Fermentation Temperatures

General
1

I read the information Elco put on the home page about control the temperature during fermentation. I was wonder if anybody had papers on that subject of fermentation temperature control. Thank

2

Shawn,

It is generally agreed that fine control over fermentation temp is one of the best things you can do for your beer. Commercial brewers and serious homebrewers alike employ consistent temp programs, starting relatively low during early fermentation and (sometimes) going warmer for a diacetyl rest and then cold crashing to drop yeast out of suspension. And each yeast strain has its preferred temperature range.

So there is a ton of documentation on forums and the like on the subject of temperature profiles. What is it specifically you’re hopng to see in the way of papers so you can get pointed in the right direction?

3

I found a paper on fermentation called “Optimal Beer Fermentation” it was written by professor Chemical and Biological Engineering at University at Boulder and from a professor Engineering Department of Cambridge. Thanks for comment of “Temperature Profiles” as a search term for Google…I was looking for “Yeast Temperature” for my search and came out with nothing useful…

4

Shawn, as usual Dan is Johnny on the spot with this one. Other than oxygenation of wort, accurate temp control is one of the best things you can do to refine your beer flavor. That said each yeast stran is very different, moreover the same yeast at different fermentation temperatures can yield very different result. A little experimentation will go a long way here. Generally speaking from a ale perspective, cooler produces a cleaner flavor, while warmer temps produce more flavor compounds such as esters, phenols, and fusel alcohols.

5

I am using a safale us-05 yeast, started at 65f and now it at 62f and I should increase to 72f for the last days. Will 72f cause fusel alcohols to form? thanks

6

More so than 65 degrees yes. Again this is not a bad thing. Some of these flavored can be very welcome depending on the style.

7

I diacetyl rest at about 70f (21c) for 5 days with us-05 then cold crash.

The crucial thing you’ll get from temp control is that if you get a good result brewing x beer at x temp you’ll be able to do it again next time.

If you don’t have temp control you’re relying on nature to control it, whilst you might not get bad results a brew in summer vs a brew in winter will mean will probably taste subtlety different and unless you’re tracking the temperature difficult to replicate again.