Temperature after primary fermentation is complete

[hillbillyjones]

If I ferment my APA at 65F for a week, and believe the primary fermentation is done, can I pull it out of my fermentation refrigerator and let it sit at room temp (~77F) with out negatively affecting the beer's flavor? Maybe for another week or two?

 

[BayAreaBrew]

If I ferment my APA at 65F for a week, and believe the primary fermentation is done, can I pull it out of my fermentation refrigerator and let it sit at room temp (~77F) with out negatively affecting the beer's flavor? Maybe for another week or two?

Did you take a hydrometer reading first to make sure its done? I would double check the temperature range on the yeast too before letting sit out at a higher (non optimal) temperature.

 

[Setesh]

If fermentation is complete then there shouldn't be any problem with raising the temp. That's basically what I do. I use a swamp cooler during the first 7 days, take a reading to make sure all is well, then take it out and sit it in the corner under a black sheet (to keep the light out) for another 1-3 weeks depending on the beer. Never had any problems. Supposedly the yeasties will clean up after themselves better in the warmer temperatures.

 

[hillbillyjones]

I've done about 3 brews so just working on getting my APA right. I'll be using the Wyeast American Ale Yeast 1056 (or maybe the White Labs one), which is 60-72F. My setup allows me to do ~7 gallons at a time max. I can comfortably place two of the 7.9 gallon Speidels in the fridge. I could do biweekly brews and leave them in the fridge for a month at 64F if I drank 5 beers a day, which is more than I drink usually.

BayAreaBrew, I haven't done a hydrometer reading, but I have one batch that's been in the fridge for 3 weeks and I'm doing my first cold crash with it, so it got me thinking. What if I had two batches in the fridge that are past their primary fermentation periods and I want to bottle the oldest one, but cold crash it first. Could I just pull the other one out and set it in my spare bedroom for a few days while the fridge is running normal and cold crashing the one I'm about to bottle?

And what is this Satesh mentions about yeasts conditioning better at warmer temperatures? Is there a target temp for that? I had been thinking that my 76-80F room temps might be too high for this post primary fermentation conditioning stage.

 

[Setesh]

Yeasts will work faster at warmer temperatures. A beer stored at 60F will not carbonate as fast as a beer stored at 70F. Conditioning also happens much faster at higher temperatures. How high is too high? I really don't know to tell you the truth. Yeast at high temperatures can produce some off flavors you don't want. There isn't that much work for them to do to carb your beer, but still, a slower lower temperature carbonation can only be a good thing IMO. Here is a great post from Revy about bottling and bottle conditioning:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/bottling-tips-homebrewer-94812/#post1030387

 

[hillbillyjones]

I'm just talking about leaving it in the primary at ~77F for a couple weeks after the primary fermentation is complete. I suppose it could be similar to bottle conditioning except it'd still be on the yeast cake but not primed.. After I bottle, I do leave those at room temperature.

 

[billpaustin]

Fermentation adds temperature to the beer, normally 6-8 degrees. If you put your beer in 77 degrees, and it keeps fermenting, possibly into the 80's, it could be problem.

If you know for sure that no more fermentation will take place, then it could be safe to store it at 77. Take several sequential FG readings, several days in a row, to be sure.

 

[Xpertskir]

Yes. Temp control is only needed during active ferm unless you are talking about storing at a high temp.

77 is higher than I'd store my beer but it'll probably be fine