Temps too high...what to do now

[MattAndDana]

We are only on our second batch but we have realized that the summer temps of southern CA are not conducive to proper brewing. The temp in our home rarely drops below 78 degrees, which is probably the reason why the yeast hasn't been able to finish fermenting.

Our current batch has been sitting for 2 weeks and is no where near its FG. What can we do to salvage this batch? Pitch more yeast?

We're looking into getting a freezer or fridge in order to control the temp, but what can we do in the meantime to keep the temps down?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[progmac]

high temps are not going to affect a beer's ability to reach FG. if anything, they'll push the gravity even lower.

what was your expected and actual final gravities? what yeast did you use? was this an extract kit? any more information about what you brewed?

 

[MattAndDana]

We used an extract kit for an IPA, the expected FG was supposed to be 1.015 but was only 1.047. We used the yeast with the kit which was Sachet-dry ale yeast.

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

You can always use a swamp cooler to maintain lower fermentation temps. But as said above that will really not have an effect on reaching a desired FG. That is a matter of how many unfermentables are present in your wort. If your doing extract batches the FG will tend to be higher. It's not uncommon to stop around 1.020 if your doing all grain try mashing at a lower temperature to make a more fermentable wort.

1.047 sounds like your yeast was dead. I would pitch a new batch of yeast ASAP

 

[evrose]

1.047 isn't a sign of high temps, it's a sign of dead yeast. Go to your local home brewing store and pick up a fresh packet of yeast. Do it asap. Like now.

 

[MattAndDana]

I will pitch some new yeast and hopefully that will solve our problem. This is only our second batch, but this has happened both times. I will start buying fresh yeast instead of using the stuff with the kit and see if that helps in the future.

Thanks for the input!

 

[MaxStout]

I don't know what your OG was, and how much, if any attenuation occurred from your first pitch. But this might be an opportunity to control your temps better the second time around with that batch. If your house is 78-plus, your fermentation will be several degrees warmer. Which might be OK for a saison strain, but way too high for most others.

Set up a swamp cooler. After you pitch again, set your fermenter in a large container and fill that with cold water. Put some icepacks or blocks of ice in it to keep temps down during the first few days of fermentation. You may need to switch out icepacks or add more ice. Drape an old t-shirt or towel over the fermenter to soak up water and create an evaporative cooling effect. Real important to keep away off-flavors due to high ferm temps.

 

[Epimetheus]

If your doing extract batches the FG will tend to be higher.

Why does extract result in a higher FG?

 

[MattAndDana]

I don't know what your OG was, and how much, if any attenuation occurred from your first pitch. But this might be an opportunity to control your temps better the second time around with that batch. If your house is 78-plus, your fermentation will be several degrees warmer. Which might be OK for a saison strain, but way too high for most others.

Set up a swamp cooler. After you pitch again, set your fermenter in a large container and fill that with cold water. Put some icepacks or blocks of ice in it to keep temps down during the first few days of fermentation. You may need to switch out icepacks or add more ice. Drape an old t-shirt or towel over the fermenter to soak up water and create an evaporative cooling effect. Real important to keep away off-flavors due to high ferm temps.

OG was 1.057, so it appears that some attenuation occurred. We were planning to also set up a swamp cooler after we pitch the new yeast and see if that helps.

Thank you for your input!

 

[BigFloyd]

Before you pitch more yeast, what are you using to measure FG?

Hydrometer or refractometer?

 

[MattAndDana]

We use a refractometer.

 

[n240sxguy]

Once the yeast starts making alcohol the accuracy of a refractometer goes bye bye for the most part. Use a hydrometer. I use my refractometer up until I pitch the yeast.

 

[MattAndDana]

Once the yeast starts making alcohol the accuracy of a refractometer goes bye bye for the most part. Use a hydrometer. I use my refractometer up until I pitch the yeast.

Good to know. We will try testing with a hydrometer and see what specific gravity values we get. Thanks!

 

[evrose]

We use a refractometer.

AH HA! There's a potential problem right there.

As mentioned, the presence of alcohol messes with refractometers.

See here: http://seanterrill.com/2012/01/06/refractometer-calculator/

Still, 1.047 seems really high, even accounting for refractometer error.

 

[MattAndDana]

Thank you guys for the info on the refractometer. I used a hydrometer and got a FG of 1.014 which is about where it is supposed to be.

 

[n240sxguy]

Jeez! I didn't realize it would be that far off!

 

[BigFloyd]

Jeez! I didn't realize it would be that far off!

Oh heck yes. That's why I asked about it. When I read the post, I thought, "that sounds like a refractometer error".

MattAndDana - don't feel badly. You're certainly not the first one to do this and panic thinking that your ferment was stuck. It's all good.

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

Why does extract result in a higher FG?

It all depends in the maltster and how many unfermentables they wind up introducing into the wort. If they mash high the resulting extract will have more unfermentables in it than if they mash low. All grain brewing we can control the temps ourselves to produce the ferment ability of the wort we desire. Extract has all the work already done so we can control the amount if unfermentables in the extract. As a result sometimes extract will finish with a higher than expected FG. it's not uncommon for extract batches to finish around 1.020 which to me would be high for an all grain standard gravity Ale