But im going to be.....its another did i ruin my batch question. Right before i added the yeast on my first batch there seemed like there was too much foam up top so i panicked and scooped most of it out and then added the yeast and sealed it up, was that a crucial mistake?
Hate to be that guy
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SmokeyMcBong
Well-Known Member
I'm guessing that the foam you saw was from your aeration method. As long as you sanitized whatever you scooped with, you should be fine. There really was no need to remove the foam.
That is as long as you didn't use a foamy soap and not rinse it off well, if that was the case, not much you can do now...
That is as long as you didn't use a foamy soap and not rinse it off well, if that was the case, not much you can do now...
Dont fear the foam.
Once you pitch the yeast in that nice juicy wort that yeast is going to take over out of control kill off most or all of the bacteria that could have entered it in this stage. If youd pitched the yeast at the wrong temps and it took a while to get going that could become more of an issue but Id expect youl be fine otherwise.
Once you pitch the yeast in that nice juicy wort that yeast is going to take over out of control kill off most or all of the bacteria that could have entered it in this stage. If youd pitched the yeast at the wrong temps and it took a while to get going that could become more of an issue but Id expect youl be fine otherwise.
Yeah, you basically didn't hurt or help the beer so it is okay. 80º? What yeast?
I know kit instructions liked to tell me to pitch at 80º but then I started to read about different yeasts and found out that 80ºF was high for a bunch of strains that I use a lot (US-05, S-04, WLP007) so basically I started pushing things down to 65º and turn the fermentation controller to 66º and let it ride.
I know kit instructions liked to tell me to pitch at 80º but then I started to read about different yeasts and found out that 80ºF was high for a bunch of strains that I use a lot (US-05, S-04, WLP007) so basically I started pushing things down to 65º and turn the fermentation controller to 66º and let it ride.
The foam wasn't your problem. Star San leaves a foam residue that's actually beneficial- keeps things sanitized in the meantime, and then when diluted with added wort/beer breaks down into yeast food. Five Star (makers of Star San) were even giving away this shirt at NHC last year. "Don't fear the foam" is the saying.
The problem is that you pitched at 80. That's way too warm. If you can't reasonable chill with an ice bath, invest in a wort chiller.
![20141217_143647[1].jpg](https://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/data/attach/204/204540-20141217-143647-1-.jpg "20141217_143647[1].jpg")
The problem is that you pitched at 80. That's way too warm. If you can't reasonable chill with an ice bath, invest in a wort chiller.
I agree that your pitching temperature is the bigger problem.
But, to lessen your fears about the 80 degrees. If it has not been too long and you get the temperature down ASAP, you might not have much of a problem.
How long since you pitched? Current temperature?
But, to lessen your fears about the 80 degrees. If it has not been too long and you get the temperature down ASAP, you might not have much of a problem.
How long since you pitched? Current temperature?
ndinh
Well-Known Member
Funny, I did the same thing years ago when I use to shake my carboy with starsan to aerate. I got worried and tried to dump out the foam. No biggy and I've pitched various yeasts at 78-80F without issues but then you're kind of gambling at that point.
Don't fear the foam!
You're fine. Get your temp down to target fermenting temp as quickly as possible. Look on your yeast package or go to their website for the optimal temp range for that particular strain.
Pitching as close to your target temp as possible and maintaining that target temp throughout fermentation is probably two of the most significant things you can do in giving your wort the best possible start in becoming a quality beer.
Good luck!
You're fine. Get your temp down to target fermenting temp as quickly as possible. Look on your yeast package or go to their website for the optimal temp range for that particular strain.
Pitching as close to your target temp as possible and maintaining that target temp throughout fermentation is probably two of the most significant things you can do in giving your wort the best possible start in becoming a quality beer.
Good luck!
Pitch a couple degrees below your fermentation temp, allow it rise to fermentation temp after you pitch yeast, and then after fermentation temp allow to rise another couple degrees. That's your best possible bet.
Thanks for all of the help guys...i pitched the yeast at 80 degrees because thats what the instructions that came with my kit said to do, guess I should have done more research. I sealed everything up about 12 hours ago and there is a bubble in the air lock roughly every 4 seconds right now. Is there anything I can do at this point to correct the pitching temperature?
Put it somewhere cooler. You don't want to "shock" the yeast totally, but I would get it somewhere cooler if you can.
If it is just a normal "ale" of some sort, you probably want the fermenting beer to be in the mid to upper 60's if you can. What kind of beer/type of yeast?What are you using for a fermenter, and what is the coolest spot in your house?
The yeast was wyeast American ale #1056 and the beer is autumn amber ale. Right now it's in a plastic bucket but I do have a glass carboy that the instructions said to transfer to for the secondary. The coolest place besides my garage is probably my kitchen pantry which is where it is at right now. I just wrapped a wet towel around it in hopes to help lower the temp.
Cool - so far, you have done the things you could to cool it down. 1056 yeast likes mid to upper 60's - that is beer temp, not room temp. Fermenting beer is usually around 4-6 degrees warmer than the room it is in. You can probably "get away with 70-72-74..... over that and you start to run the risk of off flavors - "hot/fusel" alcohol flavors.
The towel is a good idea. Google/search "Swamp cooler" for keeping beer cool..... Basically taking the towel idea one step further and putting the fermenter in a tub of water an adding frozen water bottles to it to keep temps low and constant.
Would be easy to do as long as the bucket does not have a spigot on it. If it does, got to take some other precautions.
The towel is a good idea. Google/search "Swamp cooler" for keeping beer cool..... Basically taking the towel idea one step further and putting the fermenter in a tub of water an adding frozen water bottles to it to keep temps low and constant.
Would be easy to do as long as the bucket does not have a spigot on it. If it does, got to take some other precautions.
Thanks again for all of the input. I had a little trouble also reading the fermometer without instructions but of the three numbers that are changing color the middle one was 64 so I'm guessing the temp is around that. That was before I put the wet towel around it so hopefully it will drop a little more.
Ideally you'll want to add a decent thermometer to your brew equipment for various reasons, some of them possibly being reading temp for pitching and reading temp for mid-fermentation to get an idea of where you're at when/where the fuzzy, sitting-on-the-outside-of-the-vessel fermometer might not tell the whole story. The cheap digital ones at Harbor Freight were within a degree of accuracy of my pricey "calibration-verified" Thermoworks reader + probes.
Sounds like you are right in the ballpark then. You are way ahead of me on figuring out things with temperature.... took me a few years to figure some of that out
Good deal! Sounds like you're taking steps to control the temp as best you can. Thant's great! You're off to a good start! Once the yeasties start to do their thing, the temp will begin to edge up a bit. Do a search for "swamp cooler" on this forum. The wet towel/t-shirt is part of that solution. Add a plastic container with water and a fan, and you're there.
Good for you for taking advise and the steps to try and control things....
