Brewing in the tropics!

hi everyone! new to the forum, but have been reading and researching posts for months now as I continue to gain experience home brewing.

Previously, i lived somewhere that allowed me to maintain fermentation temps in the ideal ranges. however with a new move into the Caribbean, i enter a far warmer climate and hence have some further concerns I was hoping some of you more experienced brewers could help with...


Recipe: True Brew Oktoberfest extract kit
Yeast: Muntons Dry Ale yeast

First concern = Temperature. Based on my research, Munton's prefers between 64-70°F.

However my current situation allows me two options:
40-43°F via a non-adjustable refrigerator
79-82°F+ via the ambient air of my room. a fan will help, but marginally.

I'm aware both of these ranges are far less then ideal, but I currently dont have the means to do much about that factor. Would a different yeast help solve this?

Second Concern = Water. I'll be using exclusively Reverse Osmosis water from the only clean water supply on the island. I've purchased some campden tablets just in case they sneak some chlorine into the water as a backup sanitation process. Those shouldn't do any harm, one way or the other - correct?

Also, I've purchased some Yeast Energizer to help the process along in case the malt doesn't add enough vitamins and nutrients back into the RO water. Following their recommended dosage, would this aid in the yeast performance - especially given my two temperature ranges?

Set up a swamp cooler. Put the fermenter into a larger bucket, put cold water into the bucket. Drape an old t-shirt or towel over the fermenter, with the bottom of the cloth into the water so it will wick the water upward. Run a fan on it to speed evaporation and enhance the cooling effect.

You can also toss some ice packs into the water to keep it cold. Switch them out a couple times a day.

Learn to brew with temp tolerant yeasts, such as Belgians and Brett. I recently used Brett-C, and found it ferments clean up to about 85F, and is fine at higher temps.

Creating a microclimate which you have total control over removes all geographical or climate concerns.

My microclimate (chest freezer and STC1000) Couldn't brew without it in Texas.

thanks for the swamp cooler idea. i'm concerned about consistently using a fan, as power here is astronomically expensive. but every now n then should do. as would the occasional ice block.

thanks for all the other suggestions as well, but i'm in a third world area so access to such luxuries are either non-existent or just impossibly expensive.

had high hopes that a 40-42 range would still work. guess not

Try using Belle Saison yeast, and ferment it warm -- it's supposed to like that. It won't be an Oktoberfest anymore, but it should be good.

Everyone else has covered the temp issues. But with RO water you will also need more than just yeast energizer. At a minimum, try to get ahold of some calcium chloride and gypsum (Calcium sulfate). If you can't get them, order online or have a friend ship you some. Assuming you have a source for grain (otherwise the rest is moot), you can adjust pH with acid malt (to reduce) and pickling lime (to raise). Epsom salts can also help and are easier to find. Download the Bru'nwater software and it will tell you what to do with all that stuff.

Do you like saisons? My girlfriend rarely runs the AC in the summer, so the basement ends up being an even 80 F in the summer. We made saisons with French saison yeast, Wyeast 3711, specifically. That doesn't help with your current kit, but like z-bob said, a saison yeast will give you something to drink in October.

Get a temp controller for that fridg you have and you are set. I live in Hawai`i and this summer temps are like 90+ inside and outside. My temp controlled freezer is the only way I can brew.

BlueHouseBrewhaus said:

With RO water you will also need more than just yeast energizer. At a minimum, try to get ahold of some calcium chloride and gypsum (Calcium sulfate). If you can't get them, order online or have a friend ship you some. Assuming you have a source for grain (otherwise the rest is moot), you can adjust pH with acid malt (to reduce) and pickling lime (to raise). Epsom salts can also help and are easier to find. Download the Bru'nwater software and it will tell you what to do with all that stuff.

Click to expand...

Thanks. Been reading John Palmer's book and he seems to suggest shying away from gypsum and epsom. He claims the minerals and nutrients in the malt extract alone should be enough to make up for anything missing from the RO water - and that playing with the additives you mentioned above could do more harm then good. Thoughts?

C-Rider said:

Get a temp controller for that fridg you have and you are set.

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there in lies the problem. The only fridge I have access to is one that is shared with a bar, where they store bottled beer and soda. It's statically set to 41 degrees, but even if it was adjustable - not sure the bar would appreciate me bringing the temps down on the products they serve. so yea, it's what I've got to work with. :/

alphakry said:

Thanks. Been reading John Palmer's book and he seems to suggest shying away from gypsum and epsom. He claims the minerals and nutrients in the malt extract alone should be enough to make up for anything missing from the RO water - and that playing with the additives you mentioned above could do more harm then good. Thoughts?


there in lies the problem. The only fridge I have access to is one that is shared with a bar, where they store bottled beer and soda. It's statically set to 41 degrees, but even if it was adjustable - not sure the bar would appreciate me bringing the temps down on the products they serve. so yea, it's what I've got to work with. :/

Click to expand...

For expanding the swamp cooler idea what I used to do is get a HUGE plastic bucket, fill it with water and just float the fermenter in it. Then I'd freeze two liter bottles of water in the freezer and let them float next to the beer to bring the temp down. Worked okay, but'd be easier to just make a lot of saison. Stuff goes fine in a freaking oven, crazy yeast.

I missed that your were doing extract brews. Palmer is correct that extracts shouldn't require additives although there might be cases where they could be appropriate. However, when you get into partial mash and all grain, you shoild definitely check it out.

alphakry said:

Thanks. Been reading John Palmer's book and he seems to suggest shying away from gypsum and epsom. He claims the minerals and nutrients in the malt extract alone should be enough to make up for anything missing from the RO water - and that playing with the additives you mentioned above could do more harm then good. Thoughts?


there in lies the problem. The only fridge I have access to is one that is shared with a bar, where they store bottled beer and soda. It's statically set to 41 degrees, but even if it was adjustable - not sure the bar would appreciate me bringing the temps down on the products they serve. so yea, it's what I've got to work with. :/

Click to expand...

I guess you need that swamp cooler or the ice bath method.

BlueHouseBrewhaus said:

I missed that your were doing extract brews. Palmer is correct that extracts shouldn't require additives although there might be cases where they could be appropriate. However, when you get into partial mash and all grain, you shoild definitely check it out.

Click to expand...

Typically, water from those desalination RO plants is remineralized. If you supplied true RO water to drink, people would have their electrolytes all out of whack and metal piping would be vulnerable to severe corrosion. It would be worthwhile getting a water report to find out what the mineral levels actually are.

Thank you all. I'm going to give my first "tropic" batch a go using the suggestions.

bucketnative said:

Typically, water from those desalination RO plants is remineralized. If you supplied true RO water to drink, people would have their electrolytes all out of whack and metal piping would be vulnerable to severe corrosion. It would be worthwhile getting a water report to find out what the mineral levels actually are.

Click to expand...

Welcome to third world living!

All of our water is non-drinkable if not in bottles, all of our piping is PVC and what the hell are electrolytes?! Certainly not in our water.

alphakry said:

Welcome to third world living! .

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I was assuming you were on one of the more developed Caribbean islands. Good luck with the water supply issues. The nice thing about PVC pipes is that they're definitely cheaper to replace than copper.

Hi. I live in the philippines and there are some good tips here. Its currently the coolest time of year here and we are at the high end of the recommended temp for the yeast were are using (it's a Brooklyn Brew kit). I was concerned about what we will do as the temps rise and I think we can work it out with some different yeast and or cooling options.

cheers.

Mate get the australian coopers range. On the packet it says 21-28°c
normaly i start my batch at 28-30° and the last batch cerveca achieved 36° during fermentation. 4 days after bottling its clear and pressurised. My day time temps have been close to 40° while doing this brew.