edgeofblade
Well-Known Member
I've brewed my first three batches so far and I'm taking a homebrew course to learn some of the hands-on bits I might be missing between YouTube, HBT, the Homebrewer's Bible, and the instructional video from Coopers.
And of course, from my taste buds, and my taste buds tell me... I need to do a MUCH better job of controlling my fermentation temperatures. It's hot in Texas, and I have to get away from the upper ranges of my fermentations to once and for all kill this sharp, cidery crap I keep brewing.
I don't get a lot of control over what the thermostat in the house says (married men, can I get a "UH HUH"), so I'm considering using my Christmas gift credit at the local homebrew store to purchase a fridge thermostat probe and plug cutoff for the garage fridge... which is 100% dedicated to beer.
Locally, I can pick one up for $80. Is that reasonable, or should I save the credit for more reasonably priced consumables?
Anyone had any issues using using one of these probes to control temps on, oh, say, a 5 gallon batch? Do I just crank up the fridge to max-chill when on the thermostat? What about CO2 buildup inside the fridge? ...and anything else you think might be useful.
Oh... and I heard that the yeast action is thermogenic, which makes sense, and I need to set the thermostat a little lower than what I actually want... or do I need to set lower and raise it a little as the yeast slows down.
And of course, from my taste buds, and my taste buds tell me... I need to do a MUCH better job of controlling my fermentation temperatures. It's hot in Texas, and I have to get away from the upper ranges of my fermentations to once and for all kill this sharp, cidery crap I keep brewing.
I don't get a lot of control over what the thermostat in the house says (married men, can I get a "UH HUH"), so I'm considering using my Christmas gift credit at the local homebrew store to purchase a fridge thermostat probe and plug cutoff for the garage fridge... which is 100% dedicated to beer.
Locally, I can pick one up for $80. Is that reasonable, or should I save the credit for more reasonably priced consumables?
Anyone had any issues using using one of these probes to control temps on, oh, say, a 5 gallon batch? Do I just crank up the fridge to max-chill when on the thermostat? What about CO2 buildup inside the fridge? ...and anything else you think might be useful.
Oh... and I heard that the yeast action is thermogenic, which makes sense, and I need to set the thermostat a little lower than what I actually want... or do I need to set lower and raise it a little as the yeast slows down.
