Hi guys, I need some advice regarding lambic beer fermentation. I have brewed on 08/18 5 gals of a straight lambic beer using my captured yeast . I know primary fermentation(the bulk) have been already done by sacc, the point is I can not hold fermentation lower than 76 F (it´s getting warm in South America)so I am afraid of sacc autolisys. Should I rack this beer to a secondary and put it in the fridge where I have my yeast packs and hops( 44 F) ? . It´s been 3 days this beer is fermenting at this temperature. Help
Lambics remain in primary for the bulk of secondary fermentation and brettanomyces uses autolysed sacc for nutrition.
If your choice is 76F or 44F I'd keep it at 76. It's probably a little higher than you want it to be ideally, but as long as your wild culture doesn't contain any acetobacter you'll probably be ok. Fermentation will be painfully slow at 44F.
I think there is not acetobacter but I am not sure about that.Could it be a bad idea to let it sit at 44 F during summer time and when temperature drops to 60ish in the end of fall take it out of fridge to let it sit at room temp again?
If you're worried about it, keeping it at 44 won't hurt it in any substantial way, you just won't get much fermentation during that time. The yeast and bacteria can live at those conditions, they just won't be as active. Many pro brewers prefer to keep their sours at in the 60s or high 50s, but the 70s won't result in a bad beer, all other things being equal. In general, the higher the temp, the faster the yeast and bacteria will work. But if you have a tightly sealed fermentor, I wouldn't hesitate to keep it at 76. I've got aging sours that that saw those temperatures this past summer and they seem to be progressing nicely.
My concern is that I will not be able to control fermentation temp on february (vacations), I am afraid it could be raising up to 90 F.
90F is rather high. I would cool it down during those periods. No need for a solid stopper, airlock is fine, just equilibrate the pressure as you cool it down to avoid liquid being sucked in though the airlock.
