Stalled Fermentation with K-97?

General Homebrew Discussion
1

Hi everybody, this is my first homebrew attempt so I decided to go with a kolsch. i was recommended K-97 yeast by my local homebrew store. everything has gone well so far, but i’m worried about the health of the fermentation. day one, immediately after pitching the yeast, i put the fermenter into a fridge that i had turned off and left open for a bit to warm up. i live in texas and the weather this time of year is pretty hot, so i figured this would be a decent way to keep it more stable.

well, fast forward 4 days and it’s still in there. turns out i never actually turned the fridge off, just turned it to the warmest setting. the ambient air temp shows 50F and the fermenter thermometer reads 54F. i assume it’s been that temp this whole time. i pulled it out of the fridge to let it warm up since it seems like that’s too cold for ale yeast.

i’m wondering if this will cause any issues down the road as far as final gravity or off flavors?

2

Hi! It appears from what you have mentioned above this yeast is really cold in the fridge at 50-54. According to the website it likes to ferment best at 64-78F. I have used this yeast in the past myself and is great for a kolsch. Let it warm up a little and you should get activity. If your fermenter has been sealed then I would not worry about off flavors. Worst case you “put the yeast to sleep” and once warmed up a little they should wake up and start to eat! I would watch it over the next few days.

3

I agree, and also recommend taking a gravity reading to see where it is, and take another in a few days or so to see if it is dropping.