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KopyKat · 03-14-2006, 04:58 AM

It will be summer soon in beautiful Austin Texas and with it comes the heat. The only place I have to store my bottled beer is in an upstairs room that will be as warm most of the day as 80 to 82 degrees. Is this going to be a problem? Will they overcarbonate and explode? Or will some other bad thing happen?

nick1023 · 03-14-2006, 05:59 AM

Being from texas I've stored bottles in the upper 70's (daytime temp) without a problem. I would just try to find the coolest darkest spot in the room as possible to be on the safe side. maybe lay a damp towel over them during the day to help keep it a few degrees cooler.

magno · 03-14-2006, 06:10 AM

I shouldn't over carbonate; one the yeast is out of sugar, it can carbonate no more. I am also about to face the same dilemma in Dallas, I am more worried about off flavors coming through due to warmer fermentation and bottle conditioning.

Last summer, my first summer brewing, I did not notice any horrible off flavors, but now with a few more brews under my belt I will probably be more critical this year. My next major investment to my brewery will be a cool box that should hold temperatures to at most 70 F. This will probably not be in effect until summer 2007 though.

- magno

El Pistolero · 03-14-2006, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prowler 13

It will be summer soon in beautiful Austin Texas and with it comes the heat. The only place I have to store my bottled beer is in an upstairs room that will be as warm most of the day as 80 to 82 degrees. Is this going to be a problem? Will they overcarbonate and explode? Or will some other bad thing happen?

Downstairs would be better than upstairs, but if you've no choice try to sit them under an AC vent, keep them low on the ground as opposed to up on a shelf, keep them dark, and maybe try a big tub with a lid that you could toss an ice pack in every morning. Doing all those things will gain you maybe 5 degrees. As magno said, the heat isn't going to make them explode, but I'd be a little worried about esters developing in some types of beer if you should get much higher than the mid 80's.

Lounge Lizard · 03-14-2006, 02:33 PM

So far an all Texan thread! Makes sense that we would all be worried about heat.

This is something I have been thinking about it too. Darn sure wouldn't want all the beer (and now wine in the process) that I made to get off flavors in storage.

Being single and living alone, I usually turn the A/C off when away from the house. It can and does get muy caliente in here in a hurry.

I suppose I will just have to designate one of the smaller bedrooms as a cool room, and leave a window unit running most of the time this summer. Not something I really want to do....

Kaiser · 03-14-2006, 03:19 PM

I can feel with you guys. I didn't pick up brewing until I had a spare fridge available.

I assume building a little airconditioned enclosure is out of the question for you guys? I'd just hate to see all that beer going through the heat and cold cycles every day.

Kai

**DesertBrew** · 03-14-2006, 07:01 PM

Ah summer. Or Hades as we affectionately call it here. My bottles when I have them I store in a room that keeps to about 80-82 during the summer; low to the ground and dark. No ill affects found.

Lost · 03-15-2006, 04:44 AM

My experience has been that if I keep the beer nice and cool during active fermentation it turns out nice and clean even if I age it (in bottles or in bulk) in warmer temps.. though the house is really never above 78F. In my opinion warmer temps are actually a good thing for bottle conditioning b/c they speed the fermentation and result in carbonated beer faster.

I haven't had a fruity or acholoic tasting beer yet.

edit: I'm in FL in case you're wondering.. and yes it gets hotter than hell here in the summer!

nick1023 · 03-15-2006, 05:56 AM

Any of you texas or high temp guys brew lager without a spare fridge and a thermostat? I found an interesting diy contraption thats supposed to be a low cost alternative. http://home.elp.rr.com/brewbeer/chiller/chiller.PDF
What do you guys think?

**DyerNeedOfBeer** · 03-15-2006, 01:09 PM

Nick, I made one a bit different from what you posted which may serve the needs of this thread a little more...

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=115&c=1&userid=962
(more pics in my gallery of this)

It is much larger than a one carboy cooler so many bottles could be stored. I sized mine for four corny's.

The one I built is two compartment which is optional but I wanted to be able to do two different temperature controls since I am also making wine.

This one is automated and has a 'peltier' cooler on it. It requires a sizable DC power supply which raises the cost of the project considerably.

Due to the size of this one, it can't 'freeze' the contents as the peltier's claim they can on an ice chest sized model but this one will keep the contents at least 20f below room temp.

This would be an option over putting in a window unit and keeping a whole room cooled.