Thoughts on fermentation temps..

[GearDaddys]

Wanted to get some thoughts on fermentation temperatures.. I have a sanyo mini fridge that I use as my keggerator.. It has a dual tap tower, and CO2 tank mounted inside.. Also using a Johnson Controls A419 for temp management in the keggerator. I've been using it in the past for fermentation control, but I can really only do one beer at a time in there, and it's a PITA to take everything out of it to make the bucket/better bottle fit..

So a few weeks ago, I did two beers in the same day.. Pitched both (Nottingham ale yeast/Danstar) at 68 deg.. And said "Screw it, I'm gonna put them in an appropriate room for temp control, and see how it goes".. I watched the temps like a hawk for 4 days, and never got more than 70 deg on either beer.. I was pretty good with that.. So after the first week they have both fermented out (over 90 percent attenuation) and I'm not real happy with the room that they are stored in (laundry room).. If I put them in my "man cave" they drop to 64-66 deg.. So this is a very long way to ask: Is it ok for the beer to come down to a lower temp after the bulk of the fermentation has completed for the dry hopping, or should I leave them in the laundry room where they will hold approx 70 deg? Thanks for the advice..

Cheers!

 

[flars]

I will let my beers go to room temp, after they have completely fermented out, for dry hopping. Room temp is 66°F. I don't think the beer needs to be at fermentation temperature, if the the fermentation temp was warm, for dry hopping.
Dry hopping is at about 16 to18 days, when the majority of the CO2 has come out of solution.

 

[IslandLizard]

Why not ferment in the Man Cave? Those temps are a quite a bit better than 70°F, and easy to knock a few degrees off if put in a tub with water and a few ice bottles a day. Then, as flars said, let them finish out a bit higher.