Wert temp too cold???

[Brew_Meister]

Ok so yesterday I brewed a kit from Midwest, Honey Belgian. Everything went pretty well. I brewed it in 2.5 gallons of water and top off to about 5.25 gallons with cold water. After brewing I use a wert chiller to chill the wert, then pour it into the fermenter with the cold water. My question is that the water I used to top it off was cold... very cold, it had big ice chunks in it. After adding the wert to this water my temp was around 55. Instead of waiting for it to warm up, I decided to aerate it and go ahead and add the yeast. Will this cold temp kill the yeast, or just stall it until the temp raises up???

On a side note, I bottled my Vanilla Cream Ale that has been in the secondary for about three weeks, it tasted wonderful, especially after adding the vanilla and lactose.... I cant wait for it to condition in the bottles.

 

[EvilTOJ]

55º shouldn't kill the yeast, it'll just hang out a tad woozy until the wort warms up to optimal temperature for it to start doing it's work. It could take an extra day until you see real activity though.

 

[david_42]

I've pitched at 55F and once the fermenter warmed up, everything was nominal.

 

[Brew_Meister]

Ok so yesterday the fermenter warmed up to 68 and it has been almost 48 hours and no signs of fermentation yet. I am beginning to get a bit worried that I "froze" the little yeasties to death. I can see that there is pressure inside the fermenter by the rising level of liquid in the airlock. Is there anything that I can do or should I just wait it out another day. Also, there are no Homebrew supply stores near me, if I need to pitch more yeast, I would have to order them online. I know there is not really a question here, but I needed to vent my worries somewhere....

 

[Spyk'd]

I'd research my yeast to find the optimal temperature range as listed on the package and/or website. You are doing an ale and 68 degrees is still a tad cold in my book. Get that primary around 72 and you'll be in business. Of course the stop watch starts after the beer is up to temperature. Then you'll have to wait 24 hours before dismissing anything.



Welcome to the insanity!

 

[Brew_Meister]

Thanks for the reassurance Spyk'd... I am using Trappist Ale yeast WL500. It says on the bottle that optimum fermentation temp is 65. White Labs website says 65-72. It has only been up to or above 65 for about 12 hours now... maybe tonight the bugger will start bubbling for me.

 

[Brew_Meister]

Ok relief at last... I came home from work today and she was bubbling away at a nice 72 degrees. See all that worry for nothing.... I have never had such a long lag time, that is what worried me... in addition, no local homebrew supply store so I wanted enough time to react.... thanks for all the reassurance that you gave me in this post.

 

[makingitgood]

how much vanilla extract did you add to your Vanilla Cream Ale, and how many gals was yer ale?

 

[clayof2day]

Meister-Did you do a starter? Thats a sure way to help keep lag times down to a minimum and make sure you have nice healthy yeasties!

 

[Fatabbot]

how much vanilla extract did you add to your Vanilla Cream Ale, and how many gals was yer ale?

PM maybe?

 

[kornkob]

in addition, no local homebrew supply store so I wanted enough time to react....

That's why it isn't a bad idea to keep a couple packets of dry yeast in the fridge. That way if you ever have another 'emergency pitch' situation you can easily resolve it. *insert inappropriate sports analogy here*