Cheap and inexpensive fermentation cooling techniques?

[badducky]

Howdy all,

I'm thirsty for Hefeweizen, and I'm all out of my last homebrew batch. I generally skip brewing in the summer heat once the thermometer gets above 90, and only do Belgian-style before that. But, I want Hefeweizen.

I've heard all sorts of stories about what people do to brew ales in the summer months, and I'm curious if anyone can offer their advice.

I'll be fermenting in a garage, that's generally about 85-90 degrees, and to make Jamil's hefeweizen recipe, I'll need to get it down to 62 degrees. I've heard stories of swamp coolers, but I'm curious if anyone knows a good rule of thumb about how many frozen water bottles I'll need, in about how much water, to get the temperature down. Others who have done this or something similar before, please advise on general numbers and volumes? I'll get a thermometer out and adjust, but it would be great to plan pretty close before I have wort in the garage.

Thanks for your help!

Yer Pal,

Badducky

 

[duboman]

Hard to say exactly, I use a swamp cooler in a room that's ambient at 68 and fill the tub halfway up the bucket, without ice bottles it goes down to 65, with 2 bottles it goes to 62 and with 4 bottles to 59.

Each bottle rotation lasts 12 hours and they are regular sized water bottles. For the heat you are talking about I would suggest 2L bottles and at least 4 I would guess but they may only last 4-6 hours. You will have to experiment and if you get it inside where I'll assume it's a little cooler you'll be better off.

Whatever you figure out the first. Week to 10 days is the most critical and you really want to avoid large temperature swings or the yeast will freak out and do some weird things

Good luck!

 

[BrewinHooligan]

Agree with the above post. My house is 80F and I use a swamp cooler. One 2 liter bottle and a 1 liter bottle that are frozen can get me down to 62 swapped out twice a day. I think if you fill the water in the swamp cooler as close to the beer line as possible and use at least 2, 2 liter bottles swapped out 2-3 time daily you should be able to get what you are looking for.

 

[wilserbrewer]

With temps that high, best to use a large looler as a tub if available as the added ice will last much longer.

 

[badducky]

Hm... And I'm about to relocate to Texas, too, where things are mighty warm. I might just have to wait.

 

[garbageman]

Watch Craigslist and keep brewing. I have a used 52 bottle Vissani wine cooler and it allows me to ferment in the garage. The wife prefers not having potential explosions in the house. Right now I'm 84 in the garage and 64 in the cooler. I can hold 49 degrees with it when 95 in the garage. It holds it steady. Only downside is I had to switch back to a 6 gallon better bottle and can't fit my conicals. No worries though.

 

[cherrob123]

Hm... And I'm about to relocate to Texas, too, where things are mighty warm. I might just have to wait.

Welcome to Texas......lol

You'll need a freezer with the external tstat if you want to brew anything here in the summer. I have a fridge and freezer. The freezer is critical for Lagers and mid summer ales. I have had great luck with my Hefe's using my freezer set up for 68 deg. At that temp you'll have a 6-8 day fermentation. In an effort to maximize brewing time, I usually rack to a secondary and bring that inside where I keep my house at about 75 during the summer. I keep it inside after bottling too.

The greatest contributing factors to Hefe success is yeast count and fermenting temps. The rest is just personal opinion.

Good luck. Where in TX. are you planning to move?

 

[hops2it]

Unless you're really hurting for coin, I'd ask around to see if you can come up with a cheapo used fridge. If space is an issue, go with a decent sized dorm fridge so long as your primary will fit. Then add a temp controller and you're set for all conditions year round.

I just bought a rather nice full sized fridge on Craigslist for $150 and I noticed a whole pile of $30-50 small fridges on there over the last few weeks.

 

[jtkratzer]

I found a side by side for $60 last year and I have the fridge side in the mid 60s for ales and the freezer side will eventually be kept in the 40s for lagers and beer storage/keg aging.

 

[WileECoyote]

Hello badducky, I live in Arizona and its 95 to 105 now during the days, Im not running the AC yet, I use a rope handle tub from walmart $6 put my plastic 6 1/2 gal fermenting bucket in that, and fill up the tub up to bottom plastic ring on bucket right below where the handle on the bucket hooks on, then use frozen 32oz gator-aid bottles and rotate them out to get my temps to 65deg, I have 8 of them for 1 fermenter in primary and 1 fermenter in secondary so you could probably get away with 5 or 6 bottles at your temps and your fermenting just a bit colder than I am.
I change out the bottles about every 5 to 8 hrs and sometimes it takes 2 bottles at the same time to do the job.
I also have a 1 gal frozen jug for back up and if its real hot out I sometimes have to switch to it to get things under control.

Hope this helps!
Cheers
WiliECoyote

 

[badducky]

Hello badducky, I live in Arizona and its 95 to 105 now during the days, Im not running the AC yet, I use a rope handle tub from walmart $6 put my plastic 6 1/2 gal fermenting bucket in that, and fill up the tub up to bottom plastic ring on bucket right below where the handle on the bucket hooks on, then use frozen 32oz gator-aid bottles and rotate them out to get my temps to 65deg, I have 8 of them for 1 fermenter in primary and 1 fermenter in secondary so you could probably get away with 5 or 6 bottles at your temps and your fermenting just a bit colder than I am.
I change out the bottles about every 5 to 8 hrs and sometimes it takes 2 bottles at the same time to do the job.
I also have a 1 gal frozen jug for back up and if its real hot out I sometimes have to switch to it to get things under control.

Hope this helps!
Cheers
WiliECoyote

This sounds promising! Thanks!

 

[swallace]

Plastic tub with water and frozen water bottles works great for me.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Yeah, just go with a swamp cooler and all will be good.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Anyone have good advice on how long temperature control is required? It is my understanding that it is really critical during the early stages...say a few days to a week when the bulk if not all of fermentation is complete. Once the kreusen falls, I usully am not nearly as concerned, is this valid thinking?

 

[zegolf]

Hello badducky, I live in Arizona and its 95 to 105 now during the days, Im not running the AC yet, I use a rope handle tub from walmart $6 put my plastic 6 1/2 gal fermenting bucket in that, and fill up the tub up to bottom plastic ring on bucket right below where the handle on the bucket hooks on, then use frozen 32oz gator-aid bottles and rotate them out to get my temps to 65deg, I have 8 of them for 1 fermenter in primary and 1 fermenter in secondary so you could probably get away with 5 or 6 bottles at your temps and your fermenting just a bit colder than I am.
I change out the bottles about every 5 to 8 hrs and sometimes it takes 2 bottles at the same time to do the job.
I also have a 1 gal frozen jug for back up and if its real hot out I sometimes have to switch to it to get things under control.

Hope this helps!
Cheers
WiliECoyote

I use one of these coolers filled with water. I cycle ice packs in and out about once a day (the cooler really helps maintain temperature). Fits a bucket or carboy quite nicely, and doesn't require a ton of water. We also had one of them sitting around and were not using it, so the price was right.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Anyone have good advice on how long temperature control is required? It is my understanding that it is really critical during the early stages...say a few days to a week when the bulk if not all of fermentation is complete. Once the kreusen falls, I usully am not nearly as concerned, is this valid thinking?

Yep, you got it.

I use one of these coolers filled with water.

That's awesome, I use the buckets 'cause they're a lot cheaper. My 70 qt cube is being turned into a rolling 3 gal kegerator for camping and the like. :rockin:

 

[Bamsdealer]

Man... That's warm. I'd suggest 2 liter bottles. One thing I've found that helps a ton is tossing an insulated sleeping bag over the whole thing. It works much better for large temp differentials and you'll be swapping out ice about 3x less

A tshirt and small fan work well for 5ish degrees with no ice, but I don't think that's what you're looking for..

As others have noted, a used fridge would be a much better bet... but if you're moving soon I'm sure you don't want to deal with that.

 

[WileECoyote]

I use one of these coolers filled with water. I cycle ice packs in and out about once a day (the cooler really helps maintain temperature). Fits a bucket or carboy quite nicely, and doesn't require a ton of water. We also had one of them sitting around and were not using it, so the price was right.

Great Idea zegolf, I just might have to try that one out.

Cheers

 

[badducky]

Brewing happened last night. I'm trying an Alt Bier with American Ale yeast. My hope is this yeast will be more forgiving than German Ale if I screw up the temperature control, and I'll know when I taste it if it has a fruity flavor instead of a clean, malty one, then I let the beer get too warm in the bucket.

I'm doing a blue rope bucket from wally mart, and a whole box of cheap bottled water in 12oz sizes that's frozen solid. I'm using a bunch of smaller bottles so I can get more precise with my temperature control. I've managed to keep it under 62 degrees, so far, but we'll see how I do in the days to come. This will be the first summer afternoon of my attempts...

Once I get done with primary, I'm going to see if I can do the secondary at a good Alt Bier temperature range of 40-45 degrees F, to stay close to the Dusseldorf style. I've got larger water bottles freezing downstairs right now to get ready for that attempt.

My total cost for my temperature control system was something like eleven dollars. Wally-mart great value water, wally-mart great value blue plastic bucket with rope handles. A cheap, plastic fridge thermometer, from wally mart.

The only downside I see is that once I stop working freelance out of the house, I won't be able to monitor this so close. At the moment, this is fine, but I'll need a really good, precise system to handle this when I'm out on site with clients.

I don't like the idea of plugging in another electronic toy. That's my real hesitation for picking up a wine chiller or new fridge. I'm very stingy. It's part of what drove me to homebrew, that I can make really good beer styles I love cheaper than I can buy them in the store. I'd prefer the cost-effective method of freezing water bottles in the freezer we already have!

When I move to Texas, later this summer, I might have to just stop brewing in the garage and take over a guest bedroom. I don't like things that give off an aroma that attracts insects inside of the house, no matter how good the seal is on the bucket. Even without getting bugs in the beer, I'd still have them chasing after it in my guest bedroom.

 

[jbaysurfer]

^ if it helps at all, a mini fridge, running at temps in the 30s-40s year round will only cost you about $20 a year to run. At ferment temps it'll probably cost half of that. My wife says I have a refrigeration fetish, I run a chest freezer for fermenting, a 2 keg kegerator and a standup fridge/freezer. My electricity bill difference is barely perceptible.

The new refrigeration technology (last 10 years) is extremely efficient.

Edit, to clarify, the year over year electricity bill only adds the standup fridge and the chest freezer/fermentor. Still, it's like 3 bucks a month over what it was last year.

 

[StoneHands]

Badducky,
Just a few other pieces of advice (I'm on the same latitude as you, only a bit west):
Add some bleach to the water bath, it'll get a bit nasty otherwise.
Add some salt to your water bottles.
I use an 60 qt Igloo IceCube as my "container" and keep my carboy in it. I think this is better than an uninsulated tub (and it gives me a nice cooler when I'm not fermenting). I ferment in the garage too, 80-90, and can hit lager ferment temperatures by swapping out a 2-liter bottle every 12 hours (sometimes I have to add a bit of additional ice during peak ferments). Gatorade bottles seem to work best (to me) as far as frozen bottles. 2 qt down to the 16 oz sizes.

 

[badducky]

Thanks!

It's brewing. We'll see if I get signs of life today or tomorrow. I'm getting the feel down for changing out the bottles, and ramping temps down for afternoons and down not as much but still down for nights.

Speaking of which...

Oh, I did have to repitch the yeast with some Safale. The wyeast in the mail got cooked. I was suspicious it was dead when I smacked the pack and got no signs of life. It had arrived late in the day, and its ice pack was warm to the touch when I pulled it out. Alas, another hazard to consider when brewing in the summer.

 

[jbaysurfer]

Thanks!

It's brewing. We'll see if I get signs of life today or tomorrow. I'm getting the feel down for changing out the bottles, and ramping temps down for afternoons and down not as much but still down for nights.

Speaking of which...

Oh, I did have to repitch the yeast with some Safale. The wyeast in the mail got cooked. I was suspicious it was dead when I smacked the pack and got no signs of life. It had arrived late in the day, and its ice pack was warm to the touch when I pulled it out. Alas, another hazard to consider when brewing in the summer.

I no longer internet/mail order liquid yeast for this reason (except one source that I know is very close to me in SoCal, and even then, I only do it when the weather is cool) for this very reason. I stock up at a LHBS and carry a cooler when I'm in the area of one, and then get it straight to the fridge when I get home. I've had 6 month old yeast act way better then 1 month old yeast I mail ordered. Fortunately, I've yet to have anything completely die out...I've merely had to step up starters when they didn't take off like I'd hoped.

 

[Bamsdealer]

Don't think of plugging in a small fridge as a big expense if you can find one cheap. Freezing a bunch of water bottles over and over is time consuming, takes close monitoring and requires additional energy from your freezer.

 

[badducky]

Eh, someday when I'm not a writer full-time I might expand, but our freezer is quite well-insulated with lots of stored things that do most of the work on the bottles, and as a full-time writer of many things, I benefit from getting up and moving around to check on the darn thing every now and then. The safale took, and it's bubbling away. Very neutral smelling, too, which is the goal!

 

[Vagrant]

I've used this guy, dubbed Son of Fermentation Chiller since I started home brewing. I've used it in Hawaii and Georgia, both pretty hot places. It's cheap to build and is very efficient. I used frozen soda 2 liter bottles (dont use milk jugs). After the initial temperature shock, I only need to replace the bottles once every 24 - 36 hours for a normal ale fermentation. I've never tried it for lagering but suspect it wouldn't work well that low. I fermented easily between ~63 and 72. I've built two of them since it was too bulky to move from Hawaii. If you know anyone that works in construction, they can usually get the extruded polystyrene pretty easily AND can hopefully cut it for you with a nickel cadmium wire. I used a jigsaw on one of the builds and it was a terrible decision.... Overall, it works very well.

Edited to add: I have pictures of my Hawaiian build in my gallery to the left
<---

 

[badducky]

That looks awesome, but it is way beyond me. My brother could do it, but I would only break something. When I get to Texas my only plan to expand was to get sleeping bags wrapped in plastic from my parents' attic and wrap the tub. But, we have some time, yet, at least enough for a dunkelweizen after this alt.

Lemme see if I can get a picture...



The bleach in the water suggestion, by the way, was fabulously helpful so go, go group brewing!

 

[MikeyLXT]

I found a 4.6 cuft mini fridge on craiglist for $20
STC-1000 thermostat build ~$30

It fits 6.5 gallon buckets and I can set it...and forget it.

Entire build was $50

 

[badducky]

I am drinking the sweet, malty, bracingly bitter Alt Beer of my labor, and verily, 'tis a grand goodness, and all the shuffling of bottles was worth it. Success!