Barley_Bob
Well-Known Member
Hey gang! I've been reading a lot of great material in this forum and it's finally time for me to make my first post. I have what I hope is a fairly simple problem. I'm getting ready to brew my first batch in the next couple of weeks. I'm prepared to do a Dusseldorf Altbier and a California Common. I bought WLP036 and WLP051, and I intend to do the Altbier followed by the California Common a couple of weeks later. So far, so good.
The plan all along has been to conduct my primary and secondary in my basement. A few days ago, I put little cups of water all over the place, and I went today with a liquid thermometer to check the temps. The warmest spot is 59*F! That's under the stairs. I'm not going to call this a crisis, but it's an issue.
So, the big question - can I just put my primary under the stairs at 59*, or, failing that, is there a way I can keep it warmer? I've thought about maybe enclosing it more by walling off the underside of the stair with cardboard or something. Once it starts fermenting maybe it will provide some of it's own ambient heat. Once thing is for sure, cold conditioning the California Common is not going to be a problem.
Let's go ahead and rule out moving it upstairs now. I don't have a convenient place, my wife would be pissed, and my kids would be into it. Let's also rule out waiting until spring. That would be a bummer.
WLP036 - 65-69* (although I read on their website even 62* is okay)
WLP051 - 66-70*
Thanks for the help!
Your friend,
Barley Bob
The plan all along has been to conduct my primary and secondary in my basement. A few days ago, I put little cups of water all over the place, and I went today with a liquid thermometer to check the temps. The warmest spot is 59*F! That's under the stairs. I'm not going to call this a crisis, but it's an issue.
So, the big question - can I just put my primary under the stairs at 59*, or, failing that, is there a way I can keep it warmer? I've thought about maybe enclosing it more by walling off the underside of the stair with cardboard or something. Once it starts fermenting maybe it will provide some of it's own ambient heat. Once thing is for sure, cold conditioning the California Common is not going to be a problem.
Let's go ahead and rule out moving it upstairs now. I don't have a convenient place, my wife would be pissed, and my kids would be into it. Let's also rule out waiting until spring. That would be a bummer.
WLP036 - 65-69* (although I read on their website even 62* is okay)
WLP051 - 66-70*
Thanks for the help!
Your friend,
Barley Bob