Fermenting in a 80º house?

I just ordered my Dad a brew kit from NB for a retirement gift & I have one concern...the old man keeps his house 80º. I know this is pushing the limits for bad things to start happening, so I wanted to see what you guys thought.

He has a spare fridge that he is keeping just for beer stuff. Is it possible to get a fridge up to 65º or so? I am thinking he could put the fridge on a timer & fool with it until it stays in the correct range.

But if he didn't have to use the fridge that would be great.

TIA for the advice!

If he has an extra fridge he could use this for the best results. It goes all the way to 80 degrees.

Buy one of these at Walmart or Sears Hardware...about $11.00



Cut out the top. A carboy will fit perfectly.


Drop in your fermenter and wrap a t-shirt around it and fill the container with cold water. The shirt will wick up the water and if you place a small fan on the t-shirt, the evaporation effect will cause the t-shirt to cool and keep your fermenting beer 7-8 degrees cooler than ambient.

Just have him make a belgian style ale - use Wyeast 1388 up to 80F
Or use American Ale Wyeast 1056 at just above the range (upper range 77F)

So i.e. use a more heat tolerant yeast (the product will be more estery fruity though)

Or use one of these:





Cube cooler with a custom styrofoam lid. Put some water inside and keep it cold with ice or frozen water bottles.

If his house is a constant 80, there will be a cold spot somewhere that is a constantish 65 or so. you just need to find it.