I have a question about temperature control and regulation. I brewed my first batch this weekend (an English Pale Ale) and this is something which concerns me.
First off, I had a hard time getting the wort down to 70 after the boil. I put it in a sink, filled with ice, and ran cold water around it, but it still took me a good 45 minutes to bring it down to temp. I actually went through 44 lbs. of ice in the attempt. I thought about getting or making one of the copper coil wort chillers I have seen, but I'm not sure that with the piping and faucets in my apartment (I live in a 100-year old 4 story building in Chicago) that that would work. Thoughts?
Second, because of the nature of my apartment and Chicago weather, I've found it tough to control the temperature since, and this is something that is an on-going concern for me come fall and winter here. I put my fermentor in a hall closet, where it is nice and dark and usually stays pretty warm. However, this weekend, it went from being a balmy 90+ for highs to hitting lows in the upper 40's and lower 50's. How concerned should I be over the effect of this on my beer? Because I live in a relatively small apartment, it would be really tough for me to keep any sort of fermentation chest such as I have seen described here. Just a space issue.
Thanks.
First off, I had a hard time getting the wort down to 70 after the boil. I put it in a sink, filled with ice, and ran cold water around it, but it still took me a good 45 minutes to bring it down to temp. I actually went through 44 lbs. of ice in the attempt. I thought about getting or making one of the copper coil wort chillers I have seen, but I'm not sure that with the piping and faucets in my apartment (I live in a 100-year old 4 story building in Chicago) that that would work. Thoughts?
Second, because of the nature of my apartment and Chicago weather, I've found it tough to control the temperature since, and this is something that is an on-going concern for me come fall and winter here. I put my fermentor in a hall closet, where it is nice and dark and usually stays pretty warm. However, this weekend, it went from being a balmy 90+ for highs to hitting lows in the upper 40's and lower 50's. How concerned should I be over the effect of this on my beer? Because I live in a relatively small apartment, it would be really tough for me to keep any sort of fermentation chest such as I have seen described here. Just a space issue.
Thanks.