How critical is pitch temp??

[jbb3]

I pitched an ESB yesterday in the low 80 deg range with Safale s-04. Put the fermenter in an ice bath/swamp cooler and got the temp below 70 deg within a couple of hours of pitching, before the little buggers started munching...

Should I cool the wort in the fementer prior to pitching? Or is what I described a good practice?

Will/can the yeast throw off flavors even before it starts fermenting if you don't pitch in it's temp range?

This morning she was sitting at on 66 deg and percolating.

 

[Foosier]

The best process is to cool to temp before pitching. The ay you did it is not likely to cause you issues since you got it down to temp so soon after pitch. If you had pitched at 80 and then waited for ambient air to cool your batch you likely would see issues caused by high temps as the yeast would likely get started at higher than desirable temps and then kept the temps higher as they got to work.

The key is you want to do what you can to ensure the yeast start at the right temp and can't raise the temp too high during the first 48 -72 hours of really active fermentation.

 

[Darwin18]

It's pretty important with lagers; ales, it's still important but less so. In the future, best practice is to cool to a few degrees below your target fermentation temperature and then pitch your yeast. The goal is to eliminate off-flavors produced by warm fermentation.

 

[brewboy04]

The best practice in my opinion is the get the yeast condition as close to the wort condition as possible with temp and gravity etc


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[jbb3]

Thanks for the feedback! I'll adjust accordingly.

I learn with each brew thanks to the good folks on this forum!!

 

[catalanotte]

Been pitching ales at 85-90 degrees with no problems. Not ideal, but hard pressed to make any major changes since it works well.

 

[g-star]

Been pitching ales at 85-90 degrees with no problems. Not ideal, but hard pressed to make any major changes since it works well.

If you have any interest whatsoever in making substantial improvements to your homebrew, start pitching below 70F. This goes a long way towards turning an acceptable batch of homebrew into great beer with limited flaws.

 

[catalanotte]

This is an arrogant comment not having any idea what the finished product tastes like. This is one of many areas where we as a group have succumb to blindly following others regardless of the actual impact on finished product. I make damn good beer with out off flavors. No esters unless desired by yeast selection or beer style, no fusels unless very high gravity and inadequate aging. Certainly none of the worse off tastes.

 

[g-star]

The willful ignorance around here is astounding. There's a difference between "blindly following others" and using well-established best practices built upon years of research, experience, and testing by those far more knowledgeable in hobby/proffession than yourself.

But it sounds like you've found some magic yeast that doesn't produce any of the common off-flavors that have been objectively measured countless of times by peer-reviewed researchers when pitching at 90F. Kudos.

How are you doing in BJCP competitions?

 

[rmyurick]

I'd vote for 70 or below, ideally. Up to 75 is probably not a problem. I had a batch where I pitched I think around 80, and it could have been better--was kind of hot, alcoholic and slightly vegetal. Wyeast 1056.

 

[JustLooking]

He didn't mention that he only brews saison.

 

[catalanotte]

Never done competitions but have lots of knowledgable feedback that says its good. Actually surprised that it hasn't been an issue given how strong opinions are on this subject. Which is why I share that this may not be the end of the world if you pitch a bit warm. I pitch warm because of limitations in my immersion chiller and house water temperature and think it causes more problems trying to move a 6 gal carboy in and out of and ice bath or leave it too long waiting for the temp to drop. I did just invest in a recirculation pump to try and ice a few down to 70 and see if it makes a difference.

No magical yeast, brewing with Wyeast 1056, 1010, and 1335 lately with no problems. I actually made a couple of lighter low gravity beer recently to check my self since off flavors show through so much more easily. Not an issue. Don't know what to tell you. I obsess like we all do on various things when brewing and always target one thing to improve with each batch. Pitching temp is on the list, but hasn't made it to the top because I haven't identified anything to fix.

My reason for kicking back on that comment was that there are so many things to chase when brewing and when folks ask questions around here it often seems like they are told there is only one acceptable way to do something, rather then ask if they are having problems that indicate they should change something. Id bet there are 5 other things that would have a bigger impact on most peoples beer, but you just don't know unless someone offers you a taste and can explain the problem.

My brewing style probably overemphasizes the "Relax" in RAHAHB but the drinkers of my brew are happy and thats what matters.

To steal a slogan from a crappy beer commercial, "it's only weird if it doesn't work"

 

[j1n]

@ catalanotte

Do you use a fermentation chamber?

I can only get my worth down to about 80 degrees in the summer so i put the wort in the carboy and let the fermentation chamber chill the wort to the desired temp. just takes a couple hours to get the the temp i want it at.

 

[catalanotte]

I have tried to use my brew kettle as an ice bath since my 6 gal carboys fits with a few inches all a round but it only cooled the outer layer if wort. When I pulled the carboy and gave it a swirl, the average temp climbed right back up less a couple of degrees. I also almost dropped the damn carboy trying to get it out of the ice and swore off that approach.

I don't use a fermentation chamber. I have a cellar that holds about 65 in the summer and makes for a fine place to ferment carboys. carboy stays a bit warm for the initial day or two (72 or so) but then settles down to 66-68.

 

[dbrese]

If you do eventually invest in a more effective chilling system you may see what others here are trying to express. I didn't think my fermentations were flawed until I borrowed a plate chiller and got my Belgian tripel wort down to 65F before pitching the yeast. I let the temp free-rise to ambient and above during the fermentation to around 75F. The finished beer was far superior to three previous batches with the same yeast and a warm pitching temp. It's worth a try if you are seeking to improve. Can't hurt. The same goes for pure O2 aeration and stir plate yeast starters.