Too High of a Fermentation Temperature?

Hello fellow brewers,

This is my first post on these forums, and I'm a first-time brewer! I have my first batch fermenting now, and had just a general question. I poured the cooled wort from my kettle into the fermenter roughly 36 hours ago. My airlock has stopped bubbling for the most part. I am using an extract kit with dry yeast, so I would expect as much. From what I've read 1-3 days is normal for the type of brew that I'm doing.

My question is this: I don't really have a cool place in my condo, and I don't have a basement. I am using our second bathroom's bathtub for fermentation, but the temp is around 72-73 according to my crystal thermometer. I've read in a few places that too high of fermentation temps will cause the beer to have funky flavors, and that's the last thing I want.

After seeing this temps and freaking out a bit this morning because my airlock wasn't bubbling, I put some ice and cold water in the tub, wrapped a couple of t-shirts around the bucket, and the water temp is just below 70.

Is this normal? Should I be doing anything different? The kit I'm using didn't come with specifics on fermentation temperatures.

I'm probably worrying about nothing, but am just wanting advice for the future.

Happy brewing,
Travis

I imagine you're brewing an ale of some sort and not a lager. Generally you want to ferment in the 68 to 70 degree range.  You will start to get skunky or off flavors if the fermentation hits 80 degrees.

I have done in the past exactly what your doing. Putting your carboy or bucket in a water bath and covering it with wet towels is a good way to keep the temps under control.  I used to add a fan on hot days. The problem with adding the fan was the towels would dry out. So I added a little water fountain pump to keep the towels damp.

I think you'll be fine as long as the fermentation never reached the upper 70's low 80's. If you happen to be brewing a lager then I think you'll be disappointed (been there done that). 

Bruce

Thank you for the reply, Bruce. I am brewing an Irish red ale, and my temp has kept around 70 degrees for the past few hours now. Just looking for confirmation to make sure I'm doing this right!

Thanks again,
Travis