Temperature of wort hit 50°F(10°C) when yeast has a minimum temperature of 60°F(15°C)

Question

This is unrelated to the question I just posted here. (Yes I'm having a bad day regarding temperatures, both too hot and too cold!)

My yeast had a temperature range of 60-72°F (15.5-22°C). It has been brewing for 4 days. When I came home from work today I noted it was at 72°F (22°C), so I put it in an icebath.

After an unknown amount of time, its temperature dropped to 50°F(10°C).

I have put a fermwrap on it and it is slowly working its way back.

What are the consequences of this? Unlike my other question, I'm sure I don't have to throw it out, but I'm worried nonetheless.

Answer 1

I would take a gravity reading - depending upon what you brewed fermentation may already be over. In which case cold crashing would have been the right thing to do. Or you can raise the temperature of the yeast again and rouse the beer to help get the yeast back into conditioning the beer for another week.

With temperature control, I've found that conditioning is rarely required apart from on the lightest of beers, and you can be turning around beers from grain to glass in less than a week (force carbed in a keg.)

Answer 2

You may misunderstand what that temp range means. It's where the yeast company has determined you'll get optimum performance. Being outside of that range doesn't mean the yeast won't work. The effects are likely to be minimal to none.