I'm doing a Strawberry blonde ale and had in primary @ 72* (hallway of my house) for about 12 days. I got a refrigerator that I'm using for a fermentation chamber, but the highest I can get it to is about 53*. I just racked into secondary with the strawberries and put it in the fermenter. How would this effect my batch? I'm using a wyeast hefe yeast.
Effect of change in fermentation temp
- Thread starter arod1975
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Depends. After 12 days at 72F, I would imagine your fermentation is pretty much done. In that case, your secondary at 53 won't reduce the sugars further because I don't think that yeast is going to do much at that temperature. Thus, the sugar you get from the fruit may not fully ferment. If you are bottling, you may want to watch out for bottle bombs.
If your primary fermentation wasn't complete, you run the risk of an under-attenuated beer.
I'd be tempted to leave it in your hallway for a few more days.
As for your fermentation chamber, time to brew a lager! Wish I had one of those.
If your primary fermentation wasn't complete, you run the risk of an under-attenuated beer.
I'd be tempted to leave it in your hallway for a few more days.
As for your fermentation chamber, time to brew a lager! Wish I had one of those.
Before your next batch, why not turn your fridge into a fully-functional fermenter chamber for very little money by plugging it into a controller box made with an STC-1000 (about $20 on Amazon)? That way, you can digitally adjust it to whatever temp you like down to the lowest the fridge will go.
The STC-1000 is a dual temperature controller. You wire it into a standard 2-plug outlet that you mount in some kind of project box (either homemade or bought at Radio Shack). One (cool) outlet is for the freezer/fridge. Into the other (warm) outlet, you plug some kind of small heater and then put that heater inside the freezer (I only do this if it gets really cold where my fermenter fridge sits).
Set the target temp (in Celsius) on the STC-1000. Set the tolerance (default is +/-0.5*C). When the temp (as read by the sensor) climbs 0.5*C above the target, it powers up the cool outlet and keeps it energized until the temp drops to the target and then turns it off. Likewise with the warm outlet if it gets 0.5*C too cool. You tape the sensor on the side of the fermenter and place some kind of insulation like bubble wrap over top of it so that it reads the bucket temp and not the air.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ebay-fish-tank-controller-build-using-wal-mart-parts-261506/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ebay-aquarium-temp-controller-build-163849/
http://brewstands.com/fermentation-heater.html
The STC-1000 is a dual temperature controller. You wire it into a standard 2-plug outlet that you mount in some kind of project box (either homemade or bought at Radio Shack). One (cool) outlet is for the freezer/fridge. Into the other (warm) outlet, you plug some kind of small heater and then put that heater inside the freezer (I only do this if it gets really cold where my fermenter fridge sits).
Set the target temp (in Celsius) on the STC-1000. Set the tolerance (default is +/-0.5*C). When the temp (as read by the sensor) climbs 0.5*C above the target, it powers up the cool outlet and keeps it energized until the temp drops to the target and then turns it off. Likewise with the warm outlet if it gets 0.5*C too cool. You tape the sensor on the side of the fermenter and place some kind of insulation like bubble wrap over top of it so that it reads the bucket temp and not the air.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ebay-fish-tank-controller-build-using-wal-mart-parts-261506/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ebay-aquarium-temp-controller-build-163849/
http://brewstands.com/fermentation-heater.html
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