First timer temp question

[Lurch86]

This is my first brew ever. I have been studying the awesome posts here and decided to take the plunge. I decided to do NB's Dead Ringer IPA extract w/ specialty grains. The boil went well. I did a late extract addition and added whirlfloc. I sanitized the crap out of everything several times. The recipe called for an OG of 1.064 and I ended up with 1.066 which I was very happy to see. I pitched the yeast (wyeast 1272) at a temp of 77. I put my fermenter in my climate controlled storage area and just checked on it 24 hours post boil and the temp is now 61 degrees. I know it's in the temp zone for this yeast (60-72). Fermentation has started based off the bubbles in my airlock.

Basically I'm wondering if I should try to bring the temp up a bit or let the fermentation bring up the temp?

I know the RDWGAHB mantra but can't help but worry.

 

[eric19312]

[edited I didn't see your yeast named first read]

That temp sounds a little low but probably ok for starting out. Better too cool than too warm though.

In about 2 days while fermentation is still going strong you might move to warmer location to make sure it finishes up.

 

[McKnuckle]

Internet wisdom seems to believe that low 60s is best for 1272. Are you reading 61F in the ambient air or from a fermometer strip on the fermenter? If it's an ambient reading, I'd leave the temp alone or raise it no higher than 62F. If 61F is on the fermenter, I'd try to get that up to about 63F so it's closer to the "sweet spot."

But... don't WORRY; it's not going to be a problem as long as fermentation is underway now. After about 2-3 days, you can safely warm it up to 68F or so to ensure that fermentation completes. You are not going to kill the yeast (that's the usual paranoia ). Ain't gonna happen.

 

[Yesfan]

He pitched at 77, not 61. 61 is where it's at a day later.

I've not used 1272, so I don't know what the top end range of that yeast is, but 77 seems a tad high, but nothing to be concerned about. When I first made this beer, I pitched my yeast at 75F and it turned out to be one of my best beers. The Dead Ringer is probably my favorite IPA I've made (made it about four different times). You're still going to make a killer beer, so don't fret too much and let it ride where it's at.

Instead of pitching your yeast once the wort hits the mid 70s, next time pitch at a lower temp like the mid 60s. I know sometimes you can't chill the wort that low with a chiller. What I do is chill as close as I can, then just cap off my carboy with a solid stopper, place in the fermentation chamber, and let it continue to chill to my target temp on its. Once there, I then pitch the yeast, replace the solid stopper with drilled one with airlock.

 

[McKnuckle]

He pitched at 77, not 61. 61 is where it's at a day later.

Yes, that was very clear. But it doesn't matter now; what matters is dealing with the current fermentation temp. At least the temp came down from 77 to 61 fairly quickly.

 

[Lurch86]

Thank you for the input. The temp I am reading is from the strip thermometer that's on my fermenter bucket. I'm going to see what I can do to bring it up a few degrees so it's about 63 as suggested. I'm not sure how accurate these strip thermometers are but that's all I have to go by for now.

On average how much temp increase do you see from the fermentation itself? Not by adjusting the ambient temp. I've read on here anywhere from 2-3 degrees up to 10.

 

[bigdaddybrew]

Sounds like you have a nice cool place to ferment. Leave it alone. Active fermentation will warm it up and then you'll be asking advice on how to cool it down. I see a 5 to 8 degrees above ambient room temp when the yeast really gets going.

 

[Lurch86]

So I just checked it and it's holding steady at 61 degrees. I didn't have time today to get out there and figure out a way to heat it up only a few degrees so I'm just going to wait it out and see how it goes. It's bubbling away so I am not super worried about it at this point. Hopefully I see it raise a couple degrees in the next couple days so the yeast stay active.

At what point should I really consider raising the temp to the upper 60s to keep the yeast active and make sure
I get the Final Gravity I'm looking for?
Or does it not really matter?
Will the yeast just take longer time at a lower temp?

So many questions!!! All about a single cell organism that makes alcohol. The things we do for a decent buzz.

 

[bigdaddybrew]

I notice that as fermentation picks up so does the temp. Then as fermentation slows the temp begins to drop this is when I move the fermenter to a warmer spot. For many yeasts this is just a few days into active fermentation but it depends on the yeast.

 

[mongoose33]

Where's your fermenter? Is it sitting on a concrete floor in a basement? If so, that concrete is drawing off heat, in addition to what is probably a fairly low ambient temperature.

If any of the above is true, you might try lifting the fermenter off the floor, either sitting it on 2x4s or some such, or put it on a chair, or whatever.

That would raise the temp all by itself.

My own situation is that I ferment in a basement; when fermentation is done, the fermometer strip reads 64 degrees F. When fermenting, it gets up to about 68-69.

One thing I believe affects this is I put a cardboard box over the fermenter to keep light away from the beer; I'm sure it creates an atmosphere of slightly warmer ambient air temp.

Currently I'm trying to bring that fermentation temp down a bit, closer to 64. I set the fermenter in a shallow pan, filled with water. The theory is the pan of water will connect better to the concrete floor and draw off more heat.

 

[Lurch86]

UPDATE: 48+ hours post boil and the temp is at 66! It's bubbling like crazy so the little yeasties are happy. I'll wait to see if the temp goes back down in a couple of days. If so I'll have to regroup and see what my best course of action is. Most likely bringing it up to the the guest room closet. That would really make the wife happy! ��

As for where it is currently. Currently my fermenter is in my outside storage unit that is climate controlled (Has a vent controlled by the thermostat in the house). It is in my daughters small kiddie pool just incase it blows off. Inside the pool it is sitting on top of three plastic shoe boxes that I acquired from my wife, don't tell her. My initial thought was the temp would be to high so I wanted somewhere to setup a swamp cooler if I needed it. Turns out I haven't needed to worry about a swamp cooler.