How strictly do I need to maintain temps when brewing

If you pitched at 68*F and are maintaining 70*F ambient around the beer now, you are already 2 days in, letting it get a little warmer won't hurt it. Belgians can go that high without too many issues, and the bulk of off flavors that a higher ferment temp would cause would happen in the first few days, so you are past that time frame. Raising it a couple degrees 4-5 days into fermentation will actually encourage the yeast to finish strong.

 

70 F ambient probably means active fermentation temps of 75-78 F. What yeast are you using?

 

you'd get some banana esters in the 70-75 range. you'd want to ferment a bit cooler, ambient temp wise.
if you're worried about temps, a simple ice bath (with frozen water bottles in rotation) in a rubber maid storage bin should do the trick.

 

as with most things brewing, it depends. I would not worry too much about fine tuning temps this early in your brewing career. Belgian strains are peculiar and can tolerate warm temps very well. depending on the strain, you may go as high as 85, but again, it depends. if you can keep 70 to 75 you are doing well.
the final product might not be exactly where you may have wanted or expected, but since this is your second brew expectations are kind of fluid anyway, right?

also, air temps do usually equal fermentations temps. your beer will be a few degrees warmer. if your ambient was 75 or higher from initial fermentation, then I might be concerned about funky esters and odd aromas.
no worries.
Cheers.

 

The critical piece of information is what od_sf posted: What yeast are you using?

Cheers!

 

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with your generalization. Some Belgian strains are very tolerant of high ferm temps, while others are absolutely not. I've brewed some beers that had terrible fusel off flavors by going just a couple degrees above the recommended max temperature for the strain.

 

My first few batches I had absolutely no temp control whatsover. Temps fluctuated all over the place and the end product still came out drinkable, so relax and enjoy.

Now that I have gone full-on temp-controlled fridge I am seeing more consistency in my output and can see/taste the benefits.

 

My last Belgian, I used WLP550. It got a little hot while I was out of town (probably 78-85 in the apartment) and it most definitely hurt the beer. Big fusel and medicinal taste & aroma to it

 

yes. that is why I said, twice, "it depends".

elevated fermentation temps are an issue most every time. the exceptions are certain Belgian yeasts. but not all Belgian strains. it depends. also, you are talking about high temperature but the OP is in the low to mid 70s, and that is not high temperature.
Cheers.

 

He's low to mid 70's ambient, which could mean 80+ F actual fermentation temp.

 

I typically pitch about 3-4 degrees below the yeast strains 'optimal' temp and let the active fermentation bring it up to my target temp. Most yeasts will ferment below their optimal temp and the heat produced by fermentation will warm it up. After about 4 days, depending on the recipe and yeast strain I'll slowly start to let that temp rise a few degrees. IMO temp control is one of the most important parts of brewing, for me anyway. Don't get me wrong, the whole brewing process is important, time, temp, PH, recipe... and on and on but I think fermentation temp control can make the difference between good beer and freakin awesome beer.

 

Most might agree a Belgian ale wasn't the best choice for noobrewer batch #2.

Best wishes for a successful brew but I smell drain-pour.

 

I think we have to call you Mr. drain-pour!?!

As Oddball from Kelly's Heroes would say: "Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves?"

Cheers!

 

Yo mamma...that's why.

 

Crappy process ends up producing crappy beer.
Why not knock off blowin' sunshine instead?

 

White Labs publishes a chart for their Belgian yeasts listing fermentation temperature ranges and associated flavors achieved for those temperature ranges.

For WLP500 (Trappist):

· Low (58-66°F): Clean, Balanced, Earth

· Medium (67-75°F): Spicy, Light Phenolic, Fruity

· High: (75-85°F): Fruity, Moderate Phenolic, Solvent

I brew with the Wyeast equivalent of WLP500 (3787) a lot. My preferred fermentation temperature for 3787 is the low 70’s (e.g., 71-73°F as measured by the Fermometer strip).

My strong recommendation to you is to just maintain your current temperature of 70-72°F.

Cheers!

P.S. Here is the White Labs chart for future brewing: http://www.whitelabs.com/files/belgianchart_0.pdf

 

RDWHAHB