Where to Ferment?

Joeywhat · 02-10-2009, 09:53 PM

I have a conundrum of sorts on my hands...just getting back into homebrewing as I finally have a house instead of an apartment. That's the good news...the problem I have is that I don't know where I can ferment as my house does not have AC, and the only real space I have is in the garage. I live in MI, so you can expect 0*F in winter up to 100* in summer...and everything between.

So my initial solution was a chest freezer with a new thermostat. Will work fine for lagers and when it's warm out, but what about during winter, or when brewing an ale? Can I put a heater inside? Will that work if it's 0*outside and the freezer is in the garage? Another problem is that I have poor insulation, so much of my house varies wildly in temperature, and I also keep my heat down at around 65 (some spots can get in the 50's).

Just trying to see what my options are. Anyone else here have a clever solution?

thedailyaustin · 02-10-2009, 10:04 PM

I'm not sure how much this is going to help, but there are some heating solutions for cold houses, although I don't know how well they will work to combat 0º weather. Check out these just for an idea; NORTHERN BREWER: Fermentation Temperature Control

Joeywhat · 02-10-2009, 10:08 PM

Thanks for the link. I didn't know you could get stoppers with heaters attached...don't see how I could use it during the first few days though as I have a 5 gallon carboy and usually keep a hose attached until day 3-4.

I guess if I kept it inside the house, and inside the chest freezer I could be fine. Plug in the heat wrap when it's cold, the freezer when it's warm.

**InfernoBrews** · 02-10-2009, 10:15 PM

Chest freezer rethermostated for the Summer and Brew belts for the winter to start!

**Yooper** · 02-10-2009, 10:29 PM

I use an igloo cooler as my "Yooper lagerator" in the winter, and as my "Yooper heated fermentation chamber" in the winter as well. (There is a picture in my gallery- I'll try to dig it up). Basically, I made a new lid for the cooler, with three layers of styrofoam. With a water bath and an aquarium heater (under $10), I can keep the temperature of the beer at a balmy 68 degrees if I want to (and my house is COLD!). Or, I can take out the aquarium heater, and add frozen water bottles to the water bath and maintain 34 degrees for 8-12 weeks in my basement.

I guess my point is that with some ingenuity, you can cheaply and inexpensively (and without taking up too much room) maintain some decent fermentation temperatures. I would recommend erring on the side of "too cold" when in doubt. Ales fermented with a clean ale yeast like nottingham can be super crisp, almost lager like, and I've fermented them at 59-60 degrees.

As far as what you already have, you can add a light bulb set up to your freezer, but I'm not sure how well that would work in your garage. A basement would do, but I imagine your garage gets pretty cold.