Quick Intro and question about yeast behavior.

[WhatNotBrewer]

Alright, well first off I would like to say hello. I'm a twenty three your old guy from Northern New Jersey and I've been brewing for about a year. Started with a good ol' Mr. Beer kit, went to extract brewing, and finally made the switch to all-grain about two months ago. Looking forward to discussing brewing with all of you as my poor family and friends are well tired of the long-winded talks and tales I tell of this humbling process and drink we all love so much.

Anyways, here is my question. On my most recent beer, during the initial fermentation, the temperature of the fermenting wort raised 10 degrees(F) in the primary fermenter. I pitched my yeast starter of WLP002 English Ale Yeast at about 70 degrees, and left the carboy in a room that's temperature remains a constant 67-68 degrees. The next morning when I went to check how the fermentation was coming along I noticed the temperature reading on my carboy was between 76 and 78 degrees. I've noticed in previous batches that during the earlier stages of fermentation the temperature goes up a few degrees or so, but 10 seemed a little outrageous.

I was wondering, is this normal yeast behavior or maybe just the side effect of a more vigorous fermentation. Also, because of the higher temperature, can I expect a stronger ester profile in the beer?

Many thank yous in advance!

 

[Yooper]

Welcome! always nice to have another brewer on board.

Yep, I've heard that it's not uncommon for an active fermentation to cause a rise in temperature of up to 10 degrees or so. I've been trying to ferment more on the cooler side of the yeast strain's tolerance, to avoid that. You probably will notice more esters with such a warm fermentation. Since you pitched at 70 degrees, and it seemingly took off so well, I would think that it fermented mostly at over 74 degrees.

Now, I always pitch at fermentation temperatures or a bit lower, and keep on eye on the temperature. If I suspect it's going to get higher, I'll put it in a cooler with some water surrounding it. It seems like that's just too much mass to rapidly change the temperature, so it keeps it more stable.

I ferment most of my ales at 62-64 degrees if the yeast can do it. I noticed I have less esters, and get a cleaner result.

 

[WhatNotBrewer]

Hey Yooper thanks for the quick and helpful reply!

While I'm not ultimately worried about the fermentation happening at the upper edge of the yeast's tolerance, I was just wondering is there anything I can do now to limit the esters...besides simply moving the carboy to a cooler location to limit the production of esters throughout the rest of the fermentation...can anything beyond that be done as a stronger ester profile wasn't what I initially imagining for the Brown Ale.

Although I'm sure the beer will ultimately turn out just fine, the aromas coming out of the airlock are incredible!

Danke und prost!

 

[Yooper]

Hey Yooper thanks for the quick and helpful reply!

While I'm not ultimately worried about the fermentation happening at the upper edge of the yeast's tolerance, I was just wondering is there anything I can do now to limit the esters...besides simply moving the carboy to a cooler location to limit the production of esters throughout the rest of the fermentation...can anything beyond that be done as a stronger ester profile wasn't what I initially imagining for the Brown Ale.

Although I'm sure the beer will ultimately turn out just fine, the aromas coming out of the airlock are incredible!

Danke und prost!

Unfortunately, the majority of the fermentation has passed, and if there are any esters they might be there to stay. They may fade a bit with a little time, though, so don't be discouraged. I'm sure the beer will be great!