Towel trick really does work

**Grinder12000** · 07-15-2008, 01:55 AM

Basement is 68 degrees - brew with wet towel is fermenting at 65 degrees.

I have a fan on the towel and resoak it every 8 hours.

Thanks for the tip guys - what I wonder is how good is this in hotter temps - like 80 and 90 - is it still only a few degrees?

King of Cascade · 07-15-2008, 02:01 AM

So is the beer temp 65 degrees or the ambient temp 65 degrees? I think a lot of people try to ferment their beer at 65 ambient but in reality the actual beer temp is 75 degrees. Where are you taking the temp from?

HOOTER · 07-15-2008, 02:05 AM

I dig the towel trick also. I had a pale ale in vigorous fermentation while I was camping last week and when I got home the house temp was in the low 80's but my brew was at 70.

**olllllo** · 07-15-2008, 02:13 AM

*Thought the towel trick was the key to a happy ending*

Adiabatic cooling. Works best in dry air, when the dewpoint is below 55°F.

**Grinder12000** · 07-15-2008, 03:03 AM

ambient temp is 68 = beer temp is 65.

Eskimo Spy · 07-15-2008, 04:16 AM

What is the optimal tool to test the temp of the beer rather than the ambient temp in the primary or secondary? Digital thermometer or something else? Right now I'm using a thermometer stuck to the side of the carboy to get the ambient temp...

**Yooper** · 07-15-2008, 04:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eskimo Spy

What is the optimal tool to test the temp of the beer rather than the ambient temp in the primary or secondary? Digital thermometer or something else? Right now I'm using a thermometer stuck to the side of the carboy to get the ambient temp...

The thermometer stuck on the side is pretty accurate on the temperature of the beer inside. The ambient temperature is probably different, if you set a room thermometer next to the carboy, you'd get ambient temperature.

I use the stick on thermometers all the time, and have had good sucess.

PeteOz77 · 07-15-2008, 05:04 AM

When it gets really hot, my fermenters go into the bathtub with about 8 inches of water. The towels wrapped around the fermenter will wick water up a bit, but I usually just dump a couple of cups of water on every morning and keep the fan running. Super hot days, I throw in a couple of water filled frozen ice cream buckets.

Laurel · 07-15-2008, 05:12 AM

In Seattle, the weather outside is very humid, coupled by a hot fish tank constantly evaporating water and making the apartment even more humid. Using the evaporation method would be almost useless in my situation, but I have a small ice cube cooler(no wheels) so I put the carboy in it with several inches of water and I switch out frozen water bottles once to twice a day and it stays pretty chilly. I also keep a towel over the top of it to prevent skunking from UV light. I came home from a weekend away and my apartment was in the mid 70's, and the water surrounding the carboy was in the mid-50's with a 2 liter bottle keeping it chilled.

King of Cascade · 07-15-2008, 02:10 PM

Quote:

What is the optimal tool to test the temp of the beer rather than the ambient temp in the primary or secondary? Digital thermometer or something else? Right now I'm using a thermometer stuck to the side of the carboy to get the ambient temp...

A thermo well with a probe thermometer in the beer works best but a stick on thermometer will work but if it’s submerged in a cold-water bath it may not be accurate.

here's a link:
http://pivo.northernbrewer.com/nbstore/action/search-do?searchTerm=thermowell