Another "Is it ruined" question

[hoppyscotty]

Brewed a Belgian Tripel over the weekend (Saturday). Pitched into the fermenter at low 20 degrees, though the Grainfather conical seemed to think it was about 4 or so degrees higher as it always does (why is It I can never get any thermometers to agree!). Using White Labs WLP550 Belgian Ale Yeast (20 - 26 degrees) form a yeast starter that seemed to be going well. We waited for the temp of the wort to cool for a few hours and pitched at about 23 degrees indicated that evening even thought the recipe temp profile stared at 18 degrees rising to about 24 degrees over a week or so, as it was really slow in cooling (no chiller) and didn't want to leave it another day before pitching for fear of starter failing or something.

We expected the wort to continue to cool through Sunday and into today (Monday), but as of today it has actually warmed further and the GF was reading 27.5 degrees this afternoon (maybe upto 4 degrees cooler by any other thermometer).

The weather forecast says its not going to cool over the next few days and given how well insulated the GF conical seems to be I can't imaging temps are going to drop significantly over that period if at all. We've ordered the pump kit so can get cold water going around in a few days time when it arrives, but what damage will the high temperatures be doing to the yeast and ultimately the beer?

Thanks.

 

[phettebs]

27.5C is pretty high, even for a Belgian. I try to keep my tripels around 18C for the first few days and then let them rise as they will. The risk you run with those higher temps initially is fusel alcohols. You will probably get some boozy notes from it. I wouldn't say it's ruined though. Let it completely ferment out and see what it ends up like.

 

[hoppyscotty]

Ta. Hopefully the GF thermometer is reading a few degrees high as it seems to usually compared to other thermometers we use when cooling the wort prior to pitching and we're within the usual fermentation range still.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Well if it's any comfort, you're not the only one who was caught out by the warm weather. I had a couple of brews going and they both gone into ruddy meltdown (ok, 22ºc and 23ºc respectively). The problem is that a vigorous fermentation generates its own heat due to the metabolic activity of the yeast, which can easily raise it one or two degrees above ambient... which tends to make the fermentation a bit more vigorous, which ... well, you get the picture

If you want to cool it down a bit, sling a wet towel over the bucket and point a fan at it.

 

[Rochefort]

I think the damage is already done, or hopefully not done if it stayed below 24 C for the first day or so - it should start cooling on its own soon, I would guess it is close to maximum activity by now.

Can you check the calibration of the thermometer using ice water and steam? If your grainfather is reading the correct temperature, your beer will be quite harsh, if not, it might be delightful in 2-3 months time.

 

[Jj86]

The first 72 hours is where most of the ferment takes place. So it’s likely to have a noticeable amount of fusil alcohol. But doesn’t all triples.. Personally I’d keg it but not sure if I could be arsed to wash all those bottles to bottle it.

 

[hoppyscotty]

Well the max temp the grandfather readout hit was 27.5 deg C. The fermentation temperature was to ramp upto 26 degrees anyway and on the basis the GF temperature readout seems to red a few degrees C higher than other thermometers I'm hoping we've not ruined the batch - at least to the extent its not drinkable. Hoping the homebrew gods are smiling down on us!! The next challenge is getting the temp down as low as we can once fermentation is over. Got the pump kit on order so can see alot of ice in a cool box coming!

 

[IainM]

My first AG was a Belgian Triple which got too hot. Full of fusals and gave a horrid headache. I tried it every few months or so to see if it would condition out but yesterday, after 5 years conditioning, I gave up on it and poured it down the sink. You might have better luck than me, and I wouldn't give up on it yet, but if the fusals are so high that they kill head retention and are prominent in the character of the beer, you might have to chalk it up to experience.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Think I might have dodged the bullet with my Yorkshire bitter - just checked it and it's down to 1010 after 4 days. Looks like pond-water, but no discernible harsh flavours despite having got up to 23º the last couple of days