How bad did i screw up?

[Datgreenstuff]

Ok do im brewing a russian imperial stout and i couldnt get my wort to 70° i waited forever and used an ice bath.... so i pitched at 75°.. also its summertime and i have my ac on but the temp on the "side label thermostat " reads 76°... directions say to keep it below 72° how bad is this gonna affect the beer? Will i have nasty off-flavors... god im really wanting this beer to be perfect i love russian imperial stouts.

 

[TheHopfather]

What yeast did you use? You are fermenting warm, conventional wisdom says the yeast will throw some esters because of it. The question is what yeast did you use and did you pitch enough of it?

 

[Datgreenstuff]

Not sure what yeast it was actually... its was 1 dry yeast sachet in a blue package.. i brewed yesterday and trash came this morning... i normally write it down but was brewing with my kids yesterday and things were a bit hectic. Lol

 

[Psylocide]

S-04 is a blue package...

When did you pitch yeast?

 

[Datgreenstuff]

I pitched yesterday around 7pm est and i just checked it again and im getting good activity had alot of wort n trub in the airlock

 

[Psylocide]

Can you put together a swamp cooler or wrap it in a wet towel with a fan on it?

You're going to want to get those temps down asap, if at all possible... otherwise, yes, the probability of off flavors is high.

 

[TheHopfather]

US-04 has a min temp of 64F and a max of 75F. You're right on the edge temp wise. This is an English strain so you should get some fruity esters fermenting on the high side of things.

I would try to move the carboy/bucket to an ice bath and try to keep those temps down a bit. Keep in mind that yeast will generate heat when they are most active. In another day or so the wort temp could be up to 8F warmer than it is right now.

 

[douglasbarbin]

US-04 has a min temp of 64F and a max of 75F. You're right on the edge temp wise. This is an English strain so you should get some fruity esters fermenting on the high side of things.

I would try to move the carboy/bucket to an ice bath and try to keep those temps down a bit. Keep in mind that yeast will generate heat when they are most active. In another day or so the wort temp could be up to 8F warmer than it is right now.

He's beyond the edge if his ambient temperature is 75 or 76 degrees. He really should try to knock those temps down about 10-15 degrees.

 

[Datgreenstuff]

Hey can i put it in the refrigerator?

 

[m00ps]

yeah just dont forget it, check it often, also keep in mind when you cool it externally, the temp strip on the outside of the fermentor is probably reading colder than the actual temp of the wort

 

[Datgreenstuff]

Thanks.. ill keep everyone posted on how it turns out.. the one good point of this is my wife walked in as i was making space in the refrigerator and was like WTF so im getting a wort chiller tomorrow lol..

 

[Buckeye_Phil]

Better yet... Buy a fermentation fridge and tell her it's either that or put it in the regular fridge! Haha

 

[Datgreenstuff]

Yeah buckeye im getting that in a few weeks when we have our house warming party.. i get the old one she gets the new pretty one. Lol

 

[Datgreenstuff]

Just to update everyone temp is runng at 65 in the fridge so i think ill be ok

 

[TheHopfather]

You should be okay. Keep in mind that yeast are exothermic, they create heat as they are making alcohol. The wort can easily be 8F+ during the most active fermentation. So if you are 65F ambient in the fridge your wort could be 73F+. That is still in range for US-04 but on the high end. That is why people use temp controllers with thermal probes in/on the carboy.

 

[Datgreenstuff]

You should be okay. Keep in mind that yeast are exothermic, they create heat as they are making alcohol. The wort can easily be 8F+ during the most active fermentation. So if you are 65F ambient in the fridge your wort could be 73F+. That is still in range for US-04 but on the high end. That is why people use temp controllers with thermal probes in/on the carboy.

Yeah im aware of that. I adjusted the temp on the fridge because the temp dropped down to about 59° on the label. I wasnt getting any bubbles in the airlock so i thought the yeast went inactive.. i have it back to 63° and got bubbles again. This has been my most difficult batch yet. I never had problems with temp control before.. i think once i get my new fride i wont have this problem anymore.

Im curious to see if i got any off flavors. The recipe says it should only take 6 days for complete fermentation which seems very short to me. But again this is my 1st stout, if its the correct time frame then ill rack to the secondary tomorrow and take a sample to check SG and off flavors. What do you think?

 

[g-star]

Im curious to see if i got any off flavors. The recipe says it should only take 6 days for complete fermentation which seems very short to me. But again this is my 1st stout, if its the correct time frame then ill rack to the secondary tomorrow and take a sample to check SG and off flavors. What do you think?

-You will get off flavors
-Checking the gravity after transferring to secondary (which is totall unnecessary, btw) is completely backwards
-Swinging the temp from 76F to 59F and then back up again during active fermentation is punishing the yeast.

Sorry to be blunt, but honesty is called for and will only help you out in the future. Proper temp control is one of the main drivers towards making good beer.

 

[Datgreenstuff]

Ok so im going to bottle tomorrow and wanted to update everyone. I added whiskey barrel chips 4.5oz and 1 lb of beet sugar. I was having trouble getting fermentation after day 3. So some advice was given to add the beet sugar to help with fermentation... Today i opened to check it and noticed a vinegary or maybe slight acidic odor.. i havent tasted it yet but will tomorrow. My question is do you think the odor will be in the flabor as well?

 

[doug293cz]

Ok so im going to bottle tomorrow and wanted to update everyone. I added whiskey barrel chips 4.5oz and 1 lb of beet sugar. I was having trouble getting fermentation after day 3. So some advice was given to add the beet sugar to help with fermentation... Today i opened to check it and noticed a vinegary or maybe slight acidic odor.. i havent tasted it yet but will tomorrow. My question is do you think the odor will be in the flabor as well?

The vinegary smell could be very bad news. You may have picked up an acetobacter bacteria infection. If so, then your beer is on it's way to vinegar. I'm not completely sure, but I don't think there is anything you can do about it now. If it tastes like vinegar when you sample, you could try pasteurizing by heating to 170°F, cooling, and pitching more yeast so that the bottles can carbonate. Pasteurization should kill off the acetobacter and stop additional vinegar formation (if your sanitation after pasteurization is adequate.) The vinegar taste will likely persist, and if you can't tolerate it, you may have to dump.

If you taste it, and are not really sure if it contains vinegar or not, then best course of action is just to proceed with normal bottling process, and hope for the best.

Good luck.

Brew on