Temperature Problems

Brew needs to be at certain temperature range while fermenting. The issue is that at my house it is about 65F during the day, 60F at night. Seems to be a few degrees too cool by most recipes. Also, trying a mead recipe that says it is good to keep it at 70-80F.

With that temp range, will I just have to wait longer for it to ferment, or will it stop the yeast? If the former, what is a good approximation for extra percent of time I should give to the suggested for feremnting?

Thanks for your time and thoughts.

that temperature shouldn't be a problem...remember you'll be about 5° above ambient due to heat generated by fermentation

You can try insulating the fermenter. I've seen folks put t-shirts and sweaters on their carboys to help keep them warm

I'm lucky enough to have a basement that stays pretty constant temp-wise. Try hanging thermometers in various parts of your house and see which area changes the least from day to night, week to week. If I didn't have the basement the other choice would be the closet in the master bedroom. I'm sure SWMBO would loooooove her clothes smelling like beer! But maybe the kids wouldn't mind their closet turning into a brewery.

What you should have a look at is the yeast you're using. Check what temperature range it works at, but I would say that the difference in temperature you point to there really shouldn't make that much difference.

It might ferment slightly slower, but really . . . taking a day or two extra is not really a problem, except ofcourse because we're impatient.

Cheers,

Jens-Kristian

I wrap my fermenter in an old quilt.

Place it next to your water heater.