fermenting temperature

[Blob]

Hello everyone,

I'm sure you get lots of boring questions from newbies like me, but guys - without your advice we probably couldn't do it.

Me and my girlfriend just received our first beer kit and last night I put together the Cream Stout by St. Peter's. I've been waiting for it since she said she would buy me one for my birthday in May. Finally it came and good that it was late, because I had time to get informed and brew a little bit of cider with these amazing Pat Mack's Homebrewing Caps, that I'm sure you've all heard of by now. Last night I absolutely loved all the smells and enjoyed the whole process, and I was jumping around the kitchen like a kid.

So my question here is:

The St. Peter's box instructed me to pitch the yeast at a temperature of 18-20 C. I pitched a little higher - between 21-22, hoping that the warmth will wake up my yeast. What worries me a little though, is that the temperature in the fermenter has dropped to 18 C by this morning. Is this a good fermenting temperature?

Thank you in advance for the help!

 

[Moley]

Welcome to the forum :

For most ale yeasts 18-20°C is just about perfect :thumb:

Above 25°C stresses the yeasties and they can produce strange flavours, get it too warm and it will kill them.

Cooler temperatures just slow them down but they should still finish the job.

The main thing is to try to keep the temperature fairly stable.

 

[winelight]

And what you did - pitch at 21 and let cool to 18 - is a great temperature profile. Other opinions will vary, but to me, pitching at 21 ensures you get off to a good start.

 

[Blob]

Hi Moley and winelight,

Thanks for your replies! I just thought I'd ask, because it feels a little cold when I touch it, but it seems it's a common misconception that ale should ferment at room temperature.

I'm very excited, looking forward to it.

Cheers

 

[danb]

For ales I pitch at 21' then ferment at 18' for 4 to 7 days, then 21' for 3 days and finally 4' for 4 days.

Youll be fine at that temp just try and keep it stable to prevent big temp swings. Ive got 2 batches from a yearago when I first started that got upto 26' and are sstill undrinkable.

 

[rpt]

I pitch and ferment at 20C, then raise the temperature to help the attenuation followed by dropping it so it clears. But the advice is actually to pitch at a lower temperature and then let it naturally rise to the fermentation temperature.

 

[Maysie]

Hi Moley and winelight,

Thanks for your replies! I just thought I'd ask, because it feels a little cold when I touch it, but it seems it's a common misconception that ale should ferment at room temperature.

I'm very excited, looking forward to it.

Cheers

If the brew is at 18C(ish) it will be lower than your body temperature (37C), so when you touch it it will feel cool - even when the room is at 18C and feels comfortable.
Believe in your thermometer! (Assuming it is a decent one that tells the correct temp of course...!) :thumb:

 

[Sandimas]

Just watch that the temp doesn't slip too low - came in tonight and my room was sat at 16C and brew had stopped. I reckon 18C minimum for a reliable fermentation.

 

[Blob]

Hi everyone,

So I came back home last night and had a nice healthy bubbling going on, same this morning. I don't detect any smells, which is unfortunate and the urge to look inside is very strong but I will resist it. :)

Temperature is still stable at 18 C, so that's good. Now it's a waiting game.

Cheers

 

[graysalchemy]

And what you did - pitch at 21 and let cool to 18 - is a great temperature profile. Other opinions will vary, but to me, pitching at 21 ensures you get off to a good start.

I find that if you pitch to high you may get runaway temps which you can't control in the growth phase as fermentation is exothermic and 21-22c is the start of the danger zone in the initial stages. I prefer pitching lower as by the time it kicks in it will get raised back towards 21 anyway. :thumb:

 

[Blob]

Bubbling stopped after a mere 24-30 hours. I wanted to take a reading but don't have a trial jar, have to improvise something. Temperatures have been fairly stable always between 18 and 20 C...

The possible problems to my knowledge are:

- it's still fermenting but not so vigorously and I'm paranoid
- yeast fell asleep (at 18? Bit high, no?)
- it's finished (impossible so quickly)

What do you think?

Thanks

 

[winelight]

Some brews will slow or even appear to stop bubbling quite quickly... others will never even bubble much at all (at least not visibly). I'm sure it's fine. But a long way from being finished.

 

[Blob]

That's what I thought - paranoia :)

Thank you, sir.