How low is too low for Ale fermenting temps?

[akthor]

It's winter and I think my basement may be hovering at 60F I notice the Ale I made on Thanksgiving that was bubbling away furiously yesterday this morning has no activity in the blow off jug. But temps dropped last night and my basement I think dropped a couple of degrees usually its at 64 ishF.

It's a 10 gallon batch so I know there is no way it's done fermenting but could the drop in temps slowed it down?

 

[Revvy]

It usually says on the package, but the low, low 50's is where it goes dormant. Remember, blips don't really matter.

 

[akthor]

I wasn't gonna touch anything but I just thought it weird to go from almost constant bubbling to nothing in such a short period. I thought maybe it was just slowed down due to temps.

 

[chefmike]

I have a wheat/rye that is on WL380. I left it out in my shop to move as my back was hurting. Ambient was in the 40's. The sucker was happily burbling along. Not fast, but doing its thing. The other half of the batch is sitting in the mid 50s ambient.

I bet it finished if you pitched a nice healthy batch of yeast on it. Sometimes they will surprise you!

 

[krisagon]

do you have one of those fermometers measuring the fermentor temp??

 

[Rich_S]

I brewed a sweet stout on Wednesday afternoon and pitched Danstar Nottingham yeast (didn't make a starter). Temp in the basement was 63 degrees. After 56 hours, NOTHING, no krausen developing, no blurping from the airlock. I got nervous and so re-pitched, this time with a Wyeast 1335 smack pack. 15 hours later, still NOTHING. I then moved the carboy to a different room where the temp was 69 degrees and within 2 hours I had a krausen starting to develop and some airlock activity, a few hours after that and I had a full krausen developed and the vigorous blurping.

Take it for what it's worth, but 63 degrees was within the temp range of both yeasts (well within the Nottingham and at the bottom of the 1335 range). Maybe it would have fermented just fine, albeith much slower, but I get nervous if I don't see krausen and airlock activity.

 

[RedHouse]

I have a Pale Ale happily going along in a 60° basement right now. I used Nottingham as well....no starter, but I did re-hydrate.

The fermometer was reading about 6-8° higher than ambient during the peak of activity, but it's reading about 64° right now.

 

[VTBrewer]

Wow...a hefe yeast at 40?!?! Sure won't be banana in that one.

 

[Righlander]

you know whats weird? ive been using wlp0001 exclusively for all my ales lately. i use a swamp chiller, i pitch at 70-75f. then using frozen jugs of water i bring the temp down to like 60-64f. seems like it would shock the yeast. it says the yeast likes 68-73f. but i keep it at 60-64f and i have been getting great results! fantastic yeast!

 

[KeithMoonsLiver]

A sudden drop, even of just a few degrees, can occasionally cause the yeast to shut down and stop fermenting.

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

I have been using notty a lot.. temp of the swamp cooler water right at 59-60 degrees and no issues at all. keep in mind that the temp inside the fermentor is usually higher than the ambient by a few degrees.

 

[akthor]

I was thinking this 15 gallon fermenter has quite a bit of surface area on the bottom that is in contact with the cement as opposed to buckets that have that lip that touches the cement and the rest of the bottom doesn't. I wonder if the cement which is quit cold could be acting like a cold plate?

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

I was thinking this 15 gallon fermenter has quite a bit of surface area on the bottom that is in contact with the cement as opposed to buckets that have that lip that touches the cement and the rest of the bottom doesn't. I wonder if the cement which is quit cold could be acting like a cold plate?

yes.. get it up off the ground.

 

[Yooper]

I was thinking this 15 gallon fermenter has quite a bit of surface area on the bottom that is in contact with the cement as opposed to buckets that have that lip that touches the cement and the rest of the bottom doesn't. I wonder if the cement which is quit cold could be acting like a cold plate?

Yep. I put a thick layer of styrofoam under my fermenter in the basement when I make an ale. The cold concrete causes the beer to be much cooler than the ambient. Works great for lagers! But not so much for ales in the winter.

 

[akthor]

I just put a folded towel under it, hopefully that will insulate it. Should I wrap a blanket around it?

One of the brew buckets with a thermometer stuck on the side of it is reading 58F

I assume perhaps with the temp change fermentation has just slowed down? I watched for a few minutes and saw no bubbles......

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

I just put a folded towel under it, hopefully that will insulate it. Should I wrap a blanket around it?

One of the brew buckets with a thermometer stuck on the side of it is reading 58F

I assume perhaps with the temp change fermentation has just slowed down? I watched for a few minutes and saw no bubbles......

I think if you can get it up on a table that would be even better. a blanket won't hurt