What would happen?

[dave1226]

What would happen if you fermented an ale at, or close to, lager temperatures?

 

[Ogri]

Not an expert but, from what I've read, wouldn't the ale yeast go into shutdown/hibernation due to being at a temperature that's considerably lower than its optimum range?

 

[dave1226]

Then what? Can you bring it back once it warms little? Is it ruined? Does the taste change? Will it continue to ferment? Will it just taste bad? I have no clue! But I am curious.

 

[Monstar]

Depends on the yeast. Nottingham, for instance, can ferment down to the high 50's and will give a lagerish flavor profile. Lower temperatures usually mean cleaner, slower fermentation. If it gets too cold they will hibernate. If you warm it up, they will wake up and keep doing their thing as far as I know.

 

[Ogri]

Again, not speaking from experience and I'm essentially as clueless as you claim to be but, a lot of information seems to point to there being no problem with the yeast being able to kick into gear again when the correct temperature range is reached. If you've sanitized efficiently and kept everything sealed you shouldn't stand too much chance of any infection hitting your batch. Going way over optimum temp range seems to be the cause of off flavours from fusels, esters and phenols but not sure about the consequences, if any, of going under other than the yeast going to sleep.

Hopefully someone with more knowledge will chime in and confirm, or ridicule, my assumptions.

 

[eastoak]

fermentation will slow or stop when temps go too far below optimum for any particular yeast and they will get back to work with a rise in temps.

 

[squirrelly]

I ferment all of my ales with the exception of German wheat and Belgian beers at 59*. I find it gives a longer primary fermentation, usually 4 weeks, but it ends up being really crisp and clean with very little to no dyacital or fruity esters. This works really well for my pales and IPAs. 1056 really does well a bit cold.

English and Irish yeasts also seem to perform really well in the high 50s. They attenuate down to 1.010, and make a really good dry red ale or dry stout.

I think a lot of this is personal preference, for a lot of brewers like the fruity esters produced by ale yeasts fermented in the low 60s. I just happen to place higher in competitions and like the taste of a dryer beer.

 

[Dan]

Give it a try. The only way you will truly find out is to do it yourself. Please take notes, let everybody know the results. One thing I enjoy about this form is when people intentionally break the established rules. Maybe the rules will hold true and maybe you will be the one to establish a solid example why they aren't always correct. Ballsy.. go for it!

Cheers, Dan

 

[dave1226]

Thank you all for the input. I'm gonna try the low temps and see what happens. I'm curious about those crisper taste and what not. I surely will report back my findings. Thanks again guys.

 

[dave1226]

I ferment all of my ales with the exception of German wheat and Belgian beers at 59*. I find it gives a longer primary fermentation, usually 4 weeks, but it ends up being really crisp and clean with very little to no dyacital or fruity esters. This works really well for my pales and IPAs. 1056 really does well a bit cold.

English and Irish yeasts also seem to perform really well in the high 50s. They attenuate down to 1.010, and make a really good dry red ale or dry stout.

I think a lot of this is personal preference, for a lot of brewers like the fruity esters produced by ale yeasts fermented in the low 60s. I just happen to place higher in competitions and like the taste of a dryer beer.

You make it sound very interesting! And you have convinced me not to fear the low temperatures. Gonna try it on my next batch. cheers!

 

[unionrdr]

Look up the temp range for the particular yeast used & go for the minimum end of the range.

 

[Ogri]

Thanks, to the original poster


For asking a question that has opened up some new horizons.


In my limited brewing experience so far I've been slightly obsessed with keeping fermentation temps constant but slightly high, low 70s, for the last three batches erring on the side of warmer being ideal for yeast to thrive. things are going to get a bit more frigid here soon, for my brewing environment, so I'm looking at fermenting longer and cooler with a bit more confidence.

Cheers

 

[dave1226]

Update:

The hefe I made and fermented at about 58 degrees turned out very crisp and refreshing. Everyone loves almost all the beers I've made at the low temps. It takes longer to ferment but I think it's worth it. Give it a try to see what happens.

 

[daksin]

Update:

The hefe I made and fermented at about 58 degrees turned out very crisp and refreshing. Everyone loves almost all the beers I've made at the low temps. It takes longer to ferment but I think it's worth it. Give it a try to see what happens.

Interesting- normally people like the fuity esters associated with hefeweizens, as well as the character associated with the yeast. I can't imagine that much of that came through, and there wouldn't have been as much yeast in suspension. How would you describe the beer?

 

[unionrdr]

I know what Dave means. We tried the Franziskaner Weissbier,& it didn't seem to have the fruity esters usually associated with the style. Just a clean,naturally slight sweetness from the wheat. If that makes any sense?...just a good,clean flavor.

 

[dave1226]

I know what Dave means. We tried the Franziskaner Weissbier,& it didn't seem to have the fruity esters usually associated with the style. Just a clean,naturally slight sweetness from the wheat. If that makes any sense?...just a good,clean flavor.

I don't think I could have said it better!

 

[william_shakes_beer]

Update:

The hefe I made and fermented at about 58 degrees turned out very crisp and refreshing. Everyone loves almost all the beers I've made at the low temps. It takes longer to ferment but I think it's worth it. Give it a try to see what happens.

Hefe usually produces banana and clove flavors. Were they still present at the low ferm temps? Which yeast did you use?

 

[unionrdr]

Whew! Glad I nailed it. Sometimes it's hard to describe aspects of flavor,aroma,& the like. But that's a good wheat beer style to me. Glad somebody made one with that kind of flavor. We def like it...

 

[dave1226]

Hefe usually produces banana and clove flavors. Were they still present at the low ferm temps? Which yeast did you use?

It had a mix of both. They were very crisp. I forgot the exact yeast strand but if you look on more beer you can find it when you put the hefe in the cart.

 

[Rainhard]

I wouldn't worry too much about the lower temps, depending on the yeast you use. I used US-05 at 58 degrees and went from 1.057 to 1.012 in 2 weeks. No off flavors. probably only lose out on a little bit of the 'light esters' that you would get in the higher 60's range.