Brewer moving to Phoenix, AZ

I am a brewer in the Boston area and just found out that my work is relocating me to the valley of the hot sun.. I am going to miss my perfect fermentation temperature basement.

Those of you that brew in the desert could you please share your fermentation setup and experiences? I need to figure out what is required for proper temperature control for year around brewing.

Thanks!

Ouch, that will be a shock to the body - but easier to take than us sun blessed people moving to the land of ice & snow.

Not quite as hot here on the coast as in Phoenix so I would guess my Igloo cooler full of water wouldn't be as effective (it's not always effective here). I'd say start looking at getting a real fermentation chamber with temperature control, that's the best (though not cheapest) way to go.

Be aware that our water temps are a lot warmer here too. Wert chillers alone don't get the wert cool enough to pitch. I have been using a fountain pump in a bucket of ice water to get the last 20° or so out of my wert.

Out in my brew shed my water tubs are keeping good lager fermenting temps right now. That works late November to early March. I get a short time in the spring and fall for ales out there. In the summer all my fermentations are done in my refrigerators.

Same here, fountain pump with ice to wort chiller is the best way 90% of the year. Winter isnt bad but not as cold as Boston.

Im lucky because my place doesn't get hit with sun all day so it stays pretty cool. I used to ferment in my office it would stay about 70. July & August are the worst though...especially if you don't run the AC all day ( who can Afford that)

I have a fermentation fridge now so the summers are brewable

Get a fridge, chest freezer and you'll be ok. You can brew outside 9 out of the 12 months.

I use a fermentation fridge as well. A tub of water with a wet tshirt draped over the fermentor and a fan blowing on it works ok in a pinch. Also do not use the water here. Use RO. I learned that the hard way when I first moved out here. What part of the valley are they putting you in?

Welcome!

There are a few issues to address when brewing out here.

A. Fermentation as you mentioned. Get a dorm fridge, full size fridge, or a freezer from craigslist. I bought a dorm fridge for $25 on craigslist. Perfectly fits a fermenting bucket. I built a temp controller for $35, but you can adjust the thermostat on the fridge to go warmer.

B. The water out here is awful. Use RO water, and add back the minerals you need. I've been through the trials and tribulations of that, so shoot me a PM if you need details.

C. Wort Chilling. The ground water in the winter is like 75*, and in the summer it's like 95*. So chilling your wort is a pain. I use the ground water to drop my wort as low as I can(usually 100), then I circulate ice water through my chiller.


Now the important info: Drop by Four Peaks Brewery in Tempe. Excellent beers, excellent food, it's right near ASU campus in Tempe. The Sunday brunch is my favorite, but there's never a bad time to go to Four Peaks.

Thanks everyone, great advice here that is definitely going to be a change from what I am used to doing.

I will most likely be settling on the east side around Chandler/Gilbert/Tempe area. Stopped by the LHBS in Tempe and it seems there is a lively community here.

Will check out the brew house next time I am in town.

Four Peaks is Awesome!

Papago Brewing is great (ton of beers on tap, bottle beers you can buy too)

HomeBrew Connection is a great local place to get supplies.

Sleepy Dog Brewery and SanTan Brewing are good as well.

TopsLiquor is a good place to get some craft beer too. Build your own 6-pack etc.

Good luck. Enjoy Arizona!

I'm in the Gilbert/Mesa area and the LHBS I go to is Brew Your Own Brew right down the road from me. The gilbert shop is their newer location, their first location is in Tuscon. I highly recommend them.

I lived in North Phoenix and in Tempe off of Baseline for several years before moving to South Florida last year and have a feeling you will enjoy it in AZ. It is hot as hell in the summer and your electric bill is gonna be horrible but there's alot to do there,especially if you end up in tempe,Chandler by ASU. With the highway system though it's easy to get around even if your not right in that area,i hung out in Tempe all the time when i lived in PHX and it was a easy ride back and forth.

To be honest I am thrilled to be leaving New England and moving to a warm climate. I've been flying back and forth for the last couple months and it is getting harder to leave each time.

I am several hours further south, but I recommend what most have already said. I use a fermentation cabinet and could not imagine brewing without one. I have tried several cooling methods. What seems to work best is knocking the temp down with an IC running groundwater until about a 100 and then running ice water through the IC. I use a march pump for this.

FWIW...I have been fermenting in a water bath in an ice cube cooler...bought it at home depot for $40...bought some foam board and made a lid to fit a carboy..3 frozen 16 oz water bottles..changed twice daily keeps water temp between 58 and 61 degrees...(in the house in the summer) definitely not quite as good as a fermentation fridge but another option...and definitely a +1 on Four Peaks..

Honestly it all depends at what temperature you want to keep your house. I live on Phoenix AZ and I use a Chest Freezer with a temp controller because we keep our house at around 80 degrees in the summer and the winter. However I have friends here who keep their home at a lower temp, like around 70 and they just stick their buckets in a closet and leave them there.

I'd recommend getting a mini fridge or a chest freezer, as swapping out ice bottles tends to get old rather quickly, especially if you're fermenting more than 1 batch at a time. I've learned this the hard way.

The only really bad thing about Four Peaks is the parking, as the street it's on gets filled very quickly in the evenings.

Satisfaction said:

I am a brewer in the Boston area and just found out that my work is relocating me to the valley of the hot sun.. I am going to miss my perfect fermentation temperature basement.

Those of you that brew in the desert could you please share your fermentation setup and experiences? I need to figure out what is required for proper temperature control for year around brewing.

Thanks!

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I have an upright freezer with a temp control on it. It works perfectly for what I need.

MrMeans said:

I use a fermentation fridge as well. A tub of water with a wet tshirt draped over the fermentor and a fan blowing on it works ok in a pinch. Also do not use the water here. Use RO. I learned that the hard way when I first moved out here. What part of the valley are they putting you in?

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I always filter my water and have never had any issues.

Satisfaction said:

Thanks everyone, great advice here that is definitely going to be a change from what I am used to doing.

I will most likely be settling on the east side around Chandler/Gilbert/Tempe area. Stopped by the LHBS in Tempe and it seems there is a lively community here.

Will check out the brew house next time I am in town.

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There's also a place in Gilbert called "Brew Your Own Brew". The guy that runs the place is real cool and very helpful.

buffalo said:

I lived in North Phoenix and in Tempe off of Baseline for several years before moving to South Florida last year and have a feeling you will enjoy it in AZ. It is hot as hell in the summer and your electric bill is gonna be horrible but there's alot to do there,especially if you end up in tempe,Chandler by ASU. With the highway system though it's easy to get around even if your not right in that area,i hung out in Tempe all the time when i lived in PHX and it was a easy ride back and forth.

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The 4 to 8 lane highways make travel pretty easy around here. Also the fact that our streets are a grid are nice as well, especially compared to the streets of Boston. It's like the cow paths were paved over and made into roads.

dfc said:

I always filter my water and have never had any issues.

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I thought the same thing, but then I tried RO water, and haven't looked back. If you're an extract brewer, it's probably not as big of a deal, but if you're an all-grain brewer, the difference can be night and day.

Moving to RO water and adding back minerals and acid malt took my beer from good to great.

wow .. 75 degree water in the winter .. my water doesn't get above 65 in the summer. FYI: When it's -10F outside and you're running water from your house to your shop 200ft away to your CFC via garden hose ... you can chill wort very fast with a CFC :rockin:

scottland said:

I thought the same thing, but then I tried RO water, and haven't looked back. If you're an extract brewer, it's probably not as big of a deal, but if you're an all-grain brewer, the difference can be night and day.

Moving to RO water and adding back minerals and acid malt took my beer from good to great.

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Just out of curiosity, what do you add in? I buy my grains from brewers connection, and they give a pack of salts away with each recipe....but I have no idea what's in them. (Just trying to improve)

JGarner said:

Just out of curiosity, what do you add in? I buy my grains from brewers connection, and they give a pack of salts away with each recipe....but I have no idea what's in them. (Just trying to improve)

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Calcium Chloride in most beers. Gypsum in my hoppier styles. And 2-3% acid malt gets added to the grain bill to adjust for pH (except for beers with a lot of roasted malt, they don't need the acid malt).

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/brewing-water-chemistry-primer-198460/

That thread has the info you need. My beers really improved after making those changes.

Thanks, im going to try that

Step 1: Drink plenty of liquids while brewing in the extreme heat.


Step 2: In summer, use lots of ice and a pond pump to chill your wort. In winter, use your pool.


Step 3: Ferment in an old chest freezer you bought off craigslist for 50 bucks attached to a temp controller.


or in a stand up fridge if you like.


Step 4: Carb, condition & lager your beer in another chest freezer.


Step 5: Share your homebrew in the extreme heat with other local homebrewers.


Step 6: Join the largest homebrew club in the nation, the Arizona Society of Homebrewers.

Everyone pretty much covered it. You'll love it out here, so welcome.

The summer does suck VERY bad though. But at least it's only 8 months long. lol

plate chiller is helpful

Welcome!

I lived in Tempe for a couple of years before I moved to Hidden Valley (About 8 miles west of Stanfield).

The city water is horrid, my well water is good, great after RO.

I have no kids, so my third bedroom is a brewing room. It has a window AC that keeps it at 64 degrees year round.

I am building a recirculating immersion chiller, but at this point I do partial boils and add ice. (8.3 lbs of ice=1 gallon of water)

Brewers Connection in Tempe is pretty good.

scottland said:

I thought the same thing, but then I tried RO water, and haven't looked back. If you're an extract brewer, it's probably not as big of a deal, but if you're an all-grain brewer, the difference can be night and day.

Moving to RO water and adding back minerals and acid malt took my beer from good to great.

Click to expand...

I may have to do that once I switch to all grain. That day is rapidly approaching.

Superb advice everyone!

So my notes so far are..

1. Get a house with a pool, because it is key for cooling
2. Drink lots of fluids
3. Install a RO system since the water is not so good. I guess living in a desert your choice is kind of limited.

Cheers!

my 2 cents is to move close to Soper. he always has a keezer full of good homebrew.