Ideal Fermentation temps? Why does everyone say stay cold?

[ZamaMan]

Hey guys, first post here. I posed this question to Tasty on Facebook and he recommended I post it here I just copied the thread. When I say everyone I'm actually referring to the forum I started learning on last year Homebrewtalk. I have yet to learn the how the forum here as a whole feels fermentation should be kept.

Hey Mike hows it going? If you wouldn't mind I'd love to see if you could shed some light on something. I noticed that most people on forums always seem to feel fermenting at the lower range of the yeast range is ideal. Most seem to prefer Low 60s. people seem especially big on fermenting Nottingham cold. But I see the professionals like you and JZ and pro brewers fermenting higher in the 68ish rrange. Since you may not be able to speak as to why they ferment so low can you tell me why you guys prefer higher temps? And what the drawbacks are to fermenting at the bottom ranges 60-65?

Thanks so much in advanced for any light you can shed. I have 10gal of a blond ale fermenting one witb nNottingham and one with S-05 at 66° and am noticeing most seem to feel staying below 65 even to 60° is ideal on HBT. I have. Fermentation fridge with controller and a seperate heater I made so I can really chose any temp that's ideal. Mostly I brew IPAs and APAs.

Thanks in advanced

[Kbar]

I am not a fan of the esters one gets from the higher fermentation temps even for ales. Want cleaner tasting beers. I always aim for the lower end of the temp spectrum for the yeast.

[spiderwrangler]

Fusel alcohols are not pleasant, and can be kicked off by hotter ferments. When looking at temp differences between home and commercial, keep in mind that those are entirely different systems, and commercial breweries often have more control and experience fine tuning their ferments to what they want.

[ZamaMan]

I know that commercial brewers have large tanks which need higher temps. I guess my question was mainly why I see so much 60-65° recommendations yet JZ seems to recommend 66-68 on alot of his BCS book and I know the results he gets. Is there a reason other than speed to fermenting the higher range? I only hear people talk about the negatives like fusel alcohols and fruity estery qualities.

[Elbone]

I'll add that Pro brewers often ferment at higher temps than are recommended for homebrewers. One reason they achieve different results than we do is because of tank volume and geometry. Pressures at the bottom of a huge conical fermenter serve to suppress the ester formation that we would get at the same temps in a carboy.

Also, in your temp-control setup, be sure you're monitoring the temperature of the beer, not just the ambient temp in the fridge. Active fermentation produces a lot of heat and a beer at high kraeusen can easily be 5F higher than ambient.

Temperature control during fermentation was easily the single most significant changer of the quality of beer I produce. More than switching to all-grain.

[andrewgator]

when you have your first fusel bomb you will avoid pitching at high temps too. 68 is fine. But I'd recomend pitching at 65 and raising 1 degree a day. This way you'll ensure full attenuation and minimal fusels. Even if you pitch cold though, if your pitching rate is low, you are going to get fusels.

[Kbar]

Much agreed. The most positive influences on my beer quality came from: higher pitching rates, lower fermentation temps, and counter flow chiller addition getting pitching temps to low 60's, if not 58-60F during winter water temps.

[ZamaMan]

Sorry that my comments lag behind hours since they have to be approved first. I have been taping the probe to the carboy but plans on getting a thermowell one day. I usually start at 66ish and raise to 68 after a few days. This batch Im probably gonna bump up to 70 on day 7 to help it finish out since ima need to serve it after 17 days.

So do most prefer low 60s than? Any benefits besides more active yeasty finishing out to higher temps?