Fermenting in basement

[psujeeperman02]

After brewing a batch of beer..usually 5 gallons...I stick the fermenter in my basement because it stays a constant 65*F year round. Sometimes lower and sometimes higher but only by a degree or two.

Anyway, in the summer months I run a dehumidifier down there.
I wouldn't think so, but do you think the dehumidifier affects the beer in any way?
I just bought the dehumidifier this Spring and I have a new batch of IPA fermenting now.

They are on opposite sides of the room and I'd say the basement is 350 sq ft

 

[flars]

Relative humidity won't have any effect on the fermentation. Where ever you would ferment the RH is always changing.

 

[mongoose33]

No, I don't think a dehumidifier affects the beer.

Do realize that while your ambient temp might be 65 degrees, the temperature of your wort is likely higher by 5-10 degrees. Yeast is exothermic, i.e., produces heat, and so what you think you have, and what you really have, are going to be two different things.

You can combat that with a swamp cooler. Before I had my fermentation chamber, I'd ferment in my basement (same temp, actually), and the swamp cooler would offset the increase from the yeast.

Here's a pic showing that; the Inkbird showing the temp was just used as a thermometer to show temp of the wort. As you can see, it's holding 64 degrees.

 

[Darkness]

I brew and ferment in the basement every time. Note a dehumidifier can drain a air lock faster than normal.

 

[Gravity]

A dehumidifier would not affect the beer in any way. If your basement is prone to mold, that should be something to think about, which in turn could hurt the beer. A dehumidifier could help a mold problem in the basement. That being said, I wouldn't worry to much about either as a basement has more surface area vs a fermentation chamber with moisture issues.

 

[LBF]

I brew and ferment in the basement every time. Note a dehumidifier can drain a air lock faster than normal.

Use Vodka in the airlock, it works well and doesn't evaporate as quickly, even with a dehumidifier

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

^^^ Always use Vodka in the airlock. Its a win win... Unless its a small basement, some dehumidifiers throw off quite a bit of heat... That can raise the ambient temperature some. Other than that. Always use a carboy stick on thermometer if you can to monitor yeast temps.

 

[jwelch1103]

I use a 60 pint dehumidifier in my basement brewery. My house was built in 1921 and without out the dehumidifier it is very damp. It keeps my basement dry but does add a bit of heat.

I've never conducted an experiment to quantify how much heat but if I had to guess I'd say 2-3 degrees F. So if your experience is similar to mine you may find the basement a tiny bit warmer.

I built a fermentation chamber from an old dorm refrigerator sized freezer for temp control. The better you control the temperature of the wort/beer the better your beer will be.

With that said, when I first brewed beer in the 80's I did just what you're doing and was able to make good beer.

 

[IPAndy]

A dehumidifier would not affect the beer in any way. If your basement is prone to mold, that should be something to think about, which in turn could hurt the beer. A dehumidifier could help a mold problem in the basement. That being said, I wouldn't worry to much about either as a basement has more surface area vs a fermentation chamber with moisture issues.

I second that! I have traditionally stuck my fermenters in the basement w/out issue, and have never had to run a dehumidifier. I would go one step further and say if you have mold, a dehumidifier can help, but it would help to get at the root problem as to why you have mold first.

An argument could be made that this would make an excellent use case for modifying a fridge for controlled fermentation temperatures.