Totally new to this.
I’m brewing my first ale (Irish Red). I think I did all of the steps right in the brewing, cooling, etc. I got a great initial fermentation with lots of airlock action and two inch krausen. Everything was going great. Had the temperature at 64ºF. All was good for three days after pitching.
Then we left for vacation. Long story short, we ran out of heating oil while we were gone for 5 days. Came home to a house that was 37ºF. Yikes! The Fermometer on the glass carboy wasn’t even reading anything (too cold). – all was still and very inactive in the carboy.
We got more heating oil, raised the temperature back to 68ºF, swirled the carboy a bit and it seems that fermentation has restarted. (bubbles in the airlock, new lighter krausen, some internal swirling…)
Does the deep drop in temperature mean that the ale is ruined? Should I dump it all and start over? Or is it worth racking, bottling, conditioning only to find out after all that that the ale is junk?
What are the negative effects of a 25º temp drop in the middle of the first week of fermentation? Even when the fermentation seems to be going again?
Any advice is welcome, brothers and sisters.
And as I said, I’m totally new to this and hoping my first attempt isn’t lost…
i am going on public record here when i say, the only beer i throw out is finished beer, that has been bottled or kegged and makes me gag when i drink it, i am stingy, remember brewers havent always had tempature control and and i think your beer will be fine, when ever i get down or worried i always tell myself that brewing is a complex science and an easy art form it has always carried me right, you can make it as complex or simple as you want, i personally have never taken a hydrometer reading, and rarley do anything to control tempature, but generally the beers come out fine, i just dont want to spend the money on hydrometers and heating cooling sources, i tend to sit on art side of isle, final opinion keep the beer man. (sorry to anyone that thinks i am nuts for opinions on hydrometers and temp control)
I’m no expert, but I would say you’ll be okay. Just let the beer sit for another two weeks at proper temp.
I’m not sure what happens when active fermentation is suddenly halted, so I might be wrong.
I’d say just continue full steam ahead. If the beer still tastes good after bottling, then alls well that ends well…or should I say ales well that ends well?
Thanks, lads, for the good advice.
I especially like the advice of going with the art over the science here. I really just want to make good drinkable beer and all the talk on here about OGs, temperatures and cooling times had me kinda nervous that I had to become a chemist to make beer.
And I’ll carry on with my first ale. And all’s well that ends ale.
I agree with the previous posters. If it started to ferment again after warming up, then you will probably be ok.
This is where A hyrdometer would come in handy. If you had an OG you could take a sample and see where you are at now.
You can make good even great beer without the “science”. The science is just there so you know what is going on with your beer. It helps you know if something went or is wrong, and a clue on how to fix it now or in the future. Heck, there used to be no science in brewing, and I’m sure there was some excelent beer then. I’m also pretty sure that the best beer came from brewers who had years of experiance that gave them the tools to unscientifically do all the “science” we do now.
