"Natural"/Ambient brewing

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.

bk0

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Messages
227
Reaction score
9
Location
Los Angeles
Long story short -- I just relocated and the only space I have for brewing & fermentation is an outdoor shed/lean-to without any climate control.

I'm in SoCal so the temperatures aren't too extreme, but we're still dealing with a typical winter low of 35-40 degrees and a high of 65 or so. I have all my stuff covered and protected from light to keep it as stable as possible.

Recipe for disaster? I know temperature control is very important but it's just not an option right now.
 
How do u think beer was brewed in the beginning?? While u may experience off flavors from the temp changes, u will still have beer!!
 
I brewed from an apt in Michigan for a few years. The best solution I came up with was to take the carboy for a walk everyday. Put it outside during the day (~60 deg) and bring it inside at night (~75 deg). Turned out alright and had a mean temp around 72 due to thermal mass.

Or perhaps consider this your chance to do a winter lager!
 
Get a large double-layer cardboard box and put it over the fermenter. It's amazing how much that can do to stabilize the temperature.
 
Yeah, I bet with some covering and insulation from blankets or whatever you'll be just fine. Also keep it off of the ground/floor of the shed even if it's just with a couple layers of something. Brewing season specific styles is always fun too. Good luck! :mug:
 
Can I lager with temps fluctuating into the low 60s?

SafLager yeast or California Lager ("Steam" style) yeast should work out well in that range.

If the low 60's is the high range and the temp is dropping a lot lower, then you might be ok with some other strains and insulate as suggested in other posts.

From my experience, SafLager is really flexible, but I was dealing with high 60's (F).
 
Back
Top