Temperature control questions

[aaronius79]

I have a question regarding ambient temperature at the beginning of fermentation. I know with most ales you want to pitch between 65 and 75 degrees right? Also, I understand that during fermentation the temp can go up as much as 10 degrees. What ambient temperature does my cooler need to be in order to maintain a fermentation temp around 65?

Is it is as simple as getting my cooler to 55 degrees to keep the fermenting bucket at 65 degrees? I'm planning on brewing my 2nd batch soon and I want to make sure I have my temps right to avoid fusels and excessive esters.

Any tips would be appreciated. Btw, I use the cool brewing bag to keep my fermenter bucket chilled.

 

[dobes]

As far as pitching temps it def depends on the yeast strain and the type of beer you are making. I always like to pitch mine as close to the ferm temp as possible. You would also want the yeast you are pitching to be as close to the wort temp as you can get it.
As far as temp control you would want to monitor the beer temp. The temp of your fermenter can vary greatly due to yeast activity or lack there of.
Even if you don't have an actual temp control monitoring your fermenter the strip thermometers that stick to the side can be used to get you in the ball park for cheap. However you will have to monitor it and adjust your temperature as necessary.

 

[metanoia]

Like dobes said, pitching and fermentation temperatures are different and explicitly stated with each yeast strain you will use, so follow their guidelines. Slap on a $2 sticky thermometer and you'll have a fairly accurate temperature of the wort, which could only be surpassed by having a thermometer probe in the wort itself. If you're planning on brewing the same style and trying to improve its quality over time, having that consistent temperature from the sticky thermometer will be the perfect base-line.

 

[mrboz]

I would keep ambient room/cooler temp at about 4-6 less than your target. Probably in the 64-65 range for ales (and not sweat too much +- 4 degrees).

 

[RM-MN]

I've been fermenting my ales in a 62 degree room and find that the beer temperature only rises about 2 degrees in there. The airlock bubbles about once per second at that temperature. Since the yeast are a living organism that likes it warmer, if I were to ferment in a warmer ambient temp, the temperature rise would be more. I may try setting the fermenter into a tub of water to help damp out the temperature change and see how that affects the beer.

 

[beergolf]

I find that if you are the lower end of the recommended temp for a particular yeast the temp increase is only a few degrees. If the temp is at the upper end of the range, then the temp increase can be as much as 10 degrees.

I like to set my temp a few degrees cooler than the recommended temp for a few days and then slowly bring it up as fermentation slows. This will keep the beer in a good range. This works for my YMMV

 

[b-boy]

I added a thermowell to my freezer setup. It's a SS tube sealed at one end. I drilled a hole through my stopper and insert the thermowell into the wort. My STC-1000 temp probe fits in the thermowell and gives a pretty accurate reading of wort temp. I've been using it for about 3-4 months so far and I've had good results. It also reduces the number of times my compressor cycles on and off.

Prior to that I used to set the STC-1000 temperature to about 5F less than my target fermentation temp. That worked OK, but I was always messing with the temperature to keep it steady.

 

[mrboz]

I find that if you are the lower end of the recommended temp for a particular yeast the temp increase is only a few degrees. If the temp is at the upper end of the range, then the temp increase can be as much as 10 degrees.

I like to set my temp a few degrees cooler than the recommended temp for a few days and then slowly bring it up as fermentation slows. This will keep the beer in a good range. This works for my YMMV

Yup - the warmer temp gets those yeasties gorging, which results in more thermo activity and hence a higher rise in wort temp. This will produce a more estery (fruity notes) characteristic (kind of like when I'm in Mexico and the warm weather gets me drinking tequila and eating burrito ... man, I'm producing some esters too if you know what I mean ... also working up a sweat as I salsa with my lady). The lower temp results in less frenzied activity, and hence a lower rise in wort temp ... this will tend to a more phenolic yeast character (spicy notes). More like the black tie 4-course dinner with some waltz dancing

 

[zacster]

I use 2x 3 gallon Better Bottles. These are square and have indentations in the sides. I split the batch into these, place them very squarely next to each other, and place my STC 1000 probe in the indentation between the bottles. This reads the air temp that is surrounded by the bottles, so it should be consistent with the liquid temp. When I open the fridge door the temp doesn't budge, so I know I'm pretty well insulated.

Since I put this setup together I've always kept the temp at the low end, and it produces much cleaner tasting beer.

 

[mrboz]

I use 2x 3 gallon Better Bottles. These are square and have indentations in the sides. I split the batch into these, place them very squarely next to each other, and place my STC 1000 probe in the indentation between the bottles. This reads the air temp that is surrounded by the bottles, so it should be consistent with the liquid temp. When I open the fridge door the temp doesn't budge, so I know I'm pretty well insulated.

Since I put this setup together I've always kept the temp at the low end, and it produces much cleaner tasting beer.

Good tip ... I am planning to pick up a couple of the 3G better bottles, but Im thinking because I want to do split batches and try different yeast.