Brewed a modified (+1kg dark dme, +1kg golden syrup) Coopers Stout Kit on
Sunday, pitched the yeast that came with the kit (re-hydrated first) at
1600. Plenty of froth and the airlock bubbling quite well by 0600 Monday
morning. The fermentor is sitting in an old (turned off) refridgerator as I
have trouble in the past maintaining a constant fermenting temperature - I
thought the insulated chamber could help here.

While I know quite well that fermentation is exothermic, I didn't expect to
come home and find the thermometer reading 29C inside the fridge! OK, so
29C isn't too high for yeast, but I fear what I did next may have been
criminal. I opened the fridge and pointed an electric fan at it, bringing
the temp down to 26.5 in minutes.

This morning, still only about 40 hours after pitching, CO2 through the
airlock has slowed right down. My fear is my sudden cooling of the yeast
last night has shocked it some way. My question is - have I shocked it too
much for it to recover?

My go forward plan from here is to take a gravity reading tonight, and watch
the airlock for activity. Assuming the gravity is still too high (as it
must be after only 48 hours?) I'll take another reading in a day or two. If
it hasn't moved I'll pitch another packet of yeast. Any other advice?

Oh yes, I have left the fridge door open on the fermentor.