God Bless the Swamp Cooler!

I just bottled my fourth batch yesterday, a jalapeño cream ale and the first using a swamp cooler.

The difference in the quality of the beer is striking! Compared to this batch, which was dry and crisp and clean, my others, while perfectly drinkable, were hot messes of banana and pear esters.

To all you other noob's out there trying to improve your process, trust the veterans when they say temp control is huge. Best return on $5 I've ever spent.

Yeah once I got temp control covered my beer got 10X better.

I bought a 5 cubic foot chest freezer. I already had a brew belt and a STC-1000 based temperature controller. A lot more expensive and takes up more room than a swamp cooler but as configured my rig is a set it and forget it deal. Plus with small kids around a large open tub of water isn't a great idea, probably not so much from a safety concern but from the mess that would result when the toys find their way in there.

My only regret is not buying a slightly larger chest freezer. I can't fit two full size fermenters in there at the same time (would require modification, a collar maybe?).

In the end the result is the same. The ability to keep the temperature where you want it is a huge plus.