If my Snow White bottling yeast falls asleep, what wakes her up?

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1OldJarhead

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A little metaphor there — I’ve got a kit IPA bottled almost two weeks ago that employed the package of priming sugar that came with it. Temperature control in our overly air-conditioned Virginia house has been somewhat erratic. Question: what is the too-low temperature that can put the yeast to sleep? And if that happens, will a warmer Prince Charming temperature wake them right up again?
 
Bottle conditioning for 2-3 weeks at 68-72F should suffice.
If below 68F probably add a week for every 2-3 degrees lower, as long as it doesn't drop below 62-64F.

It also depends somewhat on the bottling yeast strain and the kind of priming sugars used. The beer's alcohol percentage plays a role too, of course, especially when over 7-8%.

A good trick is to fill one or 2 small (12-16oz) soda bottles along with the glass ones, and store them in the same location. You can check progress by their increasing hardness. ;)
 
If you keep your beer in a container then that will mitigate the temperature change. A cooler or just a cardboard box. I usually put my beers in container on a high shelf in my home. The temperature difference near the ceiling can be a couple degrees or more different than what you experience 5 to 6 feet off the floor.

If you think you need higher temps, then throw in a heat source like a heating mat along with a Inkbird or digiten temperature controller. I usually try to keep newly bottled beer at the higher end of the yeasts ideal range for the first week or two.
 
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