Yeast Temps???

[wickedale]

I just brewed a Belgian White and used a Whitelabs Belgian Wit ale yeast. From what I remember the recommended temperature range for fermentation was 63-74F. The brew is fermenting fine a room temp 78 F will this temp give the beer an undesired fruitier ester?

 

[jacksonbrown]

I have not used that specific yeast before, but my general understanding is that wit and hefe yeasts fermenting at higher temps will yield fruitier esthers.

 

[Beerthoven]

As a general rule, fermenting yeast outside of its recommended temperature range can lead to off-flavors in the beer.

I've never used the yeast you mention, so that one might do OK. But I have fermented some beers at 78º in the past and they turned out...well, not so good. I ferment all my ales at 62º - 68º depending on the style and yeast.

I recommend you look into some kind of fermentation temperature control for your future brews. Here are a few links...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?p=675649
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=63546
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Primary_Fermentation#Fermentation_Temperature_Control

 

[wickedale]

It has been fermenting for about three days now and is slowing down. Would it make a difference if I tried to get the temp down now? I am going to rack it to secondary at some point. Or am I going to be stuck with a off-tasting horrible beer?

 

[Beerthoven]

It has been fermenting for about three days now and is slowing down. Would it make a difference if I tried to get the temp down now? I am going to rack it to secondary at some point. Or am I going to be stuck with a off-tasting horrible beer?

At this point I don't think you would gain much by trying to cool it off. I'd just let it run its course.

Please don't think I'm saying you'll end up with horrible beer. It may be just fine. See it through to the end and judge for yourself. All I'm saying is that 78º is generally considered too warm for beer making. You should think about getting some way of cooling your fermenting beer into the mid 60's for your future batches. If you do that, I think you'll be very happy with your results. I know it made a world of difference in my own beers.

 

[WBC]

Fermenting ale or lager outside their ideal temperature range will always produce unwanted esters. I suggest a fermentation chamber or refrigerator. The next best would be to put the carboy in a cooler in a water bath and add ice as necessary to keep your fermentation in the lower/middle of the yeasts recommended range for the length of the primary fermentation. It is too late now to help this beer. A freezer with a Ranco (R) controller is the best because it can hold any temperature ( plus or minus 1 degree) you need for lager or ale.

 

[Couevas]

+1 on creating some sort of temperature controlled area for fermentation.

That being said, fermenting a few degrees above the recommended range may not even be noticable to most pallets. Furthermore, if you do get a noticable ester, it will be a banana-type aroma that will not be uncommon in a wheat beer.

It will still be delicious, RDWHAHB.

 

[wickedale]

Thanks guys I know it will be drinkable but I just had some concerns. I'll start working on a ferm. chamber like some that I have found on HBT.

 

[Tommish]

I have not used the White Labs Wit Yeast but I have used a couple of the other White Labs Belgians which recommended temps in the higher range.

I did a wit with the WLP550 Belgian Ale Yeast with an optimum fermentation temperature of 68-78°F. Mine mostly stayed at 74° but I left the brew belt (it was winter) on a little too long about 4 days into it and found it at 80°. The final flavor was a little bit hot from fusel but additional esters were undetectable, probably because of the orange peel + coriander. Also because most esters are produced while the oxygen in the aerated wort is being used by the yeast before actual fermentation starts I think 4 days was enough to prevent too many from being produced.

I am currently making a blonde/saison hybrid style with WLP575 Belgian Style Ale Yeast Blend with an optimum fermentation temperature of 68-75°F. I think I pitched it kind of high (stick on thermometer was on the fritz-- I'm guessing 82°) and it also has a minor fusel character to it and major MAJOR bubblegum esters. These have mellowed a bit with the clean up/flocculation phase, but we'll see what the final analysis is (I bottle on Sunday). Probably since the temp for this batch started out so high, my yeast did a lot of esterification during the pre-fermentation reproduction phase.

Hope this helps. I suspect it will be tasty anyway.

 

[WBC]

Look at this......... Ice Cube Cooler Fermenter.
http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=42533&st=0

 

[Yooper]

Look at this......... Ice Cube Cooler Fermenter.
http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=42533&st=0

That's very similiar to mine- except I didn't like the hollow lid, so I removed it and made a lid out of styrofoam. Now, I have the fermenter cooler, and kept the cooler lid, too, so I can change it back to a cooler. Here's a couple of pictures of mine:

 

[wickedale]

I've got a cooler at home like that. I'll cut the lid first and if I screw it up I can still make one out of styrofoam. Gonna give it a try on my next brew... Will post pics soon. thanks for the pics Yooperbrew!!!

 

[sirsloop]

I use that yeast frequently. I have in the past gone high on the temps... you usually get some harder alcohol flavors and it'll be pretty darn fruity. Give it an extra few weeks to smooth out and it should be ok.

Next time just toss it in the bathtub with a towel around it, the water dripping slowly on the towel, and a fan blowing on that. You can easily knock off 10-15° off ambient temps with this method.

 

[wickedale]

I presume that’s the reason my Grand Cru has a little harder alcohol bite than I thought it would. But it does have 8.9% ABV that could be it too.

 

[sirsloop]

Well, there's a difference between a 9% ABV beer, and a HOT 9% ABV beer. Its like the difference between Grey Goose vodka and the cheapest bottle in the store.

 

[wickedale]

YooperBrew

Thanks for the Pics I just got done brewing a oatmeal stout with the Ice Cube cooler. I filled it with water and draped a t-shirt over the carboy. 65f consistently without ice :rockin:

 

[Damonic]

I have a similar concern. 2 weeks ago I pitched a wheat and put it in the basement. The temp has been at 74 which I know is at the high end but didn't know of a way to easily bring it down. (Tshirt method next time). Since I was planning on racking onto fruit anyway, maybe some additional fruit esthers won't be a big deal?

 

[wickedale]

I have a similar concern. 2 weeks ago I pitched a wheat and put it in the basement. The temp has been at 74 which I know is at the high end but didn't know of a way to easily bring it down. (Tshirt method next time). Since I was planning on racking onto fruit anyway, maybe some additional fruit esthers won't be a big deal?

Yeah, I was surprised at the drop in Temps. Room temp of 78F added water an old t-shirt and a little thing called evaporation and bingo 65F easy..

I have also read of using a fan blowing across it to facilitate the evaporation. Along with ice I bet it can get down to the lower 60's or upper 50's.

 

[Damonic]

I have a standalone dehumidifier for the basement that is about 4 feet away from the carboy. I'm sure the exhaust moves plenty of air and I probably wouldn't even need a fan. Too late for this batch anyway, if there's damage... its already been done.