cooling the fermenter to the proper temp

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
R

ryan_boc

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2007
Messages
47
Reaction score
0
Location
Huntsville, AL
I'm trying to brew a kolsch right now, and I'm having trouble getting the fermenter down to the right temp. For now, I have a wet towel wrapped around it with part of it dipped in water to sort of act as a wick. The temp right now is around 73 F.

Is there a better way to get it down to 60-65ish?
 
Put the fermenter in a box (I built one out of thick styrofoam) and put a frozen water jug in the box. Change the jug as needed to keep the temp within 5 degrees of the desired temp. There are plans for much more elaborate boxes with digitally controlled fans, but I find my box can do the trick as long as you pay close attention to it.
 
I have another question, my kolsch has been in the primary for about 12 hours and normally any other brew would be bubbling through the airlock about twice to three times per second. This kolsch has been bubbling about once every 20 seconds, and it seems to be slowing down. Am I going to have a stuck fermentation on my hands?
 
Possibly the wort was not aerated enough. I might be tempted to slightly nudge the fermenter a few times to try to get things going. What type of yeast did you use? Dry yeast usually takes off very quickly and after twelve hours may be slowing down already.
 
Part of the problem may be because your temperature is too high. It is recommended that a white labs Kolsch be fermented at 65-69 degrees. If you are at 73 degrees, it may be sowing down fermentation (just a guess?) You will probably have a fruity tasting beer at that high temp.
 
Well I moved it out to the laundry room which is always colder than the rest of the house, and it's at about 60 - 65 out there. I also stirred up the wort with a sanitized spoon, so hopefully that helps out.
 

Similar threads

Tony B
Curious fermentation
Replies
15
Views
780
redrocker652002
R
F
Older Kegerator - Cooling?
Replies
8
Views
423
day_trippr
day_trippr
PashMaddle
First brew day is on the books.
Replies
39
Views
2K
GoodTruble
G
nyoksol
Stuck fermentation-- how can I rescue it?
Replies
11
Views
1K
dmtaylor
dmtaylor
F
temperature controlled flat bottom fermzilla
Replies
0
Views
277
fluketamer
F

Latest posts

Back
Top