ferment in a bucket?

I am brewing for the first time, and going all-grain. I live in a small top floor apartment, and do not have a cooler place to let the beer ferment. I recently thought to put the growler in a bucket of water. I'm wondering if the water will keep the growler a few degrees cooler, or it will just end up being at room temperature in the end?

You're fermenting in a growler?

What many people do is freeze 1 liter or 2 liter bottles with water in them and put them in the water, swapping them out every 12-24 hours to keep the temps down.

yep, that's what a lot of us, me included, do. you can adjust the temps in the water bath with ice bottles to cool, a small aquarium heater (or just warm water) to warm. works quite well. search "swamp cooler" on HBT (not google) but on HBT, if you want some more ideas of how to use this method to control temps.

That idea could work, if its too high you could toss in a few ice cubes. Some people will put t-shirts or towels in cold water and wrap them around their fermenters.

Are you doing a 1 gallon batch?

That's what I do. It will keep it a few degrees cooler than room temp and it will keep temp changes more gradual. I throw in a few bottles of water which I change before I go to bed at night and in the morning before I leave for work. Room temp in my house is 75 and with this method I can keep fermentation temps in the low 60's.

You can also put a wet tshirt over the carboy in the bucket and have a fan blowing on the carboy.

Yes, I am doing a 1 gallon batch. I may have to get a bigger bucket to add 2 liter bottles. Right now there is about 1" of water between the growler, and the edge of the bucket. It has been over a week, and I'm afraid the low 70s temperature might have messed with the brew already.

ShawnBoucke said:

Yes, I am doing a 1 gallon batch. I may have to get a bigger bucket to add 2 liter bottles. Right now there is about 1" of water between the growler, and the edge of the bucket. It has been over a week, and I'm afraid the low 70s temperature might have messed with the brew already.

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Its likely that the bulk of fermentation is complete. You'll probably get some off flavors fermenting in the low 70s, but the good news is that you made beer. Heck, it might even taste awesome. I wouldn't worry about keeping the temps down this late if its in the low 70s after a week.

Now, if you're in the 80s or 90s you should worry. Next time I would just use ice cubes to control the temp if you only have an inch of space. Or you could get a cheap cooler and try that route. Even a styrofoam one might give you some more space.

ShawnBoucke said:

Yes, I am doing a 1 gallon batch. I may have to get a bigger bucket to add 2 liter bottles. Right now there is about 1" of water between the growler, and the edge of the bucket. It has been over a week, and I'm afraid the low 70s temperature might have messed with the brew already.

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Your apartment is in the low 70's .... wow that's warm. My house never gets above 64 this time of year and is generally about 58 unless your standing next the wood stove. Keeping my ales above 60 is the problem I got.

ShawnBoucke said:

Yes, I am doing a 1 gallon batch. I may have to get a bigger bucket to add 2 liter bottles. Right now there is about 1" of water between the growler, and the edge of the bucket. It has been over a week, and I'm afraid the low 70s temperature might have messed with the brew already.

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i use 20 oz ice bottles. yeah, 70's are a bit high for most brews, but nothing a li'l extra time on the yeast cake and then in bottles won't help.

There is no need to cool it now. The fermentation has mostly ended. if not entirely.

Look for information on swamp coolers for your next brew.

Your beer will probably be ok. If it tastes a little off, let the bottles age longer at room temperature. Time will probably make them better.