Brewing in Warm Climates

So, I live in South Florida, and room temperatures here are in the mid-70's. If the air is on all day. In December. Do you have any suggestions for fermenting in warm climates like this? I read about people controlling their room temperature but that just isn't feasible. How do you guys and gals handle hot houses?

I'm figuring a brew fridge is out of the question.

Brew Belgians, they like those temperatures.

To brew ales, use a swamp cooler, rotate out ice bottles to keep cool, and use a temperature tolerant yeast strain, something like PacMan. Once the main fermentation is over (about 5 days) you don't need to control the temperature.

Yup, Saison's are excellent Florida brews. When I started out though I made plenty of tasty brews at (Florida) room temp. Just pick a suitable yeast strain. I preferred Safale US-05 before I got a freezer and temp controller.

Pretty much what Calder said...

Whenever I brew in really hot weather, I just embrace the heat make a saison. Belgians are another good choice, but will generally need to be kept cooler than a room temp in the mid 70's will allow (at least to start).

I use a swamp cooler (my bathtub) and have no problems keeping fermentation 5 deg. F under room temp without even using ice or a fan. Rotating ice packs can get it down even further.

Look into son of fermentation chamber.

edit: here's a link to the plans http://home.roadrunner.com/~brewbeer/chiller/chiller.PDF

and here's a link to some pics of mine

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/1-ferm-chamber-398282/

I was only able to find 1/2" insulation, so i doubled them up to get one inch. It easily holds low 60's in my house in here in florida where temps are generally mid to upper 70's.

i generally change out ice every 24 hours, right before i go to bed or something.

If you can't go the route of mini-fridge with controller or swamp cooler check out this article.

http://byo.com/stories/item/1084-make-me-sweat-cool-tips-for-hot-weather-brewing

The article talks about some yeasts that can be used at warmer temperatures other then saisons but they also give pointers to help minimize off flavors by using starters, brewing normal gravity beers, and pitching yeast at temps in the mid 60's to get the fermentation to start quickly and end fast.

I'm about to use WLP001 in a beer that will probably be fermenting around 75 degrees. I'll report about it when I get the time to brew it.

I would suggest going on craigslist and picking up a freezer. I got a full size stand-up one for $50 bucks after about a week of searching. A temp controller is about $40, and now I'm good to go : )

I tried various other things, that seemed less expensive, but all said and done, ended up costing more than the freezer+temp control.

The advice about Saisons etc. is good. I'm in Daytona and have no problem using a tub of water with some ice during the fermentation phase.

But I rarely have to do that. Find the smallest room in your house or apt that has an AC vent. Open that vent all the way and that room will be several degrees cooler than the thermostat setting. For me, it's a spare bathroom. I leave the thermostat set on 78-80 and the room is always about 72.

Enjoy.

Well if you don't want to deal with icky swamp coolers then i'd suggest Cool Brewing, look them up. Some people say they're pricey, but IMO only a fridge would suit me better.

I don't use a swamp cooler, I doubt how effective they would be here when the relative humidity is 90% or more. All I use is a tub of water and an occasional frozen water bottle.

It's only needed for the week or so of active fermentation.

Swamp coolers, Saisons, fermentation chillers (assuming you can swing the space and expense) are all good options.

That said, I think there's also something to be said for "Brew what you like."

Sure, with many ale yeast strains you may get a few off flavors at warmer temperatures, particularly esters, but which would you prefer? A style you really like that might be a tad estery, or a style you wouldn't otherwise be brewing were it not for the warm weather?

Just a thought.

Before you rule it out you could always just try a batch of whatever you normally brew. I ferment mine in a closet that stays around 74 in the summer. I haven't noticed any off flavors yet. I also age mine in the carboy for about 6 months or more which probably helps take care of most esters.

I built Son of Fermentation Chiller when I first wanted to really control the fermentation process, and couldn't afford a temp controller/fridge (and had zero space for it anyway)

It works FANTASTIC!!

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...=6tKXKRthZ1_EoEy8cLx1Hw&bvm=bv.54176721,d.cGE

updated my original post on page one with helpful links.

Rhumbline said:

I don't use a swamp cooler, I doubt how effective they would be here when the relative humidity is 90% or more. All I use is a tub of water and an occasional frozen water bottle.

It's only needed for the week or so of active fermentation.

Click to expand...

If he has the 'air' on (I assume that means air conditioning) then he can still use a swamp. The A/C pulls out the majority of the moisture in your home.... Yes, even at 90%

So, I have my fermenter bucket in a cooler that has (formerly ice) water in it. I was dumping ice or freezer packs into it, but the thermometer on the side reads 68 degree. That seems pretty good, so I have been leaving it alone and just checking it to make sure it stays there.

You guys have given me some great feedback and articles. That awesome. Thanks so much! My favorite advice was to brew Belgians, which just so happen to be my favorite beer! Off to look up recipes! Provided that this batch isn't pure crap. Got a ways to go until I bottle it...

Thanks again!