[gymrat]

What effects do pitching temperatures have on the taste of beer.

[a10t2]

It depends. If you're pitching and then very quickly (within a couple hours) getting the wort to your desired fermentation temperatures, they won't make much of a difference. If it takes a day for the temperature to stabilize, then the pitching temperature could be critical.

[gymrat]

My wort chiller broke. I pitched Nottingham into my wheat beer at 77 degrees. It took it over ight to chill down to 70. It should stabilize at 68 to 70.

[speed]

i would have let it chill overnight then pitch the yeast.

[gymrat]

I always read you are supposed to cool the wort as quickly as possible to avoid infections so I was afraid to do that.

[bluesman]

I also think it depends on the yeast strain and the style of beer you're brewing. Generally speaking the cooler the pitching temp the cleaner the fermentation which in turn makes a cleaner beer. However too cold a pitch will result in a sluggish fermentation and potentially stress the yeast. White Labs recommends pitching between 70-80F to enable the yeast to get off to a good start. I prefer to pitch most ales in the low to mid 60's and Lagers in the mid 40's.

Some yeasts prefer warmer temps like a Saison strain which is ideally fermented in the 70's. There are other Belgian strains that will ferment best in the 70-75F range.

Most American Ale strains work well in the mid 60's. I recommend pitching slightly below the desired fermentation temp as the yeast will tend to warm up a few degrees during fermentation.

[hoser]

I always pitch a couple of degrees cold and then let it freerise to my ferment temp.  There is a lot of debate out there.  Jamil says pitch at ferment temps, and Chris White says it is ok to pitch warm and then cool to ferment temps.  I agree, I would have waited until it got down to 68-70F and then pitched.  As long as you controlled the ferment the rest of the way, you "should" be ok.

[denny]

Jamil says pitch at ferment temps, and Chris White says it is ok to pitch warm and then cool to ferment temps. 

While it's always great to hear what the "experts" say, you should be guided by your own experience.  Based on that, I very much disagree with Chris White.