Can a wort be cooled too much?

Question

When chilling the wort after a boil, if it falls below the yeast's operating temperature, should I wait until the temperature comes back up before adding the yeast?

I typically chill my wort with a cool water bath in the sink and then mix it with chilled water that I keep in the refrigerator, and on my last brew the temp dropped down to around 60° F (15.5° C). once I added the chilled water, so I'm wondering if its still ok to add the yeast at this point knowing that it will soon be back up to room temperature.

Answer 1

Temperatures above a yeast's ideal range are not desired as they can cause off-flavours, temperatures below the advertised range will just put the yeast to "sleep", so should be safe to proceed. Going too low (sub-zero C) can potentially kill the yeast.

If you're using a starter, I'd aim to keep the temperatures equal to avoid shock.