Hello and low temperature fermentation question

I like the 34/70 dry lager yeast. I have fermented as low as 52 degrees to as high as 66 degrees with clean lager flavors. WLP810 is another I like. Others on this site have reported that WLP001 and WLP029 will ferment in the upper 50's. Good luck.

 

You could ferment at a higher temperature with a bit of effort and a modest investment. A heating belt combined with a temperature controller would let you raise the temperature of your fermenting vessel up to ale range. And if you're worried about wild temperature swings, maybe you could build an insulated plywood box to put the fermentor in? Slap some foam insulation boards on the inside and you'd probably have a much more stable fermenting environment for your beer.

 

I agree with all this.

There are yeasts that can ferment in that temperature range, but I think you'll get a lot better results if you find a way to stabilize your fermentation temperature in the low 60s. This would be relatively easy and cheap in your situation. Where people in warmer climates might have to invest in a refrigerator, you can get by with a heating pad/belt and a temperature controller. Some form of insulation would make it even better, but I think you could have excellent temp control with just those two items (for roughly $100 total).

 

You’re going to need to control the temp regardless of what that temp is. If the temp is going to changing day to night or hotter or colder days you’ll never be able to repeat any recipe. You could use a temp control unit. They’re like 50 60 bucks. Put the carboy in a chilly spot and wrap it with an electric blanket. You set the control at whatever temp range temp you want and turns the blanket on and off. Also use the same controller for lagering in a fridge/freezer.
Controlling fermentation temps and being able to repeat process is the key to making good beers and being able to produce that same good beer again.

Good luck
Jay

 

Sounds like what you need is a 'fermentation chamber' to stabilize your temps. There are many discussions in this forum on that topic, and you can probably Google it or find videos on YouTube for more info. Here's a result of the search of this topic in this forum:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/search/30264307/?q=fermentation+chamber&o=date&c[node]=8

 

you can go with California Common, Wyeast 2112 for now.

you will need to control fermentation temps eventually, but 2112 will work for you. it is something of a work horse. it is also fairly dull imo. but it will make beer, and it wont go on strike if your temps dip into the 50s and then climb to the low 60s.

that is a bit of a dead area for yeasts to be honest. go a bit lower and stay there and you great lager yeast conditions. but you need to get into the mid 60s and up to the low 70s (and stay there) for ale yeast to really do their stuff.

it is much easier to add a bit of warmth (40 watt light bulb) then it is too take heat away (small fridge). so you've got that.
Cheers.

 

Firstly, I think that @MLucky has a great idea of a heat belt/pad and a temperature controller. That is indeed a capital idea!

A ale yeast that performs well at cool temperatures is Wyeast 1007. I have an Altbier that I am fermenting right now with 1007. The low end of the recommended fermentation temperature for that yeast is 55 degrees F. If you can maintain at least a temperature of 55 degrees F then this yeast is a good choice.

Cheers!

 

These yeast strains all have MIN fermentation temperatures between the low 50s and low 60s.

Belgian Ale 1214
Belgian Witbier 3944
Brettan. Lambicus 3526
British Cask Ale 1026
California Lager 2112
Copenhagen Lager WLP850
Czech Budejovice Lager WLP802
Czech Pils 2278
European Ale 1338
Fermentis US 56
German Ale 1007
German Bock Lager Yeast WLP833
German Lager WLP830
Irish Ale 1084
Kölsch 2565
Leuven Pale Ale 3538
London Ale 1028
Mexican Lager Yeast WLP940
Muntons Premium Gold
Muntons Standard Yeast
North American Lager 2272
Nottingham
Oktoberfest/Märzen WLP820
Old Bavarian Lager Yeast WLP920
Pilsner Lager WLP800
Safale S-04
Safbrew S-33
Safbrew T-58
San Francisco Lager WLP810
Scottish Ale 1728
So. German Lager WLP838
Thames Valley Ale 1275
Thames Valley Ale II 1882
Zurich Lager Yeast WLP885

 

Welcome back.


My favorite strain that I pull through the high 50s and low 60s is Wyeast Kolsch yeast. It's a hybrid yeast that I make a ton of Cream Ales, Kosch Biers, and Porters with. It's a clean fermenting yeast that can handle high ABV.

Most importantly, I'd say that if your house swings in temps, you should look into a fermentation chamber or you should invest in a large Tupperware container to make a swamp cooler. You know what hates to change temperature? 30 gal of water around your fermenter. It can help you immensely with your brewing. You can use frozen two liters or an aquarium heater to help with temps. I'd say that one of my top three things to focus on as a brewer is consistent fermentation temperature.

Cheers!

Edit: I would steer clear of lager yeast strains if you cannot control fermentation temperatures within 2-4 degrees. Lagers tend to be process (temperature) oriented more so than ales, which are ingredient oriented. Both struggle without decent temperature control. With lagers it's pretty mandatory.

 

Where did you get this list, Herb?! That's half the yeasts! Personally, I tend to KISS and maybe pick 2 or 3 for the guy who hasn't done this since Papazian wrote his first book.

 

<.think-think-think> Where did I get that list <./think-think-think>
Had it for years in my brew-log spreadsheet.

Here maybe?
http://byo.com/resources/yeast?style=3

Or was it here?
http://www.onebeer.net/yeaststrains_ale.html

Def wasn't here (crappy formatting)
http://tomwarnerphoto.com/ntblog/?page_id=977
http://www.winemanager.com/slarsen/Beer/Opskrifter/Yeast_BYO.htm

I was surprised by how many strains had low-end fermentation temperatures in the L50s.

 

@aopisa where are you in VT? Maybe we can meet sometime.

Regarding your temperature situation, it's not as bad as it looks at first glance. A carboy of wort/beer has a lot of thermal mass. If your house is varying +/- 10F, the beer will likely only change 2-3 degrees, which is tolerable. As others have mentioned, you can do ale fermentations by using a cheap heating pad. For example, my basement sits around 60F year round (warmed by the boiler in winter). I can ferment saisons at 77F by wrapping heating pads around the carboys. If things get too warm you can use a cheap analog timer and adjust the on/off till you get the desired temperature. Kolsch yeast is a good choice for your situation and 1056 works well too, as does S-23 dry yeast (technically a lager but it is forgiving at slightly higher temps and makes a good pale ale or IPA (and a very nice strong porter), not too different from 1056.

 

If you happen to have a large cooler that will fit a bucket, it works perfectly when filled with water to maintain consistent temps. Basically what @inchrisin said above. If you don't have a large cooler then one of the "storage totes" from walmart, lowes, ... works as well. Way easier than building something. I have managed to keep lager temps pretty well in my basement by swapping out some frozen water bottles in the morning and evening.