Brew started too hot

[earthwormgaz]

Will I get away with it? I put my latest brew (hopefully some kind of spring bitter, whatever that is) in the inkbird fridge I made, but the bloody temp probe had fallen off unbeknown to me, so I thought it was 20 degrees. That was Sunday night. I looked in there tonight and yeast sludge had spilled over the edge, I strapped the probe back on the bucket and it was actually 27 degrees! It has soon cooled back down in there, maybe within 30 minutes it was saying 20 degrees.

Is this likely to be headache in a bottle undrinkable filth?

 

[jof]

It will be fine.
Beer is also brewed in the summer.

 

[foxy]

Will I get away with it? I put my latest brew (hopefully some kind of spring bitter, whatever that is) in the inkbird fridge I made, but the bloody temp probe had fallen off unbeknown to me, so I thought it was 20 degrees. That was Sunday night. I looked in there tonight and yeast sludge had spilled over the edge, I strapped the probe back on the bucket and it was actually 27 degrees! It has soon cooled back down in there, maybe within 30 minutes it was saying 20 degrees.

Is this likely to be headache in a bottle undrinkable filth?

Could end up with an ester bomb but it fades over time. I presume fermentation had finished by the time you discovered it.
Thermowells on AliExpress are only a couple of dollars might be worth considering getting one so it can't happen again.

 

[MashBag]

It will might not be quite what you are expecting, but it will beer fine.

 

[Twostage]

LOL. Reminds me of when my chest freezer worked (operates as a heat only FV/Carbonation chamber now) and I left the temperature probe hanging outside whilst I was carbonating some bottles in the middle of summer. The next morning I had a nice collection of beer lollies. Amazingly they defrosted, carbonated and tasted OK.

 

[An Ankoù]

It will be fine.
Beer is also brewed in the summer.

Yeah, but he's making Spring beer, innit!

 

[hoppyscotty]

Complete the brew and see. I brewed a Belgium triple a couple of summers ago when it was super hot and it got up to about 27 degrees or so as I didn't have good temp control back then and unfortunately the beer came out with a fusel alcohol flavour which is a classic off flavour associated with fermentations that are too warm...the only beer I've ditched. Also at a local homebrew club competition during another hot summer alot of the entries had the same flavour and all from those who didn't have any or good fermentation temp control.

I think your results will depend on alot of factors like yeast and time at elevated temperature etc. so I'd say crack on regardless and see what you end up with. You'll either get away with it, it will impact the beer but will still be drinkable, or might not be great.

Also back in the day people didn't necessarily brew in summer due to temperature. Was quite common to brew beer over winter and store to drink over the summer where it was too hot to brew or they were too busy bringing in the harvest or something.

 

[earthwormgaz]

I think it had about 18 hours at that high temp, then I caught it and got it back down to 20 degrees within an hour.

Could it really have fermented all the way so quick at that temp? Be interested to try and test it, see what sugar is left!

I love the one about beer ice lollies, if you got away with that, anything can be saved :)

 

[hoppyscotty]

I'd just let it ride and see what you've got. Nothing you can do about it now. It could clean up if active fermentation still has a way to go, not sure of the biology and chemistry of it.

 

[earthwormgaz]

Yeah just tested it, its done pretty much something like 1012 now. Balls, balls, balls. I go to the trouble of getting the fridge set up, then scuppered by a bit of tape falling off! I may as well have left it on the bloody patio brewing haha!

 

[earthwormgaz]

Could end up with an ester bomb but it fades over time. I presume fermentation had finished by the time you discovered it.
Thermowells on AliExpress are only a couple of dollars might be worth considering getting one so it can't happen again.
View attachment 97360

This seems a good shout. I looked at these and didn't fancy trying to clean around it in the bucket. This is what being lazy gets me.

 

[MashBag]

Have you tasted it?

Beer is not toxic at any stage of its production and tasting will give you a huge amount of information about what is going on.

 

[earthwormgaz]

Have you tasted it?

Beer is not toxic at any stage of its production and tasting will give you a huge amount of information about what is going on.

I suppose I could sterilise a glass and scoop some out. What sort of taste do those head ache alcohols give? I seem to remember a sort of "hot" taste last time I did it?

 

[earthwormgaz]

Wow, look at the science here, mind blown - https://escarpmentlabs.com/blogs/re...booze-flavour-5-strategies-for-fusel-alcohols

 

[earthwormgaz]

I tried it. Tasted pretty ****, but it probably would this early. There was a nose of vodka or something if I wasn't mistaken.

 

[matt.]

Could end up with an ester bomb but it fades over time. I presume fermentation had finished by the time you discovered it.
Thermowells on AliExpress are only a couple of dollars might be worth considering getting one so it can't happen again.
View attachment 97360

Any issues with fitting a thermowell to the side of a FV? Is the curve a problem?

 

[foxy]

Any issues with fitting a thermowell to the side of a FV? Is the curve a problem?

Depends on the diameter of the FV if itis a decent size then you can put the thermowell through the side. What you could possibly do is use a reducer to a smaller dia if you can get NPT threaded sockets. Then again you can get them on AliExpress as well.

 

[MashBag]

I tried it. Tasted pretty ****, but it probably would this early. There was a nose of vodka or something if I wasn't mistaken.

Carbon dioxide would be the obvious one. It's the ferment still going out had it finished?

 

[starseeker]

If it had got to 37 deg then it would be time to be concerned ,27 deg will be fine

 

[earthwormgaz]

Yeah, think it was 27 not 37. Temp inside the fridge basically, not up against the side of the bucket.

Should I just prime and bottle this ASAP then, seeing as its seemingly done already? Probably bad to leave it sat on all that dead yeast?