another noob question

[herbie53]

my ale extract's instructions says to get wort down to 70-80F then pitch yeast, but my fermentation temp is 68F, will this shock my yeast or harm my batch? thanks for the help!

"They took the bar...the whole fucking bar!!!" John Belushi, Animal House

[straight cash homey]

Use the 68F for everything, meaning pitch at 68F and ferment the batch at 68F. cooling the batch to 80F and pitching will create esters as the yeast are replicating which may or may not be desirable, probably not desirable though. it will taste cleaner if you just use the same temp for everything.

[BDawg]

+1 - cool it to 68F first, then pitch and try to maintain that temp as best you can.
A SCH said, temp alters ester profile. 68F is a good temp for many ales. Typically, if you don't know what a good ferm temp is for an ale, start at 68F and adjust from there - higher formore yeast character, lower for cleaner characteristics. The key is to try to keep it steady and not too warm. Oh, and aerate the hell out of it so the yeast have plenty of oxygen for good growth.

Good Luck & keep brewing & let us know how it goes-