Is it safe?

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injendsm

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Is it safe to ferment in my garage? Keep in mind, I live in South Florida, so the outside temperatures can get into the mid 90's during the summer (it's in the 70's right now). There's one window in the garage but the blinds are usually closed so the area's actually fairly dark. I'd like to ferment in my garage since there isn't much space in the guest bedroom but I can ferment there if need be.
 
You're definitely going to want to keep the temp down out of the 90's... or even the 70's. I think the garage is out for fermenting in south florida, unless you get a fridge and external thermostat.
 
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Is it safe to ferment in my garage? Keep in mind, I live in South Florida, so the outside temperatures can get into the mid 90's during the summer (it's in the 70's right now). There's one window in the garage but the blinds are usually closed so the area's actually fairly dark. I'd like to ferment in my garage since there isn't much space in the guest bedroom but I can ferment there if need be.

Safe? Sure, I supppose. It's not like it will spontaneously combust.

Suggested now that is the question. And the answer is, if uncontrolled, then No. Temps in the carboy are about 10*F above ambient. So, it's possible if you are fermenting in a 90*F garage than your beer is at 100*F.

There are some Belgian yeast and some Farmhouse Ales that take advantage of high heat temps but even then it usually limited to 80*F fermenting temp.

At those temps you are likely to creat a lot of fusel alcohols and that isn;t good beer.
 
Is it safe to ferment in my garage? Keep in mind, I live in South Florida, so the outside temperatures can get into the mid 90's during the summer (it's in the 70's right now). There's one window in the garage but the blinds are usually closed so the area's actually fairly dark. I'd like to ferment in my garage since there isn't much space in the guest bedroom but I can ferment there if need be.

Right now. I'm using a swamp cooler. (Ice cooler, homemade top, regular additions of ice or frozen bottles as needed.) With the weather as good as it's been lately, we've got a couple of months to get away with this. That said, I'll be picking up a temp controller this weekend in order to convert an older fridge, to a fermentation box.
 
That's what I thought but I figured it would be best to ask. Guest bedroom it is; thanks for the help, everyone.
 
If it is in the 70's consistently, you can easily get away with a wet t-shirt draped over the carboy. That will keep it a few degrees cooler without having to mess around with ice. Just keep the shirt wet and maybe put a fan on it to increase the temperature drop.
 
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