help temp drop during fermentation

[suzanneb]

hi all
brewing an ale(choc stout) and put in the fermenter on monday. bubbling away and i had to go outta town.
we had a big cold snap and when i got back 5 days later the carboy was reading 56 degrees(thermometer on the outside) took a hydrometer reading and the temp was 50 degrees.
have i ruined this batch by ;etting the temperature get too cold.
should i try to raise the temp quickly or slowly and if so any suggestions.

hydrometer reading at 65 was 1.060 . when the temperature dropped and i took the reading it was 1.020 at 50 degrees.
please help

 

[mux]

I think it's ok. I would leave it that temp until bottling/ kegging. What is your expected FG?

 

[mux]

.

 

[suzanneb]

1.058 i think.

do you think it is done fermenting? it's not bubbling through the airlock but maybe it is too cold to be fermenting. i dunno

 

[mux]

1.058 i think.

do you think it is done fermenting? it's not bubbling through the airlock but maybe it is too cold to be fermenting. i dunno

Was it a kit?

 

[suzanneb]

it was an all grain kit. i cant find the sheet but i just looked at the recipe on beer calculus that i put in and is said og 1.057 final gravity 1.017

Original Gravity
1.057 / 14.0° Plato
(1.051 to 1.059)
Final Gravity
1.017 / 4.3° Plato
(1.015 to 1.018)
Color
31° SRM / 61° EBC
(Black)
Mash Efficiency ?
75% edit

 

[hansen_sh]

The batch is not ruined just might have slowed down a little. 56F isn't too far off depending on the yeast and how much was pitched. Give it a couple of days and take another sample and make sure it's still dropping.

 

[BigRock947]

I doubt its done just yet...if it was me I would move the fermentor to someplace a little warmer and let it warm up on its own. 5 gallons will take a little while to warm up so no worries there. I'll bet when it gets to around 65 or 66 degrees yeast activity should pick up...good luck and I'm sure your beer is okay.

 

[suzanneb]

the carboy therm. says 56 but the actual wort was 50 degrees.

the big problem is i can't regulate the heat in the room it is in. it is a very simple wall heater that isn't regulated by temp. it is just either on or off sorta thing. you can try to put in on 50 percent but it doesnt work.
so i if i put it on and the room gets to be 80 degrees for a week i am guessing that would be worse.


the yeast i used was wyeasy ringwood ale if that makes a difference.

it started bubbling monday afternoon and i didnt check it until friday night when it was cold. i am guessing that is a really short fermenting time and needs to ferment longer. what do you guys think.

and thanks for all the help

 

[hansen_sh]

Sorry I didn't see that the beer was 50F. The yeast doesn't really matter I was just trying to get a feel for the health of it.

Try to warm (yes 80 would be too high) it up gently and give it more time.

 

[suzanneb]

ok
i am gonna leave the heat on in the room and check temp in a few hours. i am guessing it will take a long time to raise the temp a little bit since it is a liquid

 

[bob1006]

Adjusting the temp from your hydrometer reading puts it at 1.019. That's 2 pionts off of what the kits says it should be. IMO, your good. Let it sit for a couple weeks, then bottle.

what they put on the instruction sheets are estimates. You have a target range of +/-3 points on fg. It all depends on your process for making it. Mash temps, conversion rates, boil time, ect, ect.

If you hit it within 2 points of the estimated final gravity on your first AG batch, kudos to you. Not many people do it the first time.

 

[StusBrew]

yep. Did my first AG a week ago today. Krauesen in less than 24 hours (I missed seeing it). Check gravity Friday. Still going to leave it in primary. But point is, my first AG and I don't think I'll hit my FG. But always had trouble hitting the predicted FG. Mostly because I was boiling 2.5 - 3 gallons then added (guesstimating) how much water to add to bring to 5 gallons. Though batch before my first AG I was only off by 2 points.

 

[bob1006]

yep. Did my first AG a week ago today. Krauesen in less than 24 hours (I missed seeing it). Check gravity Friday. Still going to leave it in primary. But point is, my first AG and I don't think I'll hit my FG. But always had trouble hitting the predicted FG. Mostly because I was boiling 2.5 - 3 gallons then added (guesstimating) how much water to add to bring to 5 gallons. Though batch before my first AG I was only off by 2 points.

That's just it, its an estimate. A prediction, if you hit the exact number that's awesome, but its not that big of a deal. If your within a couple points of it you did great. AG is a totally different animal. There are so many variables involved in that process estimating is the only thing you can do.

You did really well for your first AG batch.

 

[suzanneb]

man it is taking a long time to get the temp up. with the heat on full blast yesterday the carboy therm only raised 2 degrees.

i want tot add some cacao nibs to the mix. they were in the boil but then i siphoned them out when going to fermentor because i was afraid they were too bitter and were optional for the recipe i was using.

can i heat them up to 150-180 for 30 min and then add to the mix. or is that a bad idea. and if so at what temp do they have to be to add to the wort without killing the yeast.

 

[suzanneb]

anybody?

 

[BigRock947]

I did a quick search on HBT and two options came up for adding nibs: First is to heat up in water as you asked but only heat the water for 10 minutes then let cool. Second option was to soak them in vodka to help kill off any stuff that you don't want in the wort.

Any time I've adding anything to my beer such as fruit, I've gone with option number one and haven't any trouble with infection. Good luck...

 

[suzanneb]

thanks for the reply.
do i need to cool to 65 degrees before putting in?

 

[BigRock947]

I wouldn't say you would have to, it depend how much hot water you will be pouring into 5 gallons (I assume its 5 gallons)...so if you pour 2 cups boiling hot water in to 5 gallons how much would it raise the water temperature...not much. But this is what I would do:

I would take the nibs off the heat...put a lid on it and place the pot into some cold water(add ice if you want To the cooling water) and let it cool off for 5 or 10 minutes. Then its not as hot but ready to add to the beer.

Does that make sense??? And oh relax...I'm sure it'll turn out fine...believe me I've made my share of mistakes and my beer has turned out just fine. Good luck...

 

[ncbrewer]

man it is taking a long time to get the temp up. with the heat on full blast yesterday the carboy therm only raised 2 degrees.

I haven't done it, but I've read that an aquarium heater works well for heating up the fermentation. Probably more practical for temperature control, and more cost effective than heating a room that otherwise doesn't need to be heated.

 

[suzanneb]

how do you get an aquarium heater in the carboy?
i wonder how acurate you can get the temp

 

[bleme]

how do you get an aquarium heater in the carboy?
i wonder how acurate you can get the temp

You put your carboy in one of those big plastic tubs with rope handles. Walmart sells them for $6. Fill that with water. Make sure you don't fill it any fuller than the carboy, and put your aquarium heater in the outside tub.

 

[Andrew5329]

Suzanneb I wouldnt worry too much, cooler temps just make fermentation go slower. It's odd that your wort temp was cooler than the outside temp, usually your beer is 2-3 degrees warmer because of the yeast metabolizing the sugars.(same process that keeps us warm.

Either A, move your carboy to a warmer room/near the heater, or if that's not an option make up a hot-water bath with a tub that you can fill as far up the sides of the carboy as you can.

 

[suzanneb]

thanks. that's a cool idea.
i will be returning tonight so i will see what the new temp is.

 

[wan2ride]

You could try wrapping it in a heating pad set to low heat. The el cheapo one I have from Walgreens turns itself off after a set amount of time so it's not like it would be on and cooking your beer the whole time.