fermenting too cold?

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.
K

kylerwilliams19

Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2009
Messages
18
Reaction score
0
Location
Mt. Pleasant, MI
so i see a lot of threads on here about fermenting too hot but i definitely have the opposite problem. my basement is typically around 60* and i would say that it gets down to about 58* at night and maybe up to 62* during the day... is there any way to help and make it a little warmer down there so that i can brew there?

thanks
 
My house is cold, too. I have an IPA now sitting at 61 degrees.

There are a couple of things that help. One is, you can buy a yeast (like nottingham) that works down to 57-59 degrees. Keep the fermenter off the basement floor (where it's coldest) by putting it up on a shelf, or put boards underneath. If you have an ale that you must ferment a little warmer, then you can do what I've done in the past- I put the fermenter in a cooler with a water bath, and add a $10 aquarium heater to the water. I ferment at 70 degrees or so that way. You have to keep an eye on it (I use a floating thermometer in the water bath, as well as a stick on thermometer just above the water level on the fermener) to make sure it doesn't get too warm, but it works great.
 
kylerwilliams19 said:
so i see a lot of threads on here about fermenting too hot but i definitely have the opposite problem. my basement is typically around 60* and i would say that it gets down to about 58* at night and maybe up to 62* during the day... is there any way to help and make it a little warmer down there so that i can brew there?

thanks
Click to expand...

I am a complete noob but I have seen posts of people using space heaters, blankets (since the ferm. temp is higher than the ambient temp.), crafting a box with a light bulb for heating to place the fermenter in, any combination of the aforementioned things, etc...

I have a similar problem to you and am currently using a medical heat wrap on low that I attached to the side of the glass carboy. Just gotta keep an eye on it due to fire risk, albeit low risk. Anyway, I am hoping this gets me good results...we'll find out next Saturday when I take a hydrometer reading.
 
Or you could buy one of those Brew Belts at your LHBS. They're not too expensive, just slip it around the bucket, plug it in, and it heats the brew up
 
fretsforlife said:
Or you could buy one of those Brew Belts at your LHBS. They're not too expensive, just slip it around the bucket, plug it in, and it heats the brew up
Click to expand...


do they work? and does anyone have any experience with them? i was looking at those thinking it might work out nicely. also how much temp difference can i expect?
 
+1 on the brew belt. My basement is about 55 to 58 in the winter and I use the brew belt. My beer has been happily fermenting at 68 degrees with this attached. The temperature seems to good for ale fermentation.

I recently built a fermentation cabinet to be able to keep as many as 6 buckets or carboys at a steady temperature. I'll be posting some pictures soon.
 
kylerwilliams19 said:
do they work? and does anyone have any experience with them? i was looking at those thinking it might work out nicely. also how much temp difference can i expect?
Click to expand...

You know, I live in a second story apartment where I get free heat from the floor below (it radiates up, what can I do?! :)) so I've never had to use one (actually I have problems keeping the brew cool) but from what I hear, they're great. Also, I saw a guy on YouTube who said he likes to take the cheaper route and wrap a string of Christmas lights around his bucket. I wouldn't try it on a carboy, but it might not be so bad on a bucket.
 
kylerwilliams19 said:
do they work? and does anyone have any experience with them? i was looking at those thinking it might work out nicely. also how much temp difference can i expect?
Click to expand...

You know, I live in a second story apartment where I get free heat from the floor below (it radiates up, what can I do?! :)) so I've never had to use one (actually I have problems keeping the brew cool) but from what I hear, they're great. Also, I saw a guy on YouTube who said he likes to take the cheaper route and wrap a string of Christmas lights around his bucket. I wouldn't try it on a carboy, but it might not be so bad on a bucket.
 
YooperBrew said:
My house is cold, too. I have an IPA now sitting at 61 degrees.

There are a couple of things that help. One is, you can buy a yeast (like nottingham) that works down to 57-59 degrees. Keep the fermenter off the basement floor (where it's coldest) by putting it up on a shelf, or put boards underneath. If you have an ale that you must ferment a little warmer, then you can do what I've done in the past- I put the fermenter in a cooler with a water bath, and add a $10 aquarium heater to the water. I ferment at 70 degrees or so that way. You have to keep an eye on it (I use a floating thermometer in the water bath, as well as a stick on thermometer just above the water level on the fermener) to make sure it doesn't get too warm, but it works great.
Click to expand...

Great advice here. I've been able to get good attenutation in my 59 degree basement this winter using yeasts that don't mind the temp. Keep in mind that the little critters heat up the beer a little as they ferment- your actual fermentation temp is probably about 5 degrees warmer than the room. Nottingham, though, will make you a great beer at your basement temp.
 
I used an electric heating pad set on 'low' to help carbonate a batch that was conditioning in a cold part of the house - placed it in between two cases of beer that were stacked one on top of the other. At 6 days they were fully carbed (perhaps even sooner, but that was the earliest I had checked).

I'm sure the same could be done by wrapping around a fermenter with bandages/tape/the cord.
 

Similar threads

Tony B
Curious fermentation
Replies
15
Views
773
redrocker652002
R
PashMaddle
First brew day is on the books.
Replies
39
Views
2K
GoodTruble
G
P
Fermentation and Conditioning
Replies
2
Views
489
wsmith1625
wsmith1625
D
Fermentation is at 31 days…
Replies
10
Views
650
Dan O
Dan O
nyoksol
Stuck fermentation-- how can I rescue it?
Replies
11
Views
1K
dmtaylor
dmtaylor
SSBrew 300

Latest posts

Back
Top