Pitching Temperature

[mgortel]

Brewing my first batches for the year this saturday....my basement is holding at around 62-63 F.....whioch is fine for the yeast I am using.

Shoiuld I pitch my yeast into a warmer wort still....i.e. 70F.....or should I get my wort down to the temperature it will be at in the basement...i.e. 63F??

Thanks!

 

[jsweet]

The conventional wisdom is that pitching temp should be the same as where you plan to ferment. Some people say you actually want to pitch a little colder than you are going to ferment (not entirely sure of the reason, I think it's on the logic that fermentation itself generates heat)

You will be fine anywhere in the range you are talking, but there is no reason to intentionally shoot for a warmer (70F) wort.

 

[Changeduser123]

From whitelabs:

"Before pitching, make sure the wort temperature is between 70-80o F. Too cold and the yeast will take too long to begin fermentation, too hot and the yeast can be killed"

Once the fermentation starts, move your fermentation container where the temperature fits the style you want to achieve.

I am pretty sure this rule should be used for any brand of yeast. Just check what is written on the package.

For lager, this is a different story. I do not lager, but I think that if you want to pitch at fermentation temperature (in other words, cold), you will need a big starter.

 

[unionrdr]

I try to pitch around 68-70F,which is within low range of the cooper's ale yeast I've been using. My wife pitched her US-05 at 67F. They both chugged away happily for a bit more than 3 days. Fermentation is finishing up slowly now. But that's pretty typical.

 

[diS]

I used S-04 in my last batch, and I have pitched it at 74. Fermentation starts in few hours and was vigorous.

 

[Yooper]

The instructions on the White Labs site compensate for underpitching. They ask you to pitch warm so the yeast will have reproduce before fermentation begins. It's not a good way to do it though- it's better to make a starter and pitch the correct amount of yeast in the beginning rather than trying to compensate for the underpitching by allowing the yeast to get started and reducing the temperature. It's also hard to lower the temperature of 5.25 gallons of wort in a reasonable time once fermentation has begun!

Ideally, for the best yeast health and fermentation, you'd pitch an appropriate amount of yeast at a lower temperature and allow the beer to rise to optimimum fermentation temperatures.

 

[Wakadaka]

Its much easier to start at the right temperature than starting too high and then trying. The temperature can really run away on you. I usually try to pitch at about 70, but thats mostly because thats as cold as I can get in my ice bath in a reasonable amount of time.

Off topic: why don't yeast companies just put more yeast in there so you don't have to make a starter, or pitch warm to compensate? I can understand financial reasons, but I would think that once they have the yeast already, multiplying it just a bit more shouldn't be too much of a problem?