Up and Down Temps OK for my brews?

[rhinofarts]

Hi everyone,
Quick question. I am currently restricted to using 2 fermenters at a time, because I have only 2 heating belts, which are necessary to keep my beers at or above room temps here in Ireland.
But I have a "hot press", basically a tiny room where the water heater is kept. And this is warm, but can drop to approx 18C (64F) at night, and can go up to maybe 26/27C (75F/81F) during the day or when the heater is on.....
Is it OK to brew in here with the temperature going up and down? I could (sometimes) keep an eye on the temperatures during the day and if it was getting too hot, open the door.
I would just like to note that I seem to get much better beer when I use my heating belt (As in the past I didn't use belts and found this affected the brewing) But then again, I have never tried my hot press.

Thanks and Regards,

 

[badbrew]

That's a crazy looking water heater.

Consider a swamp cooler. I bet you could create one that would work pretty easily. A thick trash can with a lid attached along with a bath of water would probably keep the temps of the submersed vessel +5 and -5 degrees F better on the low and high ends of the range. Plastic ice bottle dropped into the bath every morning would do another 5 making the high end 71 instead of 81. Give it a shot.

 

[beerman0001]

Most ales you would want a stable temp in the low to mid sixties. If you are doing a Belgium you would start low then let the temp rise close to the end of the fermentation. You do not want the temp going up and down an a daily basis.

 

[roadkill611]

Agreed, fluctuating temps lead to stuck fermentations. Yeast are pretty picky about temp variation.

 

[hillhousesawdustco]

My experience is that you've got a much better shot at a delicious beer with constant temperature control. I used to brew in South Carolina without any method of controlling the temp (other than the carboy being in a closet at the cool end of the house) and I had some pretty poor beers. The swamp cooler or ice water solution works just fine, but when you get a couple extra bucks and some time, make a fermentation chamber!

 

[rhinofarts]

Thanks guys. I figured this, from previous brews without the heating belt, my beer is much better now when I just use the belts. Just looking for more brewing space really.... Oh ya and that actually isn't my water heater, thats from google images... My own one would look much stranger again to an American.

 

[erikhild59]

Perhaps you could set your fermenter in a cooler full of water in the warm room. Then add ice in the morning or whenever its warmest and cover the whole thing in styrofoam or heavy blankets. The water bath should keep the temperature from fluctuating wildly by adding more thermal mass to the equation. You could test this with a fermenter full of water. Note that fermentation will add heat to the water bath though.