Kit temperature question

[LukeH]

Hi guys,

I started my amber ale kit on Saturday 28th February - I put it in the hotpress and with the adhesive thermometer on the side of the FV it remained between 18-19 degrees (the beer temperature) until Monday - its now slid down to 14-16 degrees and in the 'lager' temperature range and fermentation is now slowed down..

Question is do I need to be looking to get the temperature back up to 18/19 degrees or should it be okay in its current range?

Thanks in advance..

[LordEoin]

what kit is it? the temperature will depends on the yeast.
you'll probably need to get the temperature up again though

[LukeH]

It is the Youngs Amber Ale kit - says to keep between 20 and 24 degrees so I may be in trouble!

I have the immersion on full whack and hopefully that will help otherwise I'll have to invest in a brewbelt..

[LordEoin]

Yeah, you'd probably be fine from ~18°C but 14 is pushing it to a place where the yeast just wants to curl up and go to sleep.
try and get the temp up and ride it through. A brewbelt will save you money in the longrun. the immersion can get expensive fast and there's no real control.

[LukeH]

Cheers - I will make sure to have a brew belt for the next brew and will probably line the fermenter with insulating foil to minimise fluctuations too..

[gearoid]

If you get a belt you might also consider rigging up a stc-1000. Great post on it here http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,7491.0.htm\