Ambient Temp vs. Fermentation Temp

I would say 1 degree lower, if that. Unless you have a thermowell that comes in contact with the liquid there is no real telling what the fermentation temperature is at. Of course there is going to be a rise in temp once the yeast get rockin, but it sounds like the ambient air will be very cool to keep that in check. I have read some articles/blogs/forums where people say to measure the temperture right on the fermenter, there isn't too much of a difference between the liquid and the actual vessel. But if you have a thermowell.....profit?

I put some electrical tape on my temperature probe and tape it to my carboy, then put some layers of bubble wrap on top of that. Works great for me.

 

You'll need to monitor the wort to get an accurate temp. I use US-05 frequently and, while 4 degrees seems to be typical (ambient temp in my basement ale house is pretty consistently in the high 60's), I recently had a 1.090+ beer reach 82 degrees, which was 12 degrees above ambient temp at the time(!!!) That was the first full batch I've dumped down the drain of my 66 batch career (actually, I've got a second keg sitting in the garage hoping to maybe pass it off as a barleywine in a few years, though my hopes are not high). A thermowell would be ideal. Short of that, you could put the probe directly in the wort. You might need to devise a clever way of keeping out the bugs - maybe a suitably drilled stopper for the airlock and the probe.

 

No, I guess it came out wrong. I would try and measure the temperature as close to the liquid as possible. I'm more or less suggesting to not measure ambient temp.

Do you have a dual-stage temp controller where you can plug a heater in to warm the temp if it gets too low?

 

If you're using a fridge to control fermentation temperature, you are not discussing ambient temperature. Attach the temperature probe to the side of the fermenter, and set your temperature controller to a 62 set point. (I would argue this is too low, I would suggest 66-68).

 

The fusels were a killer. A two ounce taste gave me a headache within seconds, or so it seemed. I gave it the benefit of the doubt and tried it periodically over a period of, perhaps, five months, but it wasn't getting any better. WLP530 is pretty tolerant of higher temps, as are most Belgian strains, so I wouldn't worry too much about your Quad at this point.

 

In this context, ambient temperature refers to the air temperature, with no mechanical means of removing heat. This is not what you're doing. If you measure the "ambient" temperature of the fridge, it's going to be reading much lower than what the beer is at, due to the low specific heat of air vs beer. That is, when the fridge turns on, the air will chill much more rapidly than the high thermal mass of ~5 gallons of beer, and will reach the chilling set point, in which case, the fridge will turn off.

62 will work for chico, but it's pretty clean up into the high 60s and will ferment faster. I'm not sure why you think the minimal fruity esters given off by chico wouldn't let the hops "shine". It's not an english yeast.

 

As I said, I've used US-05 quite a bit, usually fermenting in my high 60's basement ambient temp - no fermentation temp control. I've brewed some freaking amazing IPAs this way, but I must have gotten lucky. I should also note that the most notable were fermented in glass carboys sitting directly on the concrete floor. Perhaps this arrangement allowed the temp to cool a couple degrees as some heat was drawn off through the massive concrete heat sink that I call a floor, though this is just speculation. I wasn't taking the wort's temp at the time, I just played the hand the laws of Physics dealt me.
As to calling the temp in the fridge 'ambient', I think that can be argued either way in this context.

 

I have a cool basement, usually around 64 degrees, and with a 1.080+ beer I see the temperature strip on the bucket go as high as 72. I put the bucket right on the concrete floor, and that seems to be enough to keep things from getting too warm.

Compared with my experience, I would expect you would end up with a good result with the fridge set to 62. It will take longer to finish, although you could speed things up by allowing it to get warmer after the vigorous initial fermentation is done, and it's already cooling off on its own.

 

i've done ales--not IPA's though--in a wine closet set to 62, and it seems like it really depends on your OG. my ~1.030 mild fermented right around 62 or 63, while my RIS is going steady at about 68. you'll get a super-clean beer if you go as low as 62, but if you want to ferment it that low, you might want to consider a kolsch or alt yeast, which is made for that temp range for the purpose of staying super-clean.

 

I carved an excess piece of PVC pipe insulation to press the probe up against the keg and isolate it from the air in the fridge. I hold it on with 2 big rubber bands. I did the napkins and tape but this is easier for me and I just swap it between the fermenter and the keg.

See the fullsize version at: http://s1275.photobucket.com/albums...8ECED306_zps79379854.jpg&evt=user_media_share

I have done 1056 at 62 and 65 and saw no difference in time or esters. I now just go 65 now cause it uses less electricity.

 

I have used US-05 many, many times to brew IPAs. Fermentis provides a recommended fermentation temperature range of 59-75°F for this strain. They also describe this strain as: “Safale US-05 produces well balanced beers with low diacetyl and a very clean.”

I measure the fermentation temperature of my homebrews via a Fermometer on my buckets. I have frequently fermented my IPAs at 70°F and they have all turned out clean. I have never fermented at the highest temperature of 75°F but I suspect that US-05 results in a clean beer across the entire temperature range.

It is true that beer yeasts typically produce more flavors (esters, etc.) at higher fermentation temperature but this is strain dependent. I would think that fermenting IPAs up to the lower 70’s with US-05 will still results in a clean tasting beer.

Cheers!

P.S. I hope that the OPs Quad turns out OK with his ferment of “into the high 70's.” I commented to his other thread that I fermented a Saison with WY3787 (the purported equivalent of WLP530) that got to the high 70’s/low 80’s after 3-4 days of fermentation and that beer had a fair amount of fusels. Hopefully WLP530 is more forgiving than WY3787?

 

“Will report back!”

Please do and I truly hope that your Quad is tasty!

If you do perceive some fusel alcohols (e.g., a harsh flavor or ‘hot’ perception) just remember that with some extended aging (e.g., 6 months) this can diminish. And aging a Quad is an overall good thing.

Cheers!