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Temperature of Yeast Starter

Yeast & Fermentation
#1

Beermates,
I made a yeast starter last night with Wyeast 1056 for a Dead Ringer IPA I’m brewing tonight. Since I live down here in Georgia, my question is whether I should temperature control my yeast starter in my fermentation chamber? My ambient temps are 77-78 in the house. I’ve got my chamber at a nice cool 68 (in preparation for the Dead Ringer). I also plan on picking up an extra 1056 today and pitching the starter and the second 1056 due to the OG of the Dead Ringer. Any thoughts?
Chet

P: Empty
S: Empty
Keg: Innkeeper
On deck: Dead Ringer IPA
Up next: Octoberfest

#2

Some people do temp control their starters (which is fine), but it is not necessary. Remember you’re not making beer just growing yeast and yeast like warm. They will work better and quicker at warmer temps. Just make sure to cold crash the starter and decant the spent wort. With the elevated temps, that wort will have some funky flavors in it that you don’t want getting in your beer.

P.S. Get that fermentation chamber down to around 60F. Like between 58-62F. 1056 is good between 60-72F and best at the low end, IMHO. If your chamber is at 68F, chances are your fermentation will be closer to 72-74F which is the upper end (and above) that yeast’s range. You are risking some off flavors.

#3

Dobe,
I will definitely decant the wort. I planned on setting the temp at about 66 for this brew, but I can go lower. I try to set the temp at the midpoint of the range most times. Appreciate the info!
Chet

#4

[quote=“chetgregg”]Dobe,
I will definitely decant the wort. I planned on setting the temp at about 66 for this brew, but I can go lower. I try to set the temp at the midpoint of the range most times. Appreciate the info!
Chet[/quote]

Try setting your fridge about 4-5 degrees lower then the temp you want to ferment at. I set my fridge to 58-62 range when I want to ferment in the low to mid 60’s. Fermentation can raise the temp around 5degrees and even more if the temps go completely unchecked.

#5

[quote=“dobe12”]

Try setting your fridge about 4-5 degrees lower then the temp you want to ferment at. I set my fridge to 58-62 range when I want to ferment in the low to mid 60’s. Fermentation can raise the temp around 5degrees and even more if the temps go completely unchecked.[/quote]

+1
Don’t forget that the beer will produce it’s own heat as it ferments, usually at least 4 or 5 degrees or more during the primary stage. It will tend to cool though as the activity winds down so keep an eye on it and raise the temp of the fridge as the yeast slow down. You don’t want the beer to cool off as fermentation slows; that can lead to an underattenuated beer. In fact, I’ve read it’s good to raise it (the beer temp )a few degrees toward the end to ensure a complete ferment. The temperature of the fridge isn’t what’s important, it’s the temperature of the beer!!

#6

[quote=“Demus”][quote=“dobe12”]

Try setting your fridge about 4-5 degrees lower then the temp you want to ferment at. I set my fridge to 58-62 range when I want to ferment in the low to mid 60’s. Fermentation can raise the temp around 5degrees and even more if the temps go completely unchecked.[/quote]

+1
Don’t forget that the beer will produce it’s own heat as it ferments, usually at least 4 or 5 degrees or more during the primary stage. It will tend to cool though as the activity winds down so keep an eye on it and raise the temp of the fridge as the yeast slow down. You don’t want the beer to cool off as fermentation slows; that can lead to an underattenuated beer. In fact, I’ve read it’s good to raise it (the beer temp )a few degrees toward the end to ensure a complete ferment. The temperature of the fridge isn’t what’s important, it’s the temperature of the beer!![/quote]

+2! I keep my fridge temp 4-5 degrees lower than where I want to ferment. Then after 5-7 days or so, I either turn the fridge off and let the temp rise or just take the fermentor out of the fridge to sit at room temps. This is my SOP for most ales. Belgians, Saisons, Lagers, etc… get different treatment.

#7

Great info. I have the probe of my temperature controller taped to the side of the fermentor and insulated, so my freezer will adjust to the temperature of the brew. Can wait to get the Dead Ringer started!
Chet

#8

[quote=“chetgregg”]Great info. I have the probe of my temperature controller taped to the side of the fermentor and insulated, so my freezer will adjust to the temperature of the brew. Can wait to get the Dead Ringer started!
Chet[/quote]

You might get a little overshoot/undershoot with this technique, especially if you don’t chill your brew to the target temp to start with. The beer obviously changes temp a lot slower than the fridge. So the fridge will get much colder than the beer to chill it down, and much warmer to warm it up. Have you found this to be an issue? If it works well I’d like to try it…

#9

[quote=“Demus”]So the fridge will get much colder than the beer to chill it down, and much warmer to warm it up…[/quote]the beauty of the method is that it very accurately measures the bulk temp of the beer, so it doesn’t matter if the cooler is getting really cold or warming up since all you care about is the beer temp. If you use the same cooler for other things besides fermentation, you’ll need to take the temps swings into account, though.

#10

[quote=“Demus”][quote=“chetgregg”]Great info. I have the probe of my temperature controller taped to the side of the fermentor and insulated, so my freezer will adjust to the temperature of the brew. Can wait to get the Dead Ringer started!
Chet[/quote]

You might get a little overshoot/undershoot with this technique, especially if you don’t chill your brew to the target temp to start with. The beer obviously changes temp a lot slower than the fridge. So the fridge will get much colder than the beer to chill it down, and much warmer to warm it up. Have you found this to be an issue? If it works well I’d like to try it…[/quote]
I’ve found that a probe taped to the side of a fermenter and insulated is a very efficient way of controlling temps inside a cooler/freezer.

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