Newbie question regarding fermentation

[cossie.j]

Hi,good morning to you all.
So i have a slight problem with my latest brew! I pitched my yeast a little too high Friday @22 degrees Celsius, ( honestly i don’t know why i did?) i guess i had it in my head from previous kits with instructions that said to do so?. However they were all extract kits and the fermentation lag was always for me,very long times.

however this batch is an all grain brew ( house pale by John finch) my 3rd AG brew. The yeast was safale US04 and it’s been fermenting since yesterday @24.7 c! I was meant to ferment @19c. So my question is.... would this still be a drinkable beer being fermented at this temperature? Or fermenting this high would have killed the beer off? Im now definitely getting a fermenting fridge to use, hopefully before i do my next brew.
I appreciate your input/advise on this greatly.
Many thanks
James

 

[woody1959]

What you have to ask yourself is "How did the brewers of old manage?" they neither had fridges nor accurate thermometers.

 

[cossie.j]

What you have to ask yourself is "How did the brewers of old manage?" they neither had fridges nor accurate thermometers.

Thank you woody. I guess I’m just looking for reassurance that’s all as I’ve never experienced this before? I’m so used to brewing extract kits i guess i was just on auto pilot so to speak! I always experienced lots of lag time before any activity with kits, but with all grain I’ve had with my first 3 brews, activity within a couple hours all monitored by my tilt hydrometers.

 

[ACBEV]

I don't think pitching @ 22c is excessively high. The higher temp. you pitch, the more chance of diacetyl off flavours. A little diacetyl is ok, depends on the drinker.

I pitch @ 28-30c in one brew in August, couldn't be arsed to wait any longer, was not nice to drink.

 

[woody1959]

Thank you woody. I guess I’m just looking for reassurance that’s all as I’ve never experienced this before? I’m so used to brewing extract kits i guess i was just on auto pilot so to speak! I always experienced lots of lag time before any activity with kits, but with all grain I’ve had with my first 3 brews, activity within a couple hours all monitored by my tilt hydrometers.

22c isn't going to hurt it that much, I ferment my ales at 20-22c and they turn out fine.

 

[terrym]

It might turn out slightly different to how it would have turned out had you kept the temperatures lower, but you won't know by how much. However that aside I'm sure it will turn out drinkable or better. Just put it down to experience, learn the lesson, and move on.

 

[cossie.j]

Thanks for the insight guys, i was prepared to bin it and start another?as brew space is limited in my place at the moment. Definitely put it down as a lesson learned haha and remember to pitch the yeast lower than normal. Normally with the extract kits, it wouldn’t have been a problem as the wort would have cooled down somewhat by the time fermentation really kicked off, thus brewing at a sensible temperature?

 

[terrym]

Thanks for the insight guys, i was prepared to bin it and start another?as brew space is limited in my place at the moment. Definitely put it down as a lesson learned haha and remember to pitch the yeast lower than normal. Normally with the extract kits, it wouldn’t have been a problem as the wort would have cooled down somewhat by the time fermentation really kicked off, thus brewing at a sensible temperature?

Unless its obviously a disaster before it gets packaged my view is you should always see beers though before the decision to pour it down the drain.

 

[Keruso]

Hi,good morning to you all.
So i have a slight problem with my latest brew! I pitched my yeast a little too high Friday @22 degrees Celsius, ( honestly i don’t know why i did?) i guess i had it in my head from previous kits with instructions that said to do so?. However they were all extract kits and the fermentation lag was always for me,very long times.

however this batch is an all grain brew ( house pale by John finch) my 3rd AG brew. The yeast was safale US04 and it’s been fermenting since yesterday @24.7 c! I was meant to ferment @19c. So my question is.... would this still be a drinkable beer being fermented at this temperature? Or fermenting this high would have killed the beer off? Im now definitely getting a fermenting fridge to use, hopefully before i do my next brew.
I appreciate your input/advise on this greatly.
Many thanks
James

ideal fermentation temperature for S-04 is 15-20c so you are marginally over, I would let it ferment until the end, I’m sure the beer will turn out fine.

 

[cossie.j]

Unless its obviously a disaster before it gets packaged my view is you should always see beers though before the decision to pour it down the drain.

Thanks terrym. I’ll definitely wait a couple weeks and see how it’s turned out

 

[cossie.j]

ideal fermentation temperature for S-04 is 15-20c so you are marginally over, I would let it ferment until the end, I’m sure the beer will turn out fine.

Yes almost 25 all day yesterday, but it’s calmed down considerably now and still quite high @23? Oh well it’ll definitely be a lesson learned,and being new to this all grain brewing I’m sure I’ll come across a few other hiccups on the way ; )

 

[An Ankoù]

Hi,good morning to you all.
So i have a slight problem with my latest brew! I pitched my yeast a little too high Friday @22 degrees Celsius, ( honestly i don’t know why i did?) i guess i had it in my head from previous kits with instructions that said to do so?. However they were all extract kits and the fermentation lag was always for me,very long times.

however this batch is an all grain brew ( house pale by John finch) my 3rd AG brew. The yeast was safale US04 and it’s been fermenting since yesterday @24.7 c! I was meant to ferment @19c. So my question is.... would this still be a drinkable beer being fermented at this temperature? Or fermenting this high would have killed the beer off? Im now definitely getting a fermenting fridge to use, hopefully before i do my next brew.
I appreciate your input/advise on this greatly.
Many thanks
James

Safale S-04 can be quite a forgiving yeast, but you're pushing it with 24+C. The main this is to get the temperature down. Put that fermenter in a water bath or the sink or the bath or put some wet towels over it and keep them wet. This will minimise the "damage". The damage being that instead of a rather neutral yeast, you're going to get some fruity esters in there that you may or may not like. Even so, you mustn't let it get any warmer.
Certainly don't throw it away at this stage. It could well be ok.

 

[cossie.j]

Thank you An Ankou for your reply. It’s calmed down now and temperature has dropped below 23 so I’ll let it continue to cool itself down and try a sample at package time. This time of year I’m usually struggling to maintain heat but it so happens its the opposite? this time round. ( mental note to self ) pitch @ lower temps which i did with my previous brews, which are and have fermented well keeping a steady temperature.

 

[An Ankoù]

Thank you An Ankou for your reply. It’s calmed down now and temperature has dropped below 23 so I’ll let it continue to cool itself down and try a sample at package time. This time of year I’m usually struggling to maintain heat but it so happens its the opposite? this time round. ( mental note to self ) pitch @ lower temps which i did with my previous brews, which are and have fermented well keeping a steady temperature.

You're welcome cossie.j, but 23C is still to high and, if fermentation is still full on, the fermentation itself is generating heat so I really would be inclined to chuck a couple of wet towels over it until the head drops.

 

[cossie.j]

You're welcome cossie.j, but 23C is still to high and, if fermentation is still full on, the fermentation itself is generating heat so I really would be inclined to chuck a couple of wet towels over it until the head drops.

Hey, I actually did this almost an hour a ago and viola..... the temperature is now at 20.5. Activity in the airlock has slowed down a considerable amount,and gravity reading is 1.018 from original gravity reading of 1.051 since Friday morning. So it’ll stay in the fermenter for another 12 days or so. I also have another brew i done last week with more succession,using safale US05 and this has reached final gravity in only 7 days.

 

[GerritT]

Hey, I actually did this almost an hour a ago and viola..... the temperature is now at 20.5. Activity in the airlock has slowed down a considerable amount,and gravity reading is 1.018 from original gravity reading of 1.051 since Friday morning. So it’ll stay in the fermenter for another 12 days or so. I also have another brew i done last week with more succession,using safale US05 and this has reached final gravity in only 7 days.

22º should work out fine, just keep the temp stable. S04 can manage it. Just leave it for long enough (2 weeks) and don't worry.

 

[An Ankoù]

Hey, I actually did this almost an hour a ago and viola..... the temperature is now at 20.5. Activity in the airlock has slowed down a considerable amount,and gravity reading is 1.018 from original gravity reading of 1.051 since Friday morning. So it’ll stay in the fermenter for another 12 days or so. I also have another brew i done last week with more succession,using safale US05 and this has reached final gravity in only 7 days.

Excellent. Now one more piece of advice. Keep the lid on and stop sampling it until the two weeks is up. When the first madness of wild fermentation is done, it's a bit more prone to airborne infection.
Talking about stuff airborne, listen to this:

 

[cossie.j]

22º should work out fine, just keep the temp stable. S04 can manage it. Just leave it for long enough (2 weeks) and don't worry.

Will definitely get a minimum of 2 weeks in primary for sure. Thanks for your reassuring words GerritT

 

[cossie.j]

Excellent. Now one more piece of advice. Keep the lid on and stop sampling it until the two weeks is up. When the first madness of wild fermentation is done, it's a bit more prone to airborne infection.
Talking about stuff airborne, listen to this:

No sampling here ; ) it’s all monitored with my tilt hydrometers, i literally just have to click onto the grainfather app and see the progress of my brews via a graph which updates every 15 mins. All a bit technical for me? But it works

 

[cossie.j]

Thanks for all your replies to this guys, i appreciate all the help advice i receive. Was just looking at a recipe actually which caught my attention earlier, sounded like a nice plain beer that’d be ok to have during the week? The yeast used is a actually safale US04,and fermentation temperature of 25c. Which kinda made me chuckle to be honest and who knows it might be a beer I’ll brew? Fermentation temperature is obviously at default for me haha . Joking aside...... thanks for your advice