Where do you keep your primary fermenter (bucket style)

I searched the forum but couldn't really find anything on this. I know you are supposed to store the beer in a cool/dark place. I had mine in the dining room for a few days, but it is pretty bright in here... does it matter how bright a room is during primary fermentation if it is in a bucket? I read that it is the UV rays that cause damage to the beer and I can't see any UVs getting to the beer through the white bucket... Thanks again - I promise this is my last noob question for the night

I still consider myself a noob. Keep that in mind.

I have a closet that I keep most of my beer in, though I keep the door open since I have a cold apartment and I want to expose it to as much heat as possible. I put most of my bottles in thick plastic bags to protect against bombs and I stick them in the closet too.

I keep mine in a tub of water which I used to regulate the temperature with an aquarium heater. The whole thing is in my "beer" room, which is dark 99% of the time unless I am fetching a brew.

With my buckets I don't worry too much about uv exposure, so long they don't receive direct sunlight.

Living on the central coast of CA, we tend to stay on the cool side. A hot day here is 75F and we only get about twenty of them per year. At night it drops into the 50's and that's during summer! I brew in my garage but I had to build a heated cabinet in which to keep my fermenters and bottles for conditioning. Works great. The heater only kicks on for about 20 seconds, every 5 to 7 minutes. Keeps everything inside at a constant 70F.

I keep my primary in the basement, but that's just for temperature control. It's the UV in light that skunks your hops. UV won't get through the plastic.

In the winter, the pail goes in the kitchen sink until the ferment slows, then it goes on the counter. I close the window blinds to keep direct sunlight out. Once it's on the counter, I don't worry about UV.

Chest freezer in the garage.

cabinet incubator to maintain temps

I keep my fermenters in the mechanical room in my basement. Living in MI, the basement stays anywhere from 60 - 65 degrees F during the winter. Having the fermenters sit next to my boiler system adds a few extra degress of warmth, which the yeasties enjoy

After bottling, I put the bottles in a large rubbermaid container. I'm not exactly sure how large it is, but I can fit 50 or so bottles standing upright in one. This way the mess is contained from any possible bombs.

In the basement on the concrete floor

I keep mine in a cupboard in the utility room. I took the shelf out of the cupboard to make room and it sits there in the dark at the perfect house temp. If I dabble in more aggressive fermenting brews I will probably move the bucket to the guest bathroom tub that's never used just in case there is spill-over.

I keep mine in the extra bathroom, more specifically the tub. With the plexiglass doors shut, I'm not as concerned if it goes nuclear on me, as opposed to it being in a closet or something.

Mine are in my bar, which is an extension of my dining room. Primary carboys live in an igloo "Cube" ice-chest with water to regulate the temperature, and secondaries are just on the floor. All carboys are covered with a cardboard box "hut" to keep the light out, and in the case of the primaries, to keep krausen explosions contained.

downstairs bathtub. filled with water and an aquarium heater to maintain temp. for the first brew anyway...i need to get a rubbermaid container for it.

i keep em the the garage or kitchen counter in summer. depends on temps.

I keep mine in my brewery (office closet) in a rubbermaid container filled with water and in some cases frozen water bottles floating away.

Im still a noob myself, only 2 batches under my belt, but I keep mine in a storage room of my basement but I don't put it on the concrete floor. I sit it up on a table. Its mostly dark and stays between 63-66 degrees.

I keep them in my bar aka Man Cave. It's a room off back of house where its always cooler than rest of house. I have small kitchenette off it which houses my wine, liquior, cigars, and beer. The kitchenette does have one window wich has blinds so I wrap the carboys in a towel just incase any sun gets in. Plastic I don't bother unless I have them in my office which gets more direct light and in that case again I use a towel. My temp normally in 60s but it can get a little colder so I keep a small eletric heater on low during cold nights.

Side note it warmed up during day time on me the other day and forgot to turn off the heater on way to work so my carboy temp up to 72ish. Live an learn. Hope all is good still.

I'm I the only one that thinks this thread has gotten off topic? The OP asked "does it matter how bright a room is during primary fermentation if it is in a bucket?". It quickly turned to how everyone ferments using their buckets.

PT Ray said:

I'm I the only one that thinks this thread has gotten off topic? The OP asked "does it matter how bright a room is during primary fermentation if it is in a bucket?". It quickly turned to how everyone ferments using their buckets.

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Well, I think the OP is expected to infer that the methods we are using are working well for us. I supposed we could all say that we put our buckets in a cupboard, basement, kitchen counter, etc., to keep the UV out, but I would expect that the logical assumption would be that we're using these methods successfully.

I like hearing where everyone keeps their brew so thats cool. I guess the main thing I was worried about is - is it OK to keep the white fermenting bucket in a room that gets a lot of light? No direct sunlight, but plenty of normal light. I don't have any rooms in my house that are a good temp and stay dark. Thanks again.

Fingers said:

Well, I think the OP is expected to infer that the methods we are using are working well for us. I supposed we could all say that we put our buckets in a cupboard, basement, kitchen counter, etc., to keep the UV out, but I would expect that the logical assumption would be that we're using these methods successfully.

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I agree. I was just trying to say how I'm doing it and it seems to be working....

I keep mine right under a south facing window and about 6 inches from the baseboard heater. My beer is delicious.