I want to brew a Kolsch but it's too #%$& hot in my house

So I really really really want to brew a Kolsch, but I don't have AC and right now my state is going through one of the most intense heat waves we've ever had. My house is about 70 degrees or so at night, but gets up close to 90 during the day. I have a closet that I think I can keep cool, around 75 or so most of the time, but it might get as high as 80.

Is it doable? Should I consider trying something like WLP001 and just calling it a blonde ale? Any other suggestions for temperature control for someone who doesn't have a fridge available?

Quite honestly, I wouldn't waste my time and money if I wasn't going to be able to control the fermentation temps. For a kolsch you need to ferment around 60 F and hold it there. It's a clean style that isn't going to hide much fermentation flaws. I would suggest a different style for you but if you could make the investment, fermentation control equipment is the best purchase you can make for your brewery.

swamp cooler. water, frozen water-bottles or milk-jugs, fermenter, fan, t-shirt over fermenter. Easy.

I prefer to ferment Kolsch in the mid 60's. It has a nice fruity profile.

Its not do-able; I wouldn't even use US-05 at those temps. If you can swing it, a 5 cubic ft chest freezer and a Johnson controller will solve all your problems. Best investment (~ $250) I've made in my 2+ years of homebrewing. I did the swamp cooler thing for a while, but it is a PITA, and not nearly as predictable/controlable as the aforementioned solution.

I suppose I can, I'm just trying not to spend so much money on beer equipment all the time. I guess I'll have to see how big the number is on the paycheck I get this week and then make my choice.

I did make a Kolsch about 3 weeks ago and it fermented at about 70+ the whole time and came out great, but it's much hotter this week and I'm a little worried.

Also G-star, any recommendations on which Johnson Controls unit is best?

This is what I use on my kegerator/fermentation freezer:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/...on-controls-a419-digital-temp-controller.html

It works very well and was really as easy as plugging it in and setting the temperature and rang. I will definitely be purchasing a 2nd one when I purchase my next freezer this summer. I want to be able to have a dedicated kegerator.

The ebay temp controllers are working well these days too.

I got a chest freezer on craigslist for $100 and use a temp controller to run it. Works well and has no problem doing lager fermentation even in my garage which is about 98deg F right now. I can fit 3 better bottles in there if I really try or about 6 kegs.

tre9er said:

swamp cooler. water, frozen water-bottles or milk-jugs, fermenter, fan, t-shirt over fermenter. Easy.

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^This, for sure. Easy and cheap. Just use an 18 gal bucket from Home Cheapo, the rest you should have on hand at home.

Darwin18 said:

This is what I use on my kegerator/fermentation freezer:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/...on-controls-a419-digital-temp-controller.html

It works very well and was really as easy as plugging it in and setting the temperature and rang. I will definitely be purchasing a 2nd one when I purchase my next freezer this summer. I want to be able to have a dedicated kegerator.

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I use this unit as well, works great.

Swamp coolers will work for ales, but they require daily attention and cannot be fine-tuned. If you want true control over your ferm temps and the ability to make lagers all year round, a controller/fridge (or freezer) combo is the only way to go.

nberk said:

I got a chest freezer on craigslist for $100 and use a temp controller to run it. Works well and has no problem doing lager fermentation even in my garage which is about 98deg F right now. I can fit 3 better bottles in there if I really try or about 6 kegs.

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3 better bottles in a 5.1 ft^3 freezer or a 7.2 ft^3?

How about a Kolsch-like brew with saison yeast? I did that last year and it was awesome. I took nothing but pilsner, mashed it around 150, added Hallertau, I think, and fermented it with that saison blend yeast. I think it was the WLP565.

The yeast loved the hot summer temps and it's still one of my all time favorite brews. I must be nuts for not making that again this year.

Down here in Aurora and I just finished up another batch of Kolsch. Little more difficult this time around but was still easy enough to manage with a wet towel and a big fan.

Another option I would try if your basement isnt cool is to just toss it in a cooler with some ice bottles and change them out in the morning and evening. You should be fine.

Unfortunately I don't have a basement or that would be the ticket. I'm going to check the temperature of my crawlspace, but it's not a very clean place (dirt floors) so I'm a little hesitant. I know airlocks exist for a reason etc, but still not my first choice.

JonM- that's a fantastic idea, but I've already brewed three batches of Saison this summer, so I think I'm going to mix it up a bit now I'm still thinking WLP001 might be a decent solution, but I could get a pretty big bucket of water to stay cool I think with some frozen gallons of ice. Worth a shot!

JonM said:

How about a Kolsch-like brew with saison yeast? I did that last year and it was awesome. I took nothing but pilsner, mashed it around 150, added Hallertau, I think, and fermented it with that saison blend yeast. I think it was the WLP565.

The yeast loved the hot summer temps and it's still one of my all time favorite brews. I must be nuts for not making that again this year.

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Funny, I was thinking the same thing.

Also, keep in mind that even if you could keep your closet at 70 deg (which is probably too high for WLP001 anyway) the temperature inside the fermenter is probably up near 80 deg. I found a 20 cubic foot chest freezer on Craigslist for $150 and it has made all the difference. I've got a Russian imperial stout in there now fermenting at 63 degrees. Ambient temp in the garage was 103 today. Being able to control the fermentation temperature is probably one of the most significant improvements that a homebrewer can make.

Swamp cooler requires maintenance but can keep temp way down. Freeze plenty of containers ahead of time.

gmcastil said:

Also, keep in mind that even if you could keep your closet at 70 deg (which is probably too high for WLP001 anyway) the temperature inside the fermenter is probably up near 80 deg. I found a 20 cubic foot chest freezer on Craigslist for $150 and it has made all the difference. I've got a Russian imperial stout in there now fermenting at 63 degrees. Ambient temp in the garage was 103 today. Being able to control the fermentation temperature is probably one of the most significant improvements that a homebrewer can make.

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That would be true for every brew then. Your imperial stout is at 73 degrees inside the carboy as well. So how do you compensate? Set your temperature control until to ~10 lower than you want the beer to be at, or just set it at the temp you want and mark it down as an intrinsic oddity of home brewing?

BudzAndSudz said:

That would be true for every brew then. Your imperial stout is at 73 degrees inside the carboy as well. So how do you compensate? Set your temperature control until to ~10 lower than you want the beer to be at, or just set it at the temp you want and mark it down as an intrinsic oddity of home brewing?

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Tape the temp probe against the side of the carboy. Use blue painters tape and it's easy.

BudzAndSudz said:

That would be true for every brew then. Your imperial stout is at 73 degrees inside the carboy as well. So how do you compensate? Set your temperature control until to ~10 lower than you want the beer to be at, or just set it at the temp you want and mark it down as an intrinsic oddity of home brewing?

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Actually, I'm sure his beer is at exactly 63°. That's the beauty of a freezer with a temp controller, his beer should be sitting at that exact temp, +/- a couple degrees, since most brewer's either use a thermowell, or attach the probe directly to the fermenter and insulate it, the temp you're reading is the temp of the fermenting liquid, not the ambient air.

Cal ale can be used to make a Kolsch when you ferm on the cooler side 60-65f. At that high of a temp (80's) it will put on some esters and fusel alcohols. Its not going to taste like a Kolsch. When it gets that hot out I tend to look for temperature control for myself first. A window ac unit at Walmart sales for about $100 cools a 150 sqft room (with you in it). As a added benefit it provides needed temp control for your beer too. Add in a large tub of water for your carboy to sit in to increase its thermal mass. Thus avoiding large temperature swings. But then again if your in Boulder CO why not just wait 60 days?

Yup. Attach the probe to the side of the carboy, and wrap it with bubble wrap. That will give you pretty accurate temps.

Sir-Brews-Alot said:

Actually, I'm sure his beer is at exactly 63°. That's the beauty of a freezer with a temp controller, his beer should be sitting at that exact temp, +/- a couple degrees, since most brewer's either use a thermowell, or attach the probe directly to the fermenter and insulate it, the temp you're reading is the temp of the fermenting liquid, not the ambient air.

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Well Duh. That makes sense, and thank you.

To expand on that, if you have a 7+ ft^3 freezer, how do you maintain the temperature for multiple brews that might be in different stages of fermentation? Just set the ambient temperature ~65 or so and let them work it out?

JerseyJoe said:

Cal ale can be used to make a Kolsch when you ferm on the cooler side 60-65f....

But then again if your in Boulder CO why not just wait 60 days?

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Because I'd like to drink the Kolsch while it's still hot out? 2 months from now I'm going to be brewing the holiday spiced ales and winter warmers......

And also, I don't think that cal ale really solves my problem, since you said it needs to ferment at the same temperature as the Kolsch yeast.

Because I'd like to drink the Kolsch while it's still hot out? 2 months from now I'm going to be brewing the holiday spiced ales and winter warmers......
And also, I don't think that cal ale really solves my problem, since you said it needs to ferment at the same temperature as the Kolsch yeast.

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I think you have come to a reasonable conclusion. Brew your Kolsch late winter/early spring next year or get temperature control. Without temperature control your brewing choices are limited. There are a couple of brew calendars out there to help keep things organized. PM me if you dont find any with a Google search Good luck

BudzAndSudz said:

To expand on that, if you have a 7+ ft^3 freezer, how do you maintain the temperature for multiple brews that might be in different stages of fermentation? Just set the ambient temperature ~65 or so and let them work it out?

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I use it to control the temp of actively fermenting beer, which usually works out to be a good conditioning temp for those beers that have mostly finished, and are in the conditioning stage before going to the keg.

No problems with a little planning, unless you are brewing multiple times per week.

g-star said:

I use it to control the temp of actively fermenting beer, which usually works out to be a good conditioning temp for those beers that have mostly finished, and are in the conditioning stage before going to the keg.

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That's exactly how I do it as well. I usually will brew three 5-gallon batches over three weeks to fill my kegs. I'll brew the beer with the highest fermentation temps first and allow it to ferment for a week, at which time I'll brew my second batch, and so on.

This works well as active fermentation for my ales is pretty much done within a week, and a cooler temperatures allow for settling/conditioning.

I'm going to get a 2nd dedicated freezer this summer so I can get a better pipeline going, but I'll probably keep to this method in the meantime.

JonM said:

How about a Kolsch-like brew with saison yeast? I did that last year and it was awesome. I took nothing but pilsner, mashed it around 150, added Hallertau, I think, and fermented it with that saison blend yeast. I think it was the WLP565.

The yeast loved the hot summer temps and it's still one of my all time favorite brews. I must be nuts for not making that again this year.

Click to expand...

How long did you age this? I'm likeing the idea of a farmhouse-style ale but every time I do I keep thinking it will be 6+mo to age and I'd like to bring that down to 2 month. Like end of August.

For fermentation control, I know a lot of people say to buy a freezer and put in a controller. Building your own chamber from 2 inch foam is cheaper and you can get it to exactly the size you want. This is what I built. I found an old mini-fridge for cooling and bought a hairdryer for heating. The whole thing cost about $120. and the best part: you can say "Look what I built!"
Fermentation Chamber

gmcastil said:

Also, keep in mind that even if you could keep your closet at 70 deg (which is probably too high for WLP001 anyway) the temperature inside the fermenter is probably up near 80 deg. I found a 20 cubic foot chest freezer on Craigslist for $150 and it has made all the difference. I've got a Russian imperial stout in there now fermenting at 63 degrees. Ambient temp in the garage was 103 today. Being able to control the fermentation temperature is probably one of the most significant improvements that a homebrewer can make.

Click to expand...

I did a heat study with a temp probe in the wort and another taped to the outside of the bucket. I got a difference of 2 degrees, not 10. How were you measuring your temps, and did you verify they both read the same?

Well I have a fairly good job, so I just sucked it up and bought a 7.2 ft^3 chest freezer yesterday at the Home Depot. My Kolsh will be tasty now!

William_Shakes_Beer; I'm glad you posted that, because you confirmed what I already had suspected. Anyone who's looked at their carboy during primary fermentation will see an incredible amount of convection, which I had always suspected did a great job of displacing thermal hot spots and keeping a fairly homogeneous temperature profile.