Fermenting in South Florida?

[CKH1]

I am in southern Florida, what is the best homebrew recipe for the high temperatures here in Florida?
(I am thinking of fermentation)
Taking into consideration that room temperature here is usually mid to high 70's (F)

I have seen a lot of recipes that require fermentation in the 50's(F).
I have a wine cooler that gets to mid 50's(F), but only holds about 22 bottles of beer.

Being from Denmark, I would love to make a Carlsberg/Tuborg clone, either from extract or from and all grain or even a combination.
Anyone have any great, easy, step by step (beginner) recipes and instructions?
suggestions?, comments? questions?

Thanks

 

[Brulosopher]

With temps that high, fermentation will be tricky for most beers... and a Carlsberg clone is pretty much out of the question. Hmm, perhaps a wit of some sort?

 

[RM-MN]

Since you are in south Florida and don't get the cold weather of us up north, use the savings in heating cost to purchase a refrigerator or freezer off Craigslist to control your temperatures if you need to lager. If you want to do an ale, buy a big cooler an put your fermenter in there surrounded with water that you keep cool by adding ice. You only need to control the temperature in the low to mid 60's and that only for the first 4 or 5 days. Then you can let it warm up to the low to mid 70's for another 2 weeks and bottle if your hydrometer shows that the beer is done.

 

[HBngNOK]

I'm faced with the same problem here in the central Oklahoma summers. I'm a relatively new brewer, and have only done commercial extract kits. My "solution" is to comb through the beers I'm interested in brewing to see what yeasts are recommended, then look up the temperature range for that particular yeast; and brew beers that use more heat tolerant yeasts.

In my limited experience, I think the kit instructions from Northern Brewer and Brewer's Best are excellent - although, the more I've learned here on HBT, the more confident I am in tweaking the kit instructions .

 

[BiscayneBrewing]

I live in the Homestead/Miami area. As RM-MN said, the temp controlled freezer/fridge is your best option. I finally broke down and got one this year and it has made a bigger improvement to my beer than anything else I've purchased or changed. If you have the means, I highly recommend it.

 

[SwampassJ]

I started out using a cooler with ice bottles and water for the first few months but it's tricky here. The swamp cooler method isn't very useful here due to the high humidity most of the year. I got tired of swapping bottles out or calling home during the summer to have her swap the bottles for me so I went out and bought a freezer from Home Depot so I could fit two carboys and then ordered a temp controller from one of the brewing sites.

You can try craigslist for a freezer but down here it's slim picking for anything in decent shape or at a decent price. For some reason people here think listing a 5-10 year freezer for $30 dollars under Lowes/Home Depot is a good price and give you hell if you try to bargain it down to a reasonable amount.

 

[Jersh]

Maybe look at some Belgian recipes? I have a golden Belgian strong ale that I brew and let it ferment as high as it wants to get, last timeit got up to about 83F and turned out AWESOME, the closet it was in was about 76F.

Beyond that I have a small under counter fridge that fits a 6 gallon fermenter perfectly and I can set it at it's lowest thermostat setting and it holds at 63F.

 

[CKH1]

Wow, thank you for all the assistance and information. I wasn't expecting anything.
I will look into the swamp cooler, along with some of the recipes mentioned.
Thanks again!
You'll be hearing from me again soon!

 

[CKH1]

Looking at whitelabs.com:
Looks like the Belgian yeasts have some of the highest fermentation temperatures that will suit south florida temperatures.
with a swampcooler, and a fan, I can most likely get the temp down to low 70's or high 60's.

QUESTION: What happens if I take a Belgian strain of yeast and add it to a Lager or Pilsner type recipe? Is it possible?

 

[CourtHouseBrewing]

I Live in central Florida and wanted to brew a pilsner. I found a small fridge for $180.00 delivered to my door in three days. I cut off the shelves on the door, painted the foam so it would not mold from moisture when not in use. What I did not realize is that the door shelf is what closed the switch to turn the unit on. I was hoping that the unit would be at 55oF in time before the yeast got going too much. What a mistake, I looked this morning and it was still at 75oF. That’s when I realized it never came on and the light was on all night. I put a toothpick in the switch and it came to life. The moral of the story is if you get a fridge get it to temperature and check it works before you put your beer in it. Oh well Hope it works out. Good luck and happy brewing.

 

[wheels4]

I made a fermentation chamber from a dorm fridge. The total cost to build was $110 (got the insulation for free) including the temp control (aquarium control from ebay $23.99)and all supplies. I bought the fridge off of craigslist for $20 and had it together in 2 days. I can now lager/ferment or age...and the warden is happy she got the bath tub back. The duck tape was replaced with aluminum heat tape and works great. Forgot to mention that it also heats incase it gets to cool in the winter. I have a heat lamp on one side of the control and the fridge on the other.

 

[Maxkling]

Looking at whitelabs.com:
Looks like the Belgian yeasts have some of the highest fermentation temperatures that will suit south florida temperatures.
with a swampcooler, and a fan, I can most likely get the temp down to low 70's or high 60's.

QUESTION: What happens if I take a Belgian strain of yeast and add it to a Lager or Pilsner type recipe? Is it possible?

Yeast impart a major flavor profile of the beer. So lagers are usually very clean fermenting beer to let the malt really shine through with a mild hop profile. Most yeasts that ferment warm release major esters, which will taste fruity and weird in a beer that is suppose to have zero of that.

There is really no way around it, but watch this episode of brewing tv. You might be able to get in the temperature ranges that they discuss. http://www.northernbrewer.com/connect/episode/brewing-tv-episode-53-lager-workarounds/.

 

[scubakevdm]

Brew a saison. Perfect for So Flo. Top end temp is 85F . I'm in West Palm Beach, and have another brew buddy nearby. I'll be brewing any easy saison sometime this week if you want to watch.

 

[CourtHouseBrewing]

I started out using a cooler with ice bottles and water for the first few months but it's tricky here. The swamp cooler method isn't very useful here due to the high humidity most of the year. I got tired of swapping bottles out or calling home during the summer to have her swap the bottles for me so I went out and bought a freezer from Home Depot so I could fit two carboys and then ordered a temp controller from one of the brewing sites.

You can try craigslist for a freezer but down here it's slim picking for anything in decent shape or at a decent price. For some reason people here think listing a 5-10 year freezer for $30 dollars under Lowes/Home Depot is a good price and give you hell if you try to bargain it down to a reasonable amount.

I found a 2.5 CF fridge with no Compressor used so no hump in the back. No freezer compartment to try to bend and move. It fits a 6.5 Gal Carboy with 3 piece airlock easy. It was delivered to my front door in three days for $180.00 All – in, done. You can't find that on any list for less. I cut the door shelves off and got a digital temperature controller. Now sits 5 Gal of Pilsner at a happy 55oF +/- 1oF. It is so worth it.

 

[aiptasia]

+1 to the kegerator. I also live in FL and I purchased a small drop freezer from Sears on scratch and dent sale for $40.00 and use an external temperature controller for it and it's made a world of difference in my brewing.

Without it, I would suggest brewing Belgian strong ales, Scotch ales, barleywines and the like as the fruity esters most yeasts are going to produce at fermentation temperatures in the 70's will actually compliment the style.

 

[CKH1]

Thank you all once again for your help and information.

Sounds like I will be doing a recipe that requires a high temperature fermenting yeast(Belgian, Wit, Saison). I am not really into the fruity tasting beers, but will try it anyway.
Since it is my first time I will most likely only spend the minimal amount of money on equipment (maybe some form of swamp cooler).
(- Going to do an experiment today and see how low I can get the temperature of a filled carboy, in a bin of water with a fan blowing on it(without ice). Room temp being around 77F, I predict maybe low 70's. )

Once I find a recipe that sounds good, I will be back to have it broken down step by step and word by word for me (methodologies in my scientific papers are easier to follow and understand).

Thanks again... I'll be back!

 

[edecambra]

I built a small chambered styrofoam box (son of a fermentation chiller) and it holds temps pretty well.

If you brew some belgians, just be sure to cool the beer to the low 60s at pitching, just use some ice in your sink or something, then pitch the yeast and let it free ride up to the 70's after that. If you get a controlled lag phase, I think you will have a much better beer.

 

[CKH1]

So, after looking the internet over for Belgian recipes that I might like, I was not impressed, (you might be thinking: really? Belgian beer! Some of the best beers in the world! isn't that where it was invented? all those Monks with nothing to do..? I'm such a dick!) Just not into the fruity beers.

I have decided to clear out my small wine cooler(which gets down into the 50's) and use it for fermenting/lagering. I have also found a Pilsner recipe that I am interested in trying.
Now, here is where it gets interesting. My wine cooler can fit two 1 gallon carboys. I have reduced the recipe from 6 gallons to 1 gallon with some fancy math. The amounts of the ingredients are small.

QUESTIONS:
Is it possible to make such a small batch of beer, successfully and taste like a 5 gallon batch?
How much water do I start with?
How much yeast do I add?

I actually found this Carlsberg Hof clone recipe on this website from Revvy (11-25-2010)

(reduced ingredient amounts not shown)


From "Brew Classic European Beers At Home.
Graham Wheeler and Roger Protz (12/1995)

CARLSBERG HOF

OG 1041
Plato 10.2

23 Litres
Pilsner Malt 3220g
Carapils 240g
White Sucrose 470g

Hallertau 35g 90min
Irish moss 10g 15min

Brewing method
Temperature-stepped infusion or double-decoction mash. Can do this as a 2 step mash or a simple infusion mash.

Mash Schedule 50c-20min
66c-45min
72c-45min

Boil time 90min
Racking gravity 1006 1.5 Plato
Alcohol content 4.7% by volume 3.8 by weight
Bitterness 23 EBU
Colour 5 EBC
Ferment at 10-15C, lager at 10C

Malt extract
Replace Pilsner Malt with Pale Malt 2500g

Yeast Wyeast 2042 Danish Lager yeast would be my choice.

My local brew store has everything except the danish lager yeast, which i can order online.

Next: Being a new brewer but an experienced laboratory scientist, I need this recipe broken down step by step by step (ie 1. boil water, 2. add pilsner malt, 3. add carapils)

Sorry for being such a pain in the ass, but thank you for all your help and assistance so far.

 

[CourtHouseBrewing]

+1 to the kegerator. I also live in FL and I purchased a small drop freezer from Sears on scratch and dent sale for $40.00 and use an external temperature controller for it and it's made a world of difference in my brewing.

Without it, I would suggest brewing Belgian strong ales, Scotch ales, barleywines and the like as the fruity esters most yeasts are going to produce at fermentation temperatures in the 70's will actually compliment the style.

Wow, a $40.00 scratch and dent I might even get the boss to approve that.
This brewing is like an addiction. I have a spare room set up for fermenting and must check it 5 or 6 times a day. I would love a bigger fermenting chamber since my Pilsner looks like it will tie the first one up for weeks. I like to brew every weekend.

 

[scubakevdm]

Sounds great!

 

[Tamarlane]

I am in Tampa and have been using an Igloo ice cube like this one for like 4 years now and it works great for me:

http://www.google.com/products/cata...a=X&ei=ad4xT9G1OMHf0QH4mq3ABw&ved=0CHgQ8wIwAA

Full of water with a couple ice bottles a day I can maintain a steady temp no sweat...52'F for lagers is as far low as I can push it as far as primary goes, but it is not as big a hassle as some make it out to be.

Before I started kegging I cut a hole in the lid so I could close it with a 5 gallon secondary in it, which allowed me to lager around 40'F. After 3-4 weeks of that it did become a bit of a hassle.

Honestly you only need to maintain temp on an ale for the first couple days, after that just let it warm up to the low 70's and it'll be fine. The water bath insulates it from fluctuations which is a plus.