature is a key element to brewing good beer and actually doing something to help it.

The instructions do say to rack to secondary, but I know a lot of people don't. Because of the temp fluctuations, is it better to rack to secondary?

Thank you for the kind words!

 

[winvarin]

You're likely to see a lot of argument over racking to secondary. Personally, I only rack to secondary if I am dry hopping or adding fruit. Otherwise, the bulk of beers I make use either California ale yeast or one of a couple of British strains. For the most part, with temp control, I am through the bulk of active fermentation in les than a week. I give it a second week in primary at a slightly higher temperature (3-4 F above my ferment temp). This seems to promote the yeast cleaning up any fermentation by products like acetaldehyde and diacetyl.

Some people agree. Some go longer. Others rack to secondary as soon as they see an end to active fermentation. There are multiple factors that come into play and you have to dial in what produces the best results in your brewery.

As for the temperature swings, the only one I would really be concerned about (depending on the yeast you used) is the spike to 75f. If this happened during the first 3-4 days, your yeast MAY have thrown some off flavors and aromas.

I would take a gravity reading. If you are at your FG and the beer smells like butter or green apples, I would warm it 3-4 degrees and smell/taste it again in a few days to see if the yeast cleaned any of that up.

You might also consider making a small starter if you have the ability. A liter or so should do it. Make the starter and pitch some yeast into it. When the starter reaches high krausen, transfer your beer into the secondary and add the small starter to it. If you have any off flavors or aromas from the yeast stress, this new charge of actively fermenting yeast might be able to scrub some of it out.

 

[eastoak]

The instructions do say to rack to secondary, but I know a lot of people don't. Because of the temp fluctuations, is it better to rack to secondary?

Thank you for the kind words!

if you chucked the instructions in the garbage you'd never be sorry about it. i like my beer to go from the (mostly) O2 free environment of the fermentor to my CO2 flushed kegs. O2 will speed a beer's path to ruin.

 

[SleepwalkRisk]

We opened it up on days 7 & 8, where it was at it's FG. Looks fine, smells fine, tastes fine. Should we still let it sit for another week or so?

 

[Homercidal]

What are the instructions on the pumpkin? If you do not need to add anything you could simply let it sit a bit more in the primary to clear out, or you could rack to secondary if the instructions call for racking onto pumpkin. (I'm sorry, I've never done a pumpkin beer, especially a kit...)

The thing about secondary is (for me):

They are not "necessary" in general, unless you are talking longer than like 4-6 weeks. Usually for me that's a big beer, or a lager.
They don't' really "hurt" anything either if you use good sanitary practice.
They are nice when you really want to use the primary right away again (and if so, consider buying another bucket, they are cheap!)
I usually skip the secondary, but I also keg, so my secondary is often just a keg. If I bottled, I'd probably secondary most beers.

If you are not used to racking carefully and avoiding the sediment, I recommend a secondary. It would be fine to do that now. If you do not want to do a secondary, understand that even a little movement in the primary can stir up a bunch of stuff. You may want to move it to wherever you are going want it to be when you siphon into the bottling bucket so you can avoid any bumping.

There really isn't a wrong answer here. But since the beer is still pretty young, I'd probably do a secondary and help it settle out some more and you get to practice racking and hopefully also avoid the possibility of stirring up the yeast caused by moving it in the primary.

The OTHER option is to (if you are REALLY sure the gravity is correct for "finished beer"), siphon to the bottling bucket and bottle it up! I wouldn't do that personally, because I've been brewing for a while and am in no hurry, but I know what it was like to brew a first batch! You want it ready NOW so you can see how good you did. If it's safe to bottle you can. I'd probably wait a week or more depending on my schedule, and let it settle down a bit more.

 

[SleepwalkRisk]

Instructions said to ferment for 7 days, then bottle or move to secondary if you want. We don't want to secondary, so it's either sit for another week to clear out or bottle. Thanks!

 

[bethebrew]

if you chucked the instructions in the garbage you'd never be sorry about it. i like my beer to go from the (mostly) O2 free environment of the fermentor to my CO2 flushed kegs. O2 will speed a beer's path to ruin.

Do your secondary in the bottle. CO2 flushed kegs have sped many a beer's path to ruin.

Bottle conditioning FTW OP!