Temperatures and summer brews

Okay so summer is coming up and I want to keep brewing but room temps here can get upwards of 90 degrees. So without a fridge am I ****ed? Last time I tried this I had about three IPAs in a row end up tasting like Bananers. Any thoughts or suggestions on what types of beer I could do or how to remedy this would be greatly appreciated. I don't have a fridge to ferment in, but I sure do not want to stop brewing for the summer months.

Saisons ferment well in warm temps of mid 70's to lower 80's.

Also look up swamp coolers. They help to keep temps down without a fridge.

swamp coolers seem to work well for some people, but it will depend on how hot the area is where u are storing? Where are u located in Cali? How hot does it get?

Id also recommend keeping an eye on craigslist though.. i got a great deal on a mini fridge to use as a fermentation chamber for $50.

ffaoe said:

Saisons ferment well in warm temps of mid 70's to lower 80's.

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That could work then. I'm sure I can find a spot to keep them in the low 80s for a few weeks. I have a fridge I can move them too after initial fermentation is finished but it's at a consistent 40 degrees so fermenting in there is a no go except lagers.

Pratzie said:

swamp coolers seem to work well for some people, but it will depend on how hot the area is where u are storing? Where are u located in Cali? How hot does it get?

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Yeah, Cali. Outside can easily crack 95 for a week straight, sometimes low 100s. I do have have a swamp cooler at the house that can maybe hold temps at 75-80, but the humidity with it on 24/7 is bad.

If its a dry heat then the swamp cooler could potentially work pretty well for you. From what I understand their cooling ability increases when the relative humidity of the air is lower, allowing for greater evaporation and related cooling.

PS: I've made a couple of "banana" beers in the summer, I feel your pain

AerationStation said:

If its a dry heat then the swamp cooler could potentially work pretty well for you. From what I understand their cooling ability increases when the relative humidity of the air is lower, allowing for greater evaporation and related cooling.

PS: I've made a couple of "banana" beers in the summer, I feel your pain

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They'd work great if I was brewing for a monkey!

I'm gonna try a saison and see. I've got my last two batches that I can do at normal temps for the year going right now, but no way those and the two kegs I have on tap can get me all the way through the summer. 4 kegs for 3 summer months? No way!

I think buy "swamp coolers" they are referring to the old wet t-shirt over the fermenter in a tub of water trick which, especially when coupled with frozen water bottles, is pretty effective. A fan on low on top of that set up can really help it stay cool too. I am in the central valley of Ca and know the heat of which you speak. The swamp cooler tricks really work for our type of climate.

Also, quite a few belgian strains do well in the upper ale fermentation range, and hefe yeast can handle it pretty good too.

Look up son of fermentation chiller. I have a thread here somwhere of my build. It works awesome. You just have to change the ice out evry day or so, and have a little DIY skills. Ill edit and link my build.

Thanks guys the tshirt trick may be the way. Any thoughts on impact of heat after fermentation if it were to stay in the carboy or sit in a keg?

BigFloyd said:

For what you have spent and probably will spend this summer on ingredients (not to mention the time, energy and effort) wasted making "banana beer", you could snag a decent used freezer or fridge from Craigslist and build a controller box using an STC-1000 ($20 on Amazon). The full-size upright freezer (about 4-5 years old) that's now my cold-crash/lagering chamber cost me a whopping $60.

It sounds like you brew quite often. Isn't it worth fermenting at ideal temps?

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Oh now you got to come in here with your logic and all that.

Even a saison will benefit from temp control. You especially want to avoid fluctuations. I'd drop the coin on craigslist and get a fridge/controller. That and yeast starters made the biggest difference in my beers. Also, while the STC-1000 is $20 bucks, you still have to get a box to put it in, wire to cable it up, and outlets. If you do the math with those extra bits and your time, it might not work out to be much of a cost savings. You might just bite the bullet and get a johnson controller. If your ambient temps are always above your minimum desired fermentation temp, you can even cheap out and get a single stage one (only cools).

Get a fridge or chest freezer and purchase a temperature controller. Easily the best investment you can make in your brewery.

McBrewskie said:

Yeah, Cali. Outside can easily crack 95 for a week straight, sometimes low 100s. I do have have a swamp cooler at the house that can maybe hold temps at 75-80, but the humidity with it on 24/7 is bad.

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THIS
Hello, what he men't by a swamp cooler is, a $6 rope handle tub from walmart, put your fermenter in it, fill tub with cold water to level of brew inside of fermenter, then add frozen water bottles as needed to keep temps where you need, the brew will be a bit higher temp than the water temp.

I use these all the time, I live in Arizona and its 120 deg here in the summer, lots of frozen water bottles for me but it works great.

I love it when people say, go buy a freezer and a temp controller, as if we are all have extra money, try and find good a used freezer on craigs list for a reasonable price where I live, lol

I got the same answers from some of the same people when I asked about brewing in warm temps lol

THIS TOO
Also in summer I brew Saisons, I use 3724 Saison yeast, I start off pitching at around 72+ deg and ramp up temps 3 to 4 deg each day till its 84+ deg then leave it at 84+ till finished, doing this works Great with this yeast, if you try and ferment this yeast to cool temp wise, you will experience the ever so dreaded stuck fermentation, with this yeast.

When its 120 deg out, and its 85+ deg in the house with the AC going full blast to try and keep up, Its much easier fermenting a brew at 84+ degrees in the swamp cooler, than it is to try doing 64 deg ale, Saison 3724.

Also during the winter when its 30 deg out (we do not heat my brew room) I use a 1000w fish aquarium heater to keep that same swamp cooler up to 65 deg, works Great $20 at walmart.

Cheers Hope this helps !

Thanks all. Some great suggestions.

mjohnson said:

Even a saison will benefit from temp control. You especially want to avoid fluctuations. I'd drop the coin on craigslist and get a fridge/controller. That and yeast starters made the biggest difference in my beers. Also, while the STC-1000 is $20 bucks, you still have to get a box to put it in, wire to cable it up, and outlets. If you do the math with those extra bits and your time, it might not work out to be much of a cost savings. You might just bite the bullet and get a johnson controller. If your ambient temps are always above your minimum desired fermentation temp, you can even cheap out and get a single stage one (only cools).

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Or you can do what I did for all of my STC-1000 controllers.......scrounge up something that will serve as a "project box" or just make one. One of mine is an old computer speaker casing, another made from scrap 1/4" plywood. Find an electric cord (spare computer power cords work great) for the wiring. Beyond the $20 for the controller itself, I spent no more than a few bucks at Lowes on the outlet and faceplate.

To me, part of homebrewing is being a DIYer and doing as much creative "re-purposing" as possible.

McBrewskie said:

Okay so summer is coming up and I want to keep brewing but room temps here can get upwards of 90 degrees. So without a fridge am I ****ed? Last time I tried this I had about three IPAs in a row end up tasting like Bananers. Any thoughts or suggestions on what types of beer I could do or how to remedy this would be greatly appreciated. I don't have a fridge to ferment in, but I sure do not want to stop brewing for the summer months.

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Just spend the 100 bucks and buy a $50 chest freezer on Craigslist with a $50 temp controller. I used to be in your shoes. The swamp cooler/ wet T-shirt trick just takes so much work. You can use the chest freezer year round, and the precision took my beer to an entirely better level.

OneShot1 said:

Just spend the 100 bucks and buy a $50 chest freezer on Craigslist with a $50 temp controller. I used to be in your shoes. The swamp cooler/ wet T-shirt trick just takes so much work. You can use the chest freezer year round, and the precision took my beer to an entirely better level.

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I'm thinking it will be this. I'm not gonna wire a bunch of stuff but a $100-$150 isn't much. Thanks.

look up cool brewings. If your just fermenting with one or two fermentors and have limited space, to me, its the best deal around

Its a well insulated bag that you can put your carboy/bucket into, and drop ice into it to keep the brews cold. After the first 4-5 days when most of primary is finished, it can keep your brew cold for up to about 48 ours before needing more ice (and 2 liter coke bottles work perfectly for the ice)