My failed attempt at temp. control, wah, waaahhh

This is my second try at Chimone's blonde bombshell recipe Link. The recipe calls for wlp001 but my incarnation I'm using wy2112 san fran lager yeast. Why I thought I could pull this off in the midst of 80 degree ambient temp in basement is beyond me (Doh!).
Here's it is... . 3rd day and still turning like crazy.

My question, will this be drinkable? The first I did was in April so ambient temps were closer to 65. It turned out excellent. Also, I used water bath but never thought out how I'd keep temp down. Dumb.

You might get some slight fusel alcohol or diacetyl.

Have you tried freezing 16 oz water bottles and put maybe 4-6 of them in the bucket ? (and swap them out every 12 hours)

Or, you could get skinny 32 oz ones - whatever fits between the bucket and the carboy.

Brewer3401 said:

You might get some slight fusel alcohol or diacetyl.

Have you tried freezing 16 oz water bottles and put maybe 4-6 of them in the bucket ? (and swap them out every 12 hours)

Or, you could get skinny 32 oz ones - whatever fits between the bucket and the carboy.

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Nice idea! I've been using ice to cool my fermentors. This will simplify my process to just switching bottles instead of filling new ice cube trays each time. Man, do I love simple solutions. =D

Jekster said:

Nice idea! I've been using ice to cool my fermentors. This will simplify my process to just switching bottles instead of filling new ice cube trays each time. Man, do I love simple solutions. =D

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Sometimes the simple way is the better way.

Also, by using bottles of water, you wont have to bail out your bucket due to new ice melting and increasing the volume.

(I also do this when I boil shrimp. Instead of adding ice, which dilutes my seaoning (coonass/creole kickass seasoning), the ice bottles cool the water and I achieve my goal without diluting the seasonings.

Yes I tried using frozen 1 liter H2O bottles..., but I only had 2 on hand to use. Those melted in about an hour resulting in a 2 degree drop.
It's been 2 days now so it's a lost cause for now. Maybe I'll learn something for next time.

What's a good cheap DIY for fermentation control besides a chest cooler with temp control ( just not the right time now). I remember someone mention "son of a fermentation thinga majing". Maybe it's in DIY section.

Probably won't be as good as your last batch, but should be drinkable... maybe. I made a Belgian Wit that hit 78F for about 8 hours during its fermentation before I cooled it down. Wits are supposed to be ok to get up to around 75. This beer packed a tart punch, mainly to the nose, but it was drinkable. I definitely regret not keeping it cooler, but it's all gone now, I drank it.

uuurang said:

Yes I tried using frozen 1 liter H2O bottles..., but I only had 2 on hand to use. Those melted in about an hour resulting in a 2 degree drop.
It's been 2 days now so it's a lost cause for now. Maybe I'll learn something for next time.

What's a good cheap DIY for fermentation control besides a chest cooler with temp control ( just not the right time now). I remember someone mention "son of a fermentation thinga majing". Maybe it's in DIY section.

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Here's a link to the original "Son of Fermentation Chiller" article.

http://home.elp.rr.com/brewbeer/chiller/chiller.PDF

I built one and it works great. I used the basic design, but put the foam inside a wooden box.

Before I got my freezer, I used the blue ice packs and swapped them out every day.

I've been doing something similar for my alt that is fermenting right now as well and I just filled quart freezer bags with water and have been swapping them out. Low profile and most people have them around.

Matt

Wow! Fantastic stuff guys! thanks!

Next time I'll plan ahead a little better.

hey, clayof2day, we still gotta get together and talk beer shop some time. I'm going to Madison beer fest this weekend. Will you be there?

EdWort said:

Before I got my freezer, I used the blue ice packs and swapped them out every day.

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I'm doing that now. I have a homemade wooden box lines with 2" pink foamboard and space/shelving in the top for 4 blue packs. The front opens for a carbuoy, the top opens for bluepacks. Except for the blue ice, it's just an old fashioned "ice box"...

Even today with basement temps in the mid 80's, my brew is fermenting away at about 66*. If I switch all 4 packs too often, brew temps drop into the low 50's...

Built fermentation chiller w/ 2" foamboard. took most of vacation week to build but it's done and got a oktoberfest fermenting away at 63*.

No better way to spend vacation, IMO.

So do you have pictures? How big?

pictures, sure. I'll get some up tonight. Same deal as HERE

It's oktoberfest in spirit. Used wy2112 instead of a true bavarian/german lager yeast. I still don't have the ability to lager at freezing for months

Here it is. Nothing special. I did use a digital thermostat from HERE instead of what is called for in original plans which can be found on that page.

So what do you think of using a freezer to keep a tank of Glycol and using an evaperator and a second fan to cool the chamber. A fan could circulate air whithin the box and hold any temp you like.

WBC said:

So what do you think of using a freezer to keep a tank of Glycol and using an evaperator and a second fan to cool the chamber. A fan could circulate air whithin the box and hold any temp you like.

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Sounds interesting...but far out of my realm of knowledge. I've heard of glycol being used as a cooling agent but don't have any idea how to implement. I'll be spending plenty of time with frozen ice for awhile to see how it can be coerced to better my beer.

Are you kicking some ideas around for using glycol in a fermentation chiller?

Also, since turbulent air cools consider blowing a fan over the water in the bucket... Small help but in this weather, man....


I had a Weizenbock that was fermenting at around 90 degrees it turned out good... most people didn't like it because of the strength of the yeast flavor and alcohol.

I'm interested in what pldoolittle is talking about, making just a simple ice box for my fermenter. Basically in my apartment room temperature liquid is about 81 degrees, and it would be nice if I could ferment at about 66-68. Any suggestions how to make something like he was talking about cheaply? I was thinking maybe making a large styrofoam box. Any ideas how to go about this? Thanks.

pldoolittle said:

I'm doing that now. I have a homemade wooden box lines with 2" pink foamboard and space/shelving in the top for 4 blue packs. The front opens for a carbuoy, the top opens for bluepacks. Except for the blue ice, it's just an old fashioned "ice box"...

Click to expand...

Does your ice box look like this?




...Or maybe this...




These are not mine. Just wanted to illustrate for thedaler and pldoolittle what they may be talking about. Link to pictures HERE.