Is fermenting too warm really that bad?

[CatHead]

So I should see a lower FG? I thought maybe the higher temps would result in higher ABV before the yeast had a chance to multiply, and the alcohol would kill off most of the yeast.

The alcohol wouldn't ever reach high enough to kill off the yeast even if it fermented to 1.000.

 

[JuanMoore]

Anyways...I am still a noob, and surely I will have a bad batch at some point in my homebrewing carreer. I am just looking for some honest feedback. If horrible beer is what I should expect from this and there is no way to fix it, then thank you for the honest feedback. I hope this beer doesn't turn out too bad.

Nottingham tends to produce a ton of fusels when it gets that warm, so you should expect a harsh flavor similar to nail polish remover. It will fade slightly with extended aging, but it will never go away. I hope it's at least drinkable and not a total loss for you.

 

[Hugh_Jass]

So I should see a lower FG? I thought maybe the higher temps would result in higher ABV before the yeast had a chance to multiply, and the alcohol would kill off most of the yeast.

Tbh, I've got no idea whether or not it'll finish lower. I do know that I raise my temps when I'm near terminal gravity to eek out a few extra gravity points.
Re: higher abv, yeast are quite able at 10 percent and above, yeast strain dependant, of course.

 

[Hugh_Jass]

Daggone Paps, that's a bunch of pruning

 

[atreid]

Off flavors due to heat are a myth really...

I always pitch my yeast directly in the wort immediately after the boil, put an airlock and bam! Never had to use a blowoff tube and never got any off flavors, plus the beer is super sweet exactly as I like it! Yeah...! Brewing whoooooo!!! B-)

 

[cheezydemon3]

Off flavors due to heat are a myth really...

I always pitch my yeast directly in the wort immediately after the boil, put an airlock and bam! Never had to use a blowoff tube and never got any off flavors, plus the beer is super sweet exactly as I like it! Yeah...! Brewing whoooooo!!! B-)

I actually keep my fermener boiling when I pitch the yeast. It ferments out in like 30 minutes.....


I have found that time (like 6 months) will do a lot to fix fusels and off flavors. My advice? Start another batch.

Proper chilling before pitching is KEY. I used to think "72F, I will put it in a cool place and it will cool some more"

No way. Warm wort wakes up yeast and they hit the town RUNNING.

Chill to 65, pitch, swamp cooler (t shirt and a fan in the tub was my trick...but don't put the fan in the tub) and no problems.

 

[billpaustin]

I've had the opposite problem: too low of temperature. Not running the heat in the house at night, the house temp can drop to 60, even 58 if it snows outside. Daytime temp peaks at 68.

I bought a strip thermometer and put it on the glass fermenter: 65 degrees, will check in the morning when it is coldest. What would be a BAD temperature? Below 60?

edit: Weiss bier, 68 is recommended fermenting temp.

 

[Pappers_]

Daggone Paps, that's a bunch of pruning

Thank you for noticing

The thread was reported for trolling and off-topic posting, and it surely was full of both. Thanks for getting back on topic.

 

[grem135]

I actually keep my fermener boiling when I pitch the yeast. It ferments out in like 30 minutes.....

I have found that time (like 6 months) will do a lot to fix fusels and off flavors. My advice? Start another batch.

Proper chilling before pitching is KEY. I used to think "72F, I will put it in a cool place and it will cool some more"

No way. Warm wort wakes up yeast and they hit the town RUNNING.

Chill to 65, pitch, swamp cooler (t shirt and a fan in the tub was my trick...but don't put the fan in the tub) and no problems.

Cheesy are you off your meds again? Your arguing with your alter ego again bro.

Back on topic. My first beer was a brown using notty and also fermented way to warm. Probably 75-78f and was a tad harsh.... Well let's just say it was drinkable...barely.

 

[Pappers_]

I've had the opposite problem: too low of temperature. Not running the heat in the house at night, the house temp can drop to 60, even 58 if it snows outside. Daytime temp peaks at 68.

I bought a strip thermometer and put it on the glass fermenter: 65 degrees, will check in the morning when it is coldest. What would be a BAD temperature? Below 60?

edit: Weiss bier, 68 is recommended fermenting temp.

There's no one answer to your question, unfortunately, especially with a wheat beer. Wheat beers can be German style, with cloves and banana esters, and too low a fermentation temp will inhibit the development of those esters. But for cleaner American-style wheat ales, low fermentation temps are just fine.

I routinely ferment ales from 60-62F. With some yeasts like Nottingham, you can definitely go lower and it will attenuate just fine.

 

[billpaustin]

Thanks! I used the term "weiss bier" to connote Bavarian wheat beers.

When in Berlin, I ordered a "weiss bier", and they looked at me funny. I corrected it to Hefe-Weizen, and they were happy

 

[BansheeRider]

Just found out that the thermo strip on my fermenter says 78 degrees. I guess this beer is doomed and it really pisses me off. Maybe I'll get lucky but I don't think so since it's 8 degrees above max temp for the yeast.

 

[thadius856]

On the aging, I don't think you'll have much success. My last batch aged 6 months and tasted just as terrible as the day it finished priming. YMMV.

This is the exact reason I don't ever recommend Notty to anybody that doesn't have their temps under good control.

 

[Pappers_]

Just found out that the thermo strip on my fermenter says 78 degrees. I guess this beer is doomed and it really pisses me off. Maybe I'll get lucky but I don't think so since it's 8 degrees above max temp for the yeast.

Let it ferment out and see. A warmer temp like this is going to increase the esters, but as you said in an earlier post in this thread, you thought that might be good with the English style you are brewing. No harm in letting it finish fermenting and then smell/taste it. If its hideous and you just want to be done with it, you can toss it then. But you might find its not as bad as all that.

Take a look at https://www.cool-brewing.com/ as a possible low-cost solution to your fermentation temp problem. These guys sent me one of their coolers for a prize in a homebrew competition and its slick. I think you could leave it for a couple of days without problems.

 

[BansheeRider]

Let it ferment out and see. A warmer temp like this is going to increase the esters, but as you said in an earlier post in this thread, you thought that might be good with the English style you are brewing. No harm in letting it finish fermenting and then smell/taste it. If its hideous and you just want to be done with it, you can toss it then. But you might find its not as bad as all that.

Take a look at https://www.cool-brewing.com/ as a possible low-cost solution to your fermentation temp problem. These guys sent me one of their coolers for a prize in a homebrew competition and its slick. I think you could leave it for a couple of days without problems.

Yeah I hope it works out. Thanks for the link. That swamp cooler looks awesome but a bit out of my price range for now. A friend of mine suggested filtering this brew before kegging. I told him that probably wont fix the flavor but I guess its worth a try. What about pitching more yeast after about a week to see if that'll clean up the off flavors?

 

[thadius856]

Filtering will remove a yeast flavor from an unsettled brew, but it won't pull out esters. Pitching more yeast may exacerbate the problem by give overpitch flavors if it hasn't fermented out all the way at this point anyway.

You might be able to mask the taste a bit with dry hopping or randalizing. I don't think it would be to-style, but hey, what the hell.

 

[BansheeRider]

Filtering will remove a yeast flavor from an unsettled brew, but it won't pull out esters. Pitching more yeast may exacerbate the problem by give overpitch flavors if it hasn't fermented out all the way at this point anyway.

You might be able to mask the taste a bit with dry hopping or randalizing. I don't think it would be to-style, but hey, what the hell.

I thought about dry hoping but like you said it's not the style for this porter. I may end up drinking this anyways and just keeping it away from my friends. I would hate to waste $40 on a bad batch.

 

[BigFloyd]

I'm afraid this one is going to turn out rather badly.

IMO, if you can't keep your ferment temps (measured on the side of the bucket, NOT ambient) consistently below 68*F, don't use Nottingham at all, ever.

Personally, I like it, but I can precisely control the temp and run it at 55-57*F for the first week, slowly bring it into the low 60's and only let it see 68* for a couple of days before bottling.

 

[BansheeRider]

I'm afraid this one is going to turn out rather badly.

IMO, if you can't keep your ferment temps (measured on the side of the bucket, NOT ambient) consistently below 68*F, don't use Nottingham at all, ever.

Personally, I like it, but I can precisely control the temp and run it at 55-57*F for the first week, slowly bring it into the low 60's and only let it see 68* for a couple of days before bottling.

You use the swamp cooler method? My problem is that I work two days on and two days off and every other weekend. I think I will only brew on weekends I have off so I can monitor the temps.

 

[Hugh_Jass]

Yeah I hope it works out. Thanks for the link. That swamp cooler looks awesome but a bit out of my price range for now. A friend of mine suggested filtering this brew before kegging. I told him that probably wont fix the flavor but I guess its worth a try. What about pitching more yeast after about a week to see if that'll clean up the off flavors?

In my experience, the more I tried to "fix" my mistake beers, the worse they became. I'd say it is what it is at this stage. Filtering or repitching will not help. Imo, dry hopping a porter isn't appealing. A Randall might or might not mask some off flavors. I doubt I'd make the effort. I'd chalk it up as a lesson learned and try not to repeat it.

 

[hillhousesawdustco]

If you try to randallize it, maybe coffee beans or something else fairly intense would make the beer porter more palatable if you really want to drink it

 

[cheezydemon3]

Too cool is FAR preferable to too warm. In a beer where you are going for "fruity esters" I think temp control should be tried and true. For everything else, too cool is far better. In the tub, tshirt over the fermenter soaking up water, fan (outside the tub) will keep it cool. It won't act as a wort chiller, but if you chill to 65F, it will keep fermenting wort under 70 if your house is not over 75F.

 

[BigFloyd]

You use the swamp cooler method? My problem is that I work two days on and two days off and every other weekend. I think I will only brew on weekends I have off so I can monitor the temps.

No, mi amigo.

I use a freezer (bought on Craigslist) regulated by an STC-1000 dual-temperature controller. I have a "DIY paint can fermenter heater" as a heat source (placed inside the freezer) if needed.

The whole setup cost me right at $100. It keeps my fermentation temp +/-0.5*C of whatever I set it for. Best $100 I've ever spent on brewing equipment.

 

[bleme]

The only thing I can think of that breaks down esters and fusels is Brett...

How opposed are you to aging it for another year?

 

[bottlebomber]

Ok, I read the first and last page.Yes, fermenting that high can ruin your beer. And Nottingham is just the stuff to use to make it happen. Anything over 70 is dangerous, and over 75 you are looking at an ester profile that is just gross, like rotten apricots. It is a really easy thing to put the carboy into an ice chest full of cold water. I hope this batch turns out ok, but the hopes aren't high. It will probably be fine with significant aging.

 

[zeg]

Your best bet to find out if the beer went bad is to ride it out. Unless you're hard pressed for fermentor space, there's no downside to this. Since I think you mentioned you're kegging, there's not even the demoralizing effort of bottling to contend with. Keg it, carb it, and if it's awful, dump it.

If you live somewhere that your temps may get that high and you aren't content brewing exclusively in the winter, do yourself a huge favor and find a way to invest a couple hundred bucks in a temperature regulated freezer. Someone above described how to do it for about $100. If you prefer new, wait for a sale on a chest freezer at Menard's or Home Depot and you can do it for $200 total (freezer + heater + STC-1000 and associated hardware). You will never have to worry about this sort of thing again.

 

[BigFloyd]

Your best bet to find out if the beer went bad is to ride it out. Unless you're hard pressed for fermentor space, there's no downside to this. Since I think you mentioned you're kegging, there's not even the demoralizing effort of bottling to contend with. Keg it, carb it, and if it's awful, dump it.

Or if you have the extra keg space, burp out the air w/ CO2 and set that keg aside for 6+ months before sampling it. I've had a cream ale that a friend made that was delicious at 18 months in the keg. At one month, and later at 6 months, it was undrinkable (tasted like a barnyard).

If you live somewhere that your temps may get that high and you aren't content brewing exclusively in the winter, do yourself a huge favor and find a way to invest a couple hundred bucks in a temperature regulated freezer. Someone above described how to do it for about $100. If you prefer new, wait for a sale on a chest freezer at Menard's or Home Depot and you can do it for $200 total (freezer + heater + STC-1000 and associated hardware). You will never have to worry about this sort of thing again.

Unless you are one of those rare folks who has a basement that stays at 60*F all of the time, and you have the space for this sort of setup, it really pays to make it a part of your brewing equipment. IMO, if you face temperature challenges, this should be higher on the "gear list" than lots of other brew gadgets and such. It will get you much farther along the road to making better brew.

The friend who made the "barnyard cream ale" told me that when he later got a freezer/controller, it caused much more of an improvement in the quality of his brews than anything else, including going to all-grain.

 

[zeg]

Unless you are one of those rare folks who has a basement that stays at 60*F all of the time, and you have the space for this sort of setup, it really pays to make it a part of your brewing equipment. IMO, if you face temperature challenges, this should be higher on the "gear list" than lots of other brew gadgets and such. It will get you much farther along the road to making better brew.

Yes. I spent most of a year winging it. My first beer was in january in an unplugged fridge in the garage. Keeping it up above 55°F for the Nottingham was a challenge that involved a lot of hot water bottles. The spring was relatively easy because temperatures in the house or garage were naturally acceptable. Over the summer, I tried to get by controlling a fridge by frobbing an outlet timer. It worked, but it was nervewracking and required twice daily checks and a reliable forecast. I finally dropped the $60 for an STC-1000 box and heater when it came time to try some lagers, and I don't know what I was thinking all that time.

Like an autosiphon and an immersion chiller, it's one of those things that didn't seem to be worth it until I saw how much easier things were with it. I'm starting to think about an O2 stone and possibly putting a ball valve on my brew kettle now (it's only 5 gallons, so borderline worth it, but it would simplify brew day pretty substantially).

 

[fizgig]

so how did this turn out? I have a brown ale with Notty, my basement is warmer than usual right now, I am doing the swamp cooler method and it still hit 72 once (perhaps overnight), I hope it's OK.

 

[Bleedsblue]

So how long do you have to worry about temp?