Basement Temps

After repeated requests to move my fermentation out of the closet due to my stinky Hefe... I put my primary in the basement with my freshly brewed Cheesefood Caramel Cream.

Fermentation started out slowly... temp was 60*F so I moved it back up to the closet when Momma Dukes wasnt around.

Its not even that cold out yet here in CT, but I figure once I buy two more carboys today and brew another batch, I need to move my operation to the basement. Any ideas on how to keep my babies in the upper 60*s low 70*s while in the basement? I had it over by the furnace/water heater, but it was still chilly. Dont think a blanket would work... and I dont feel like building a box, but I realize I may have to.

What should I do?

Thanks

Blankets are a good idea. You can make a tent out of them and use a small electric heater (with a fan & thermostat) to maintain the temperature. Water heater wrappers are also good. Put the plastic on the inside for easy cleaning after blow-offs.

You could move to lagers. I've never done it, but I think a lot of people do in the winter, when basement temps are nice and chilly.

david_42 said:

Blankets are a good idea. You can make a tent out of them and use a small electric heater (with a fan & thermostat) to maintain the temperature. Water heater wrappers are also good. Put the plastic on the inside for easy cleaning after blow-offs.

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There's just something about combining electric heaters and blankets that doesnt sit well in my stomach....

Troybinso - Yea, I want to Lager some time, but I need to get brewing for the holidays. I'm not ready to make this leap just yet.

Get a brew belt heater. Wraps right around your carboy/bucket and is said to keep your cold bottle at 70F.

I think it's easier to heat a place that's too cold than try to lager in a place that's too warm.

I ferment ales in my basement this time of year, and it's coooold down there. Typically, I don't mind my fermentation temps for ales to be in the mid-sixties, which is almost achieved just from the heat generated by a vigorous fermentation. You'll be surprised how much heat is generated when those yeasties get all worked up. To supplement that, I take a drug-store-variety heating pad (the kind you use for muscle pain, etc.), put it up against the wall of the carboy, then wrap a blanket around that to keep it in place. Set it to high or medium, and this will raise your temps several degrees.

Evan! said:

I take a drug-store-variety heating pad (the kind you use for muscle pain, etc.), put it up against the wall of the carboy, then wrap a blanket around that to keep it in place. Set it to high or medium, and this will raise your temps several degrees.

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Good call... thats probably cheaper than those carboy heaters too...

Thanks

Do yourself a favor while your basement is at 60. Make a Dusseldorf Altbier using 50% Munich Malt and Wyeast 1007 yeast. It prefers cooler temps (down to 55). After ferment, 2ndary it for about a month ... you wont be sorry. Its a great beer.

david_42 said:

Blankets are a good idea. You can make a tent out of them and use a small electric heater (with a fan & thermostat) to maintain the temperature. Water heater wrappers are also good. Put the plastic on the inside for easy cleaning after blow-offs.

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Um, I wouldn't do that unless you really relish the idea of burning down your house.........

Take a thermometer and scope out several zones in you basement. You might be surprised by the variation in temps down there. Otherwise the heat belt is a good idea, so is lagering.

Im in the same boat myself. From searching i found someone suggest putting the carboy in a bucket of water with an aquarium heater. Any drawbacks to this? Seems to me like the water idea would keep things more consistant. I have a heating pad for the blanket wrap idea and a aquarium heater so i could do either.

ablrbrau said:

Um, I wouldn't do that unless you really relish the idea of burning down your house.........

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...on the other hand, a burning house WOULD raise the temp in the basement considerably!

If you're patient, you should welcome the chance to brew with cooler temps. Cooler ferments tend to be slower, of course, but you may find you will get some of your best brews in the winter.

I have an IPA happily bubbling away right now at around 59-61. It's been going for almost a week now. There was no violent blow-off, so I didn't lose half my beer out the tube.

Only problem is my father-in-law is coming later this week and I was hoping to bottle it while he is here. I might still be able to get away with it, but it will probably mean skipping the secondary with this batch.

I just took out 2-5 gallon carboys one is a hard lemonade and the other a hard cider out of a bathtub that I had in there for about a week. Wanted to keep the temp down between 66-68*F. With the temps dropping down towards the end of the week I use a old Aquarium heater to keep the temp from going below 66*F it worked alright however, it took a long time to bring the hole tub up to 67*F from 66*F. A good idea would to keep the water moving next time.

if you have gas heat/water heater, you can pop the carboys down near them.. i think hb99 has painted lines on the floor telling him which zone is which temp....

i jsut go for ale yeasts that tolerate the lower temps, german and scotish seem to do well in the cold. and i give the primary ferment at least two weeks.

I'm currently testing a 4 GB hard drive as a heater. It's plugged into my Ranco controller and is sitting on top of the fermenter, which is in a big cardboard box. I figure the drive draws about 20 watts and has a built-in fan to circulate the air. If it works, I'll replace the disk with a couple of 10 watt power resistors and build a controller of some sort. I only need to raise the temperature from 46F to 50F for the Schwarzbier.

I've got a similar opportunity. My basement is about 59-60. I'm making a starter for a California Common right now (Wyeast 2112). Supposedly that yeast loves a temp somewhere between standard ales and lagers (i.e. ~60). After the common, if my basement temp remains stable, I'm going to reuse the yeast and try it in a porter or American brown ale. What the heck, if you've got chicken, make chicken salad.

I have a similar problem/question. I am out of town on business with 2 5g. carboys in the garage. One is a cream ale on secondary, and the other is Ed's apfelwine. They have been constant at 60-62 deg.F. Unfortunately the temp has dropped to the mid20's tonight and I am sure the garage will fall to low 50's. Will a couple of days at low temps hurt anything?

Bump? anyone?

Pirate Ale said:

I have a similar problem/question. I am out of town on business with 2 5g. carboys in the garage. One is a cream ale on secondary, and the other is Ed's apfelwine. They have been constant at 60-62 deg.F. Unfortunately the temp has dropped to the mid20's tonight and I am sure the garage will fall to low 50's. Will a couple of days at low temps hurt anything?

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Probably just slow it down, if not stall the fermentation.

I'd be worried about freezing in the garage.

MightyTaco said:

Im in the same boat myself. From searching i found someone suggest putting the carboy in a bucket of water with an aquarium heater. Any drawbacks to this? Seems to me like the water idea would keep things more consistant. I have a heating pad for the blanket wrap idea and a aquarium heater so i could do either.

Click to expand...

This has worked real well for me . I have an old fashioned wash tub which I wrapped with foam. I use 2 aquarium heaters (use your ingenuity for mounting) and have been able to keep fermenting temps right on 69-70 in a 55-60 degree basement. Good fermentation for batch after batch in the middle of Colorado winters. Take the time to get the temperature stabilized before you brew