Noob question: Keeping a Coopers Microbrew Fermenter (w/ spigot) cool

Hi. I have searched and it seems there are a few ideas about keeping the fermenter cool during the summer. Swamp coolers, giant tubs with ice, etc. The problem I have is that I bought a Coopers Microbrew kit (very happy with it) but it has a spigot and swamp cooler, giant tubs with ice, etc. will not work because I feel this will expose the spigot to bacteria-enabled water. I have a room fan blasting air but the stick-on thermometer registers between 25 and 26C while to room temp is 25-27C.

Anyone have any ideas that might be helpful for keeping the temp between 18 - 24C? I've draped a wet t-shirt around the fermenter but this gets water all over the place (again I can't put it in a tub because it has a spigot on the bottom) and generally makes a mess. Also, what happens if I cannot control the temperature and it ferments as 26 or 27C? Please help this newb out... I really don't want to skunk up my fermenting beer.

Also, a fridge is not an option since I live in a broom closet with a window (a hyper-small studio apt.) and don't have the space for new appliances. And, my apartment does not have A/C either, otherwise I'd blast that sucka 24/7.

You can get a bung (not drilled) or something that can plug up the spigot. Other than that you don't need to worry about it. IMO

What do you use for a sanitizer?

Star San in a spray bottle can sanitize the spigot post ferment.

Ok, so this is purely speculative, but what if you get a jacket or blanket, and drape it over the fermenter with a couple of frozen 2L bottles of water in it? I mean, you might still end up making a mess by having thawing bottles of ice with all that condensation, but it might be a start.

well, if you can't use a fridge or some kind of bucket/tub to chill it, your options are pretty limited. personally, i wouldn't worry about exposing the spigot to the water... you could wrap it up and put a rubber band around it or something to limit the exposure, but you can always rinse the spigot out and sanitize it before use... i guess the best thing to do is get a fermenter that can be manipulated for the future. you will get some extra ester production and possibly fusel alcohol from the higher temp.. ~80 deg F is definitely high, what kind of brew are you making?

If you concern is the sanitation of the spigot, you could use idodopher or some other sanitizer on the spigot before bottling. This way you can keep your fermenter in cool water in your tub.

As others have said, do not fear exposing the spigot to water.

In fact, proper sanitation technique is to ALWAYS sanitize the spigot before bottling/transfer even if you didn't expose it to water. Otherwise, you're setting yourself up for a potential infection.

Thanks guys for the replies. Well I went to Target and picked up a giant tub that my fermenter fits into...

and .

As you can see if I submerse the fermenter in this thing, it will be under water. So, what people are saying is that it's fine to keep the fermenter spigot under water? AND, on top of that, just spritz the spigot with some sanitizer before bottling? So, I wouldn't need to be worried about all the icky water (and gunk in it) when trying to keep the fermenter at/below 25C/77F? Lastly, I bought some ice-pak (blue things you keep in the freezer) and I could just float those in the water to try and keep it at/under 25C?

Since the fermenter + air lock/lib are too tall I cannot use a tub's lid. I'm not sure if this is a problem or not. Any one think it's fine to go ahead without the lid? Thanks. Sorry if these are really basic questions.

Poincare said:

Thanks guys for the replies. Well I went to Target and picked up a giant tub that my fermenter fits into...

As you can see if I submerse the fermenter in this thing, it will be under water. So, what people are saying is that it's fine to keep the fermenter spigot under water? AND, on top of that, just spritz the spigot with some sanitizer before bottling? So, I wouldn't need to be worried about all the icky water (and gunk in it) when trying to keep the fermenter at/below 25C/77F? Lastly, I bought some ice-pak (blue things you keep in the freezer) and I could just float those in the water to try and keep it at/under 25C?

Click to expand...

Ya, that should work fine. If you're worried about the surrounding water being "icky", add a bit of sanitizer to it (iodine, starsan, etc). And yes, you should spray and/or wipe the inside/outside of the spigot with sanitizer before transferring beer from the fermenter.

Good luck!

Yeah you can eliminate the lid. Add some sanitizer to the water as suggested above.

You can cut the tub lid to allow the bucket to stick through if you like, but I don't think it's needed.

OK, thanks for all the great replies. Just wondering while the wort is fermenting... do I need to keep the swamp cooler temp around 22C for the entire 14 days? (as recommended by the home brew shop) Can I stop putting blue icepaks in the cooler after 2-3 days? OR do I need to keep it at 22C past the 14 days until I bottle my beer?

I have swamp cooled fermenters with spigots with no ill effects.

Like with an old Mr Beer keg (which is great for 2.5 gallon stovetop all grain batches btw)




Here is what you need to do.

Get a spray bottle of sanitizer, a couple of sandwhich bags, a q-tip and a couple of rubberbands. Soak your q-tip in sanitiser and stick it into the spigot to get sanitizer in there. Then thoroughly spray the spigot with sanitizer. Soak rubberbands and baggies in sanitizer. Then wrap spigot assembly with the plastic baggie and rubberband it tightly...When you pull your primary out of the water repeat the steps backwards, spraying baggie with sanitizer before removing, spraying spigot and then q-tipping the inside of the spigot with sanitizer...

OK -But, how long do I keep the temp at 18 - 24C? 2 weeks? 3 weeks?

Poincare said:

OK -But, how long do I keep the temp at 18 - 24C? 2 weeks? 3 weeks?

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72 hours...or 1 week at the most...temp control is ONLY crucial in the initial hours of fermentation. If it takes off right away, then just worry about it for the first 3 days or so..if it lags to 72 hours (which often happens) keep it cool for a week.

I usually stop feeding it ice bottles after 72 hours...it's still cooler than ambient for a few days after...and the water slows down major temp shifts.

Little late But why not just put the fermenter in a HD 6 mill yard trash bag and then put it in the bucket? Tape it to the lid to keep it from sliding down no water will contact the spigot.

springer said:

Little late But why not just put the fermenter in a HD 6 mill yard trash bag and then put it in the bucket? Tape it to the lid to keep it from sliding down no water will contact the spigot.

Click to expand...

So, doing this ... how would I be able to see the temperature of the fermenter? I have a stick-on kind.

I sanitised the little bottler but not the fermenter spigot, had the primary in a large Igloo cooler with water and ice for 3 weeks.
The bottles seem to be doing their secondary fermentation fine, the yeast is starting to cling to the bottom and the beer is starting to clear up.

Poincare said:

Thanks guys for the replies. Well I went to Target and picked up a giant tub that my fermenter fits into...

and

.

As you can see if I submerse the fermenter in this thing, it will be under water. So, what people are saying is that it's fine to keep the fermenter spigot under water? AND, on top of that, just spritz the spigot with some sanitizer before bottling? So, I wouldn't need to be worried about all the icky water (and gunk in it) when trying to keep the fermenter at/below 25C/77F? Lastly, I bought some ice-pak (blue things you keep in the freezer) and I could just float those in the water to try and keep it at/under 25C?

Since the fermenter + air lock/lib are too tall I cannot use a tub's lid. I'm not sure if this is a problem or not. Any one think it's fine to go ahead without the lid? Thanks. Sorry if these are really basic questions.

Click to expand...

Wanted to know if you finally tried it ? I want to try it but my concern is how you're gonna get your fermenter out of there without shaking it too much and mixing the sediments in your beer ?

Poincare said:

So, doing this ... how would I be able to see the temperature of the fermenter? I have a stick-on kind.

Click to expand...

I used a white kitchen trash bag for my second batch and was able to read the stick on thermometer through the trash bag with no problems.