I have been extract brewing for about a year now and have gotten quite comfortable with the process but now want to start refining and making better brews.
While I’ve never really paid that close attention to temp control, only my first ever batch was ruined. Although I’m pretty sure that was more of a contamination issue, but anyway… I know they can be better - more consistent ABV and flavor.
So now to the point, I just bought a 12 inch probe to monitor fermentation temperature. Just about everything I’ve made needs to be between 65 -75 degrees. This batch temped out at 86 degrees so I cooled it down to the recommended range. It was very active at the higher temp but seems to have ceased all activity now that it is at the right temp.
Should I be worried that it has stalled or warm it back up to where it was?
Thanks for the welcome and response. It is a pumpkin ale. Just right for the season. I used Safale US-05 Dry Yeast. At the time of this post, it will have been in the fermenter for 4.5 days.
First step should almost always be a gravity reading. It’s possible that the sudden temperature drop caused the yeast to stall out, but equally likely that after four days at high temperature it was simply finished fermenting.
Sounds okay then, no reason to panic yet. I’m not sure what those higher fermentation temps will render but at least your on your way to beer. Leave it a couple more days, I’d suggest more along the normal room temperature range of 68-72, and then see where you’re at. Are you planning to go into a secondary container?
I tasted the samples I pulled and they taste good. So I have that going. It’s in a Catalyst Fermenter so I only have to empty the Mason jar. I’ll let it sit for a few days like you suggested.
Here are the results as I kept the temperature at 70 and the gravity readings stayed consistent. ABV is a bit higher than expected but I’m OK with that.
Pumpkin Ale Targets vs Actual
SG 1.052 vs 1.050
FG 1.012 vs 1.003
Yeast Attenuation
76% vs 94%
Target ABV vs Actual
5.25% vs 6.17%