So I have seen plenty of discussion on fermentation temperatures, and how high temps are not great for your beer - fusels, off flavors and so on. What I haven't seen much of, and I have searched through, is much discussion on what LOW fermentation temps do. I have a brew I made yesterday, based on the New Albion that Sam Adams did a few years ago, and have it going now. I am using the Wyeast London Ale, 1028 yeast, in my basement. I just went to check on it, and the LCD thermometer on the bucket read 57 degrees (F.) I'm getting airlock activity, and I'm a bit over 24 hours post brew, so I know things are going well in there, just wondering if there's something I should worry about. The house is fairly bright upstairs, so even though it is more in the optimal range for yeasties, I'd rather not bring it up.
You should be fine. I used 1028 two weeks ago on an IPA that was accidentally (and coincidentally) chilled to 57*F. I raised the temp to 67*F over a day and all seems well. Had a solid fermentation going after 24 hours, and I was two points shy of my est. FG when racking to the keg. The beer tasted great going in. Good luck!
Most yeast will still work outside of the recommended temperature range. Wyeast provides a temperature range because it is between 60-77F that this yeast will behave as described. By fermenting lower than recommended you should expect less attenuation and less fruity flavors.
The biggest issue to my mind on fermenting cold is reduced levels of esters (typically fruity flavors). If you are looking to produce a clean tasting ale then fermenting cool is a good idea. Cheers!
You need also to worry about diacetyl when fermenting at low temps. You should raise the temp for at least a few days to do a rest and let the yeast clean up the diacetyl precursors. Some yeasts are more prone than others but it's easy insurance to do a rest.
WY1028 was my "house" yeast strain back in my college days when I did not have temperature control. It's a great strain, especially for darker beer styles since it does have a "mineral" hint to the flavor which to me complimented darker styles more. I never had diacetyl or other off flavors fermenting between the upper 50s and upper 60s, though it is more neutral at the bottom end of the range. I specifically used it back in the day because of the forgiving temperature range and high attenuation.
This guy has some crazy fermentation temperature experiments. There's 5 different ones so you have to search the list. http://brulosophy.com/exbeeriments/
1028 works well at 58-60F. It makes esters and has good British character at low temps with a 20% under pitch and less than standard oxygenation. However, like naugled said, it would be prudent to raise the temp to 68-72F for 3-4 days after the 4th-5th day of fermentation. I do this with a heat belt connected to a timer.
I'd also love to know how many times a brewery ran a beer through different temperature processes before they come up with a flagship beer. It's probably not once. It's probably not less than a dozen times with blending. That's a lot of beers for a homebrewer.
I'm sure the better breweries do this. Probably more than we would guess. I just wanted to add that my suspicion with why a lot of craft brewers are mediocre and not great is that they dont do this. They keep chasing the next best thing instead of perfecting a beer.
They've got to do whatever it takes to keep the lights on and keep their employees coming back with their shovels tomorrow.
