New brewer needing advice on fermentation temps

[DKBrewing]

Hey all!

Rookie brewer here, excited to finally join the community! so far I have brewed a Weizenbier and a Oktoberfest Ale and both have turned out great. I am currently working on an IPA for my wife (personally I am not a fan of IPA's, at least not yet) so here are some numbers:

OG: 1.081
Expected FG: 1.020-1.023
Yeast: safale us-05 (according to my local home brew store I pitched two dry packs)
Pitching temp was approximately 75 degrees.

so here is the problem, during this time of year it's really difficult to keep a consistent temperature in my house due to bad windows. even though I set the temperature anywhere between 69-72 it will always fluctuate higher or lower. My brew closet shot up in temperature and the stick on thermometer was reading 77-78 degrees. so I moved the beer to my basement and over the course of a day and a half the temp dropped to 61 degrees. I am a little concerned about this; will this cause stalling or any other issues I should be aware of? should i move it to another spot in the house where it is a few degrees warmer and more stable? or will I be ok?

Thanks!

 

[singybrue]

Put it where the temps are most stable and ideally in the mid-60's.
Shaking the bucket or carboy will rouse the yeast to help ensure fermentation, but 05 is pretty hungry and should ferment out fine.

Breaking things down, You pitched too warm. Try to get the pitching temp down to a few degrees below your desired fermenting temp-fermentation creates heat which will raise the temp of the beer.
2nd, your fermentation temp got too high. Off-flavors and fusel alcohols will result.
Then dropping the temp drastically can shock the yeast and 05 seems to give off flavors when fermented too low. Stable temps make for happier yeast.
It'll still be beer, just not as good as it could/should be.
Around 65 seems to be a good temp for 05, but you can experiment and see what you like best.
Stable temperature control goes hand in hand with pitching proper yeast amounts as to the biggest improvement you can make in your beer. Pitching 2 packs of yeast was good.

Read up on fermentation temperature control options-searching this site will turn up options from cheap and basic to deluxe computer controlled chambers.
Sticking the fermentation vessel in a big plastic storage bin filled with water, then adding ice packs or an aquarium heater as needed to maintain the temperature is a proven cheap and easy method. The water helps stabilize temp swings. You'll have to check on it a couple of times a day to replace ice packs and monitor the temps.

 

[dnslater]

Your beer may have off flavors, but will otherwise be fine. Luckily the hops in an IPA can help hide off flavors, specially a good dry hop. Sounds like your basement is perfect for clean fermentation. Is it always low 60's? I have an 100 year old house the the basement here in Indiana temps vary's between 64 in the winter to 68-70 in the summer which is great for fermentation. Remember that fermentation will cause the beer to warm a few degrees above ambient.

Sounds like a big IPA. That is a high FG for an IPA?

 

[mtyquinn]

My two cents would be to pitch at lower temps and start the first 4 days or so in your basement. As fermentation slows a bit you might consider moving the beer to the warmer part of the house to get the beer to finish dryer. Starting at high temps and throwing it to colder temps will likely cause the yeast to kick out on you leaving you with a sweet beer. Reading up is a good idea, there are many ways to control temps with all kinds of budgets. Water tub with ice in your warmer area may help you prevent these huge fluctuations.

 

[DKBrewing]

dn- during this time of year my basement is pretty stable around low 60s. Yes, it is a big IPA. My wife and a few friends are fans of big IPA's so I wanted to take a shot at brewing it. So I'll definitely keep reading and researching and hopefully this brew will come out ok.

 

[dnslater]

dn- during this time of year my basement is pretty stable around low 60s. Yes, it is a big IPA. My wife and a few friends are fans of big IPA's so I wanted to take a shot at brewing it. So I'll definitely keep reading and researching and hopefully this brew will come out ok.

Awesome temps for fermentation. Research yeast, varieties such as Nottingham love the low 60's.

Dry hop this one with a couple of ounces of Cascade, Citra or similar a week before bottling and I'm sure it will be fine.

 

[DKBrewing]

So just out of curiosity I just checked my basement temp and it's right at 63 degrees consistent. I have an oz each of simcoe, cascade and centennial that I plan to dry hop with. Patience is probably the worst part of this whole process!

 

[hannibalmdq]

63 degrees is a fine temp for plenty of yeasts. I would recommend thinking about getting a large tub and just filling it with water to set the carboy in during the initial few days of fermentation. The added thermal mass of the water will help to hold down the carboy temp during the exothermic part of fermentation. You probably would not even need to bother with ice bottles.

 

[ChelisHubby]

Your beer won't be perfect but I will bet a dollar to a penny it drinks pretty good. The control of fermentation temp is the first thing that will make the largest improvement of flavor. Then move to yeast, ect. .

 

[DKBrewing]

Thanks for all of the info! I'm keeping a close eye on it and just rolling with it now. I'll keep everyone posted on how it turns out!

 

[DKBrewing]

Update: my ipa fermented out fine with a final gravity of 1.016. I was really suprised by this since I was shooting for 1.021. dn - you were correct, I can hardly tell of any off flavors due to the heavy hops. It's in secondary now in the process of dry hopping. I'm planning to bottle in a week or so.

 

[WoodlandBrew]

You might consider using a water bath. The increased thermal mass will help to stabilize the temperature.

See here for details:
http://www.woodlandbrew.com/2012/09/swamp-cooler.html

My book has more information.

 

[Brew_G]

Update: my ipa fermented out fine with a final gravity of 1.016. I was really suprised by this since I was shooting for 1.021. dn - you were correct, I can hardly tell of any off flavors due to the heavy hops. It's in secondary now in the process of dry hopping. I'm planning to bottle in a week or so.

Good to hear! The hops will definitely help mask any off-flavors that may have resulted from the temp swings.

Like you, I have a basement whose temps stay in the low-60s in the winter (61-62F). I have a 1.055 brown ale fermenting right now - I wrapped it in an insulated jacket and the temp is remaining constant at 68F. I'm new to this, so I haven't brewed in the summer, but I do know that my basement stays at 66-67F or so with the cool air from my AC seeping down there. For those of us without temp control, it seems to me that basements are the place to be!

 

[DKBrewing]

There's quite a bit of suspended sediments from dry hopping. Would it be advisable to cold crash before bottling? Will that dull the flavor and aroma?

 

[jahdub]

There's quite a bit of suspended sediments from dry hopping. Would it be advisable to cold crash before bottling? Will that dull the flavor and aroma?

Cold crashing IPAs is a very good idea