Fermentation room

[sodbuster]

Hello,
I was hoping you guys could offer some insight or point me in some sort of direction. I have been brewing for 15 years or so and recently set up a brewery in my basement. I try to keep things simple when brewing, the new set up is two 20 gal spike pots and a ssbrewtech mash tun, I may go herms later.
First question, I monitored my ferment for the first time this week, I have a ssbrewtech 14g conical, my basement is 65. I pitched the yeast at 70 and for the next 48 hours the temp climbed and spiked at 74.6 before going back down. I brew mostly ales and the og on this one was 1.070. Did that temp spike produce off flavors? Everything I have been able to find says to keep the ferment around 70.
Second question, I am looking to get another fermenter, under the same heading of keeping it simple would it be crazy to build a 8'x8' insulated room and cool it with a window unit in my basement? That way I could keep my fermenter up on a stand for gravity feeding the kegs, and also I dump the wort in the top with a 5 gallon bucket.
Thanks

 

[mashpaddled]

That is warm for a lot of strains but whether the flavors are unpleasant or even noticeable to you depends on the strain and the beer. Give it a taste.

Yeah if you have the space for a room that size and need that much space that should be fine. One thing to consider is if you want to cold crash those beers you'll need to get the beer a lot colder than fermentation temperatures and you may have a hard time getting a window unit to 32F. If you have other beers in there it may be an issue. The other thing to consider is a sealed room in the 60s is going to get mold growth if moisture builds up. Air conditioners dehumidify when they run but hopefully it wouldn't run too much in your basement which means a lot of time with stagnant air. You'll need to think about how to deter mold/mildew growth on surfaces and try to dehumidify the room on a regular basis.

Might make more sense to look at getting an upright commercial fridge that fits your conical. That would allow you to gravity feed kegs but reduce your need to cool a larger space than you really need. Sometimes you can find them cheaper used online, especially at liquidation auction sites. They aren't particularly cheap but the kind of insulation and moisture barrier you need for an 8'x8' room isn't either.

 

[sodbuster]

Awesome @mashpaddled thanks for the info, more questions.

I will be tasting it until its gone! What is the advantage to cold crashing beside clarifying the beer? I am new to any type of fermentation manipulation. Shorter fermentation times, and clarity?

What temperature would you set the room at if you wanted to maintain 70 in the fermenter? or would you just put the inkbird in the thermo well, set it to 70 and set the window unit as low as it will go?

Our basement is climate controlled, there is no duct vent where the proposed room would go but I could cheat one over to keep the air moving and close it off in the winter when the heat is on.

I have a upright freezer I use a inkbird on to make charcuterie, I think my fermenter will fit and I could build a table to set it on, maybe I should try that before committing to a room.

For the room I was thinking 2x12 construction with R/38. I could use the basement wall for one side so that would save some money.

 

[oakbarn]

Look at Cool Bots. They can make an insulated room in the 50's with a Window Unit.

 

[mashpaddled]

Awesome @mashpaddled thanks for the info, more questions.

I will be tasting it until its gone! What is the advantage to cold crashing beside clarifying the beer? I am new to any type of fermentation manipulation. Shorter fermentation times, and clarity?

Just for clarity.

What temperature would you set the room at if you wanted to maintain 70 in the fermenter? or would you just put the inkbird in the thermo well, set it to 70 and set the window unit as low as it will go?

You would want to regulate the room temperature by the beer if you can. Otherwise it will take some experimenting to figure out how you need to change the temperature on the window unit.

Our basement is climate controlled, there is no duct vent where the proposed room would go but I could cheat one over to keep the air moving and close it off in the winter when the heat is on.

That would be an option although then you have two different cold air sources running and you won't be able to turn off central AC if it gets too cold in there. A dehumidifier or a fan running with damprid might be better options, especially because it wouldn't depend on the season. You'll also want to cover the walls with mold/mildew resistant material.

I have a upright freezer I use a inkbird on to make charcuterie, I think my fermenter will fit and I could build a table to set it on, maybe I should try that before committing to a room.

Even if you pick up a second freezer for your conical it just seems like it would be more efficient if you're only working with a single vessel.

For the room I was thinking 2x12 construction with R/38. I could use the basement wall for one side so that would save some money.

You'll probably need to insulate all the walls plus the ceiling and all of the walls and floor will need vapor barrier to minimize moisture. You might not need to insulate the basement wall but definitely want to vapor barrier it.

 

[oakbarn]

I would insulate the floor. You can build a frame on the existing floor and add the insulation there. I would add the vapor barriers on all. I found that about 5 degrees cooler than desired temp is a good start. You can adjust it up or down as necessary. As the fermentation slows, you will need to increase the temp of the room. I tried to adjust to the beer temp but was not successful (with a BCS). Trail and Error got me to start about 5 degees cooler. You could start lower as it is easy to raise the temp but much longer to cool it. That all being said, I do not think it makes that much difference between 65 to 75. I have gone back to just room temp for ales.

 

[sibelman]

If it were me I'd be wanting to divide the space, to somehow set different temps for two or more fermenters.

Of course, (used) fridges/freezers seems easier and cheaper, and a bottom-freezer fridge could allow gravity transfer to serving kegs.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

would it be crazy to build a 8'x8' insulated room and cool it with a window unit in my basement?

I would not. Having a coolish area to ferment is a step forward with fermentation control. Being able to adjust the temperature of the specific batch based on the stage of fermentation and the specifics of that batch is a LARGE step forward. I use a chest freezer for temp control. I will often use the freezer to chill the last bit to pitching temps, I might ferment cool-ish for the first 3-4 days of active fermentation, then raise the temp 5-6F warmer to finish fermentation. I cold crash sometimes. Some batches I might want to start at 64F and some at 68F.

I have to imaging that 10 gallon batches put out a lot of heat. If you think about an "insulated room" with your scenario, how well would it work? The ambient room temp was 65F, but your beer still got to 75F. Would you have to juggle an ambient temp of 60F to keep your fermenter at 68F? Then try to keep it from dropping down to 60F?

The downside of my solution is that I can only control one batch at a time (though I also have a non-working chest freezer that I can use as an insulated box with a heater to keep beers warmer than ambient temp). The beauty of a glycol chiller is that one unit can control multiple fermenters, with the downside being the complexity and cost. Two upright fridges/freezers might be a cheaper solution.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

What is the advantage to cold crashing beside clarifying the beer?

For me the biggest reason I cold crash is to drop out dry hops so I don't have to worry about hops clogging up the transfer or deal with hop debris that makes it into my keg.

 

[sodbuster]

This is great information.
@oakbarn has me thinking that its all for not, so maybe I will try my current freezer first, run two identical batches back to back, and ferment one in the freezer and one naked in the basement, then a taste test, I know different yeasts on future beers will react differently, but it would be a fun experiment.

@mashpaddled has me thinking two freezers on a wood or steel stand and I could gravity feed, and set them at different temps, plus not as inefficient, also I have two freezers at the end of the day I could use for other things and not one giant room that only cools to say 50. Plus that is probably a realistically cheaper option

@sibelman echos that.

I have to imaging that 10 gallon batches put out a lot of heat. If you think about an "insulated room" with your scenario, how well would it work? The ambient room temp was 65F, but your beer still got to 75F. Would you have to juggle an ambient temp of 60F to keep your fermenter at 68F? Then try to keep it from dropping down to 60F?

My plan was to set the inkbird at 70, insert the probe into the fermenter and set the AC at max. though @oakbarn makes it sound like its not that easy.

For me the biggest reason I cold crash is to drop out dry hops so I don't have to worry about hops clogging up the transfer or deal with hop debris that makes it into my keg.

Good to know, I use a bag but that would eliminate a few steps. Thanks

 

[pvtpublic]

...would it be crazy to build a 8'x8' insulated room and cool it with a window unit in my basement?

The only person who would consider that crazy would be SWMBO. The rest of of us are pulling for you.

 

[sodbuster]

The only person who would consider that crazy would be SWMBO. The rest of of us are pulling for you.

I showed her what I was thinking and she just gave me the side eye... that is not a no! I think she is happy as long as I am at the house and subterranean lol.

 

[gonpce]

We have a room at work we made for the cool bot. It is insulated very well and will stay in the 30's no problem

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I showed her what I was thinking and she just gave me the side eye... that is not a no! I think she is happy as long as I am at the house and subterranean lol.

My understanding is that when Jamil Z was on his quest to win gold medals in every BJCP category he built a cool room in his basement. That way he always had dozens of entries ready for any competition that have been stored cold. Maybe that should be my next project!