Temp too cold?

Yesterday, I made the Brickwarmer Winter Red Ale 5 gallon extract kit. I’m using Safale S-04 yeast. I use a swamp cooler to keep the wort cool during fermentation. With a combination of ice and ice packs, I’m have it down to 60. Is that too low? The foam cap is starting to rise a little.

S-04 is happy 59-68, so they say.
Your OK. You go a couple degrees warmer, but don’t go colder.

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It will ferment there slow and clean. Lately I’ve been fermenting London ale yeast closer to 70 and am loving it. All depends on what your looking for. 65 is kind of middle of the road but again it will all make good beer.

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I use a swamp cooler to keep the temperature in the low 60°F range during the initial active fermentation. I’ll maintain the highest temperature reached during active fermentation by heating the swamp cooler water to keep the yeast active. S-04 is a highly flocculant English strain of yeast. I’ve had this strain and other English strains flocculate when the beer begins to cool after the most active initial fermentation. The fermentations would stall in a range of 1.014 to 1.018 without holding the higher and stable temperature.

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Not a bad thing to ferment cooler and longer IMHO… Once its done with the active phase, then allow it to room temp for a week or so… Check your gravity/sample for final gravity before going to the next step… kegging, bottling, lagering… which ever you do… Sneezles61

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Temp went up to 66 once fermentation really started. Added a few ice packs to compensate. Lot of krausen with this one. I’m glad I’m using a fermonster!

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