BeerBorg

Brewed my first AG, 5 Gallon batch with all new toys except my brew thermometer. Forgot stick on one when I bought my new Ale Pail, started freaking out about my wort temp, but was getting late and pitched the yeast at what I thought was 82 deg. found out Monday nite my thermometer is aprox 20 high. So I took the bucket in the cooler basement put it on top of a big ice pack, got home yesterday found the wort at 57, brought upstairs where it's warmer and brought temp up to 64. Still no airlock activity this a.m., just checked bubbling away great! Deep breaths and repeat RDWHAHB, RDWHAHB!

It may take some time for the temperature to stabilize but IF the yeast went to sleep, they'll wake up and eat.

There is always going to be different readings from one thermometer to the next, although twenty degrees is alarming. But I always cool my wort down to the low side before I pitch my yeast and then let it warm up to where the yeast seems to be happy as indicated by the activity in the air-lock. As long as you're not way too low when you pitch it won't affect the yeast or cause off flavors like being on the high side could.

This is why I prefer a digital thermometer.

It was a digital, but had I not forgot to buy the stick on for the bucket I wouldn't have added two hours trying to cool the wort down when it already was cool enough! Essentially I put the yeast to sleep for almost 24 hrs!
For what it's worth it is a digital remote type that's has the plugin probe, and it tried each of the last to brews to try and kill itself off falling into the boiling wort! I thought I saved it I guess not.

That time between pitching and activity is always stressful no matter what kind of thermometer you are using, or yeast, temp, or how many brews you have under your belt, RDWHAHB, 99% of the time nothing to worry about. RDWHAHB

I have purchased several types of thermometers in the 3+ years I have been brewing. Being the anal-type of brewer that I am, as paranoid as they come...OCD and such, I bought a rectal thermometer and have yet to have a problem with any of my homebrew batches.

Happy April Fool's Day

Dawg LB Steve wrote:For what it's worth it is a digital remote type that's has the plugin probe, and it tried each of the last to brews to try and kill itself off falling into the boiling wort! I thought I saved it I guess not.

Okay, not to hijack this thread, and I don't want to seem as though I'm picking on you, Dawg, because I've noticed it in other pictures here.

But why leave the thermometer in during the boil? It's boiling. This is something that is self-evident. I can understand checking the temperature as the wort gets close to boil temp, so you can be ready for the hot break (although I've come to recognize visual clues for that, too). But when it's boiling, you really ought to be able to set the thermometer aside and let it do its thing.

Much apreciated info, Dave! It never entered my mind to pull it out of the pot after I got my water to steep, strike and sparge temps.

FedoraDave wrote:

Dawg LB Steve wrote:For what it's worth it is a digital remote type that's has the plugin probe, and it tried each of the last to brews to try and kill itself off falling into the boiling wort! I thought I saved it I guess not.

Okay, not to hijack this thread, and I don't want to seem as though I'm picking on you, Dawg, because I've noticed it in other pictures here.

But why leave the thermometer in during the boil? It's boiling. This is something that is self-evident. I can understand checking the temperature as the wort gets close to boil temp, so you can be ready for the hot break (although I've come to recognize visual clues for that, too). But when it's boiling, you really ought to be able to set the thermometer aside and let it do its thing.

I leave mine in till around 200 but like the Hat I'm beginning to notice visual clues and will probably discontinue it use after 160(I like to fwh) soon as I get comfortable with the things I have noticed happening before the boil.

I don't put the thermometer in at all once I've finished the final sparge and put it on to boil.

I've learned I can set it on the stove, take the tun out back to dump the grains, clean up the tun and put it away, and still have a good 15 minutes or so before I even have to worry about hot break. And even then, I wind up staring at the pot thinking "any minute now...."

lol even using a thermo I do the same thing

All that being said, I occasionally leave the probe in the wort until it boils just to check calibration.
Another thing that helps, is to seal the probe where it meets the wire with food grade silicone.
That way if it takes an accidental plunge, it won't go bonkers until it drys out!

Well an update to the stressed out first AG batch. Even up until I racked this SMaSH to the secondary last Friday was kind of stressing about it cause only had about 24 hours of bubbler activity and the first time fermenting in a bucket and not being able to see what was happening inside, popped the lid on the fermenting bucket and had the layer of fallen krausen and trub in the bottom. working on my new keg stuff this week forgot until this A.M. about the FG, pulled a sample and it finished at 1.005! After making some adjustments the day after brewing ended up with OG of 1.046. Stressed over not much of anything!!!!! Even washed that US-05 yeast and pitched that 2 days later in a Summer Honey-Lemon Wheat and it took off good in about 6-8 hours!