where to store my conditioning bottles??

[eric_618]

Hey guys, I'm about to bottle my first batch ever. I have a question though... I keep reading that storing them at 70° is ideal. I live in *cold* northeastern Pennsylvania. My house is kept at either 68° or 62°. I have a programmable thermostat, and it's only at 68° for four hours a day (it's set to crank up just before I get home from work), except weekends where it's at 68° for sixteen hours a day. My furnace is forced air, which means there are quicker fluctuations in heat than say radiators.

My question is, what are my options for keeping my conditioning beer nice and toasty, shy of doubling my gas bill???

Thanks much in advance!!!

 

[BaltimoreBrau]

I would keep it in an upstairs closet, with maybe a blanket over it. It will still condition at the temperature, I would just let it sit a little longer.

 

[novaraz]

It will definitely carb at 60*F, but it may take 2-3 months. My first batch, a Fat Tire clone, had a similar story. After a month in our cellar at ~60*F, my clever friends dubbed it "Flat Tire". A month or two later, and it was excellent, still one of the best beers I've made.

My recommendation, stick it in a dark place and forget about it.

 

[QuercusMax]

Depending on how large your furnace room is, you might try there - it probably stays a few degrees warmer than the rest of the house. You'll want to make sure it doesn't get TOO hot, though. I'm planning on fermenting a saison in my furnace room, since it gets up into the low 70s, whereas the rest of my house is in the high 50's to high 60's.

 

[BigFloyd]

If you have an interior closet where you can put them along with a ceramic heater that has a digital thermostat, that works very well.

 

[eric_618]

Thanks guys. Unfortunately. My furnace room is my entire cellar, so that's out as it's always slightly chilly down there.

I may get stuck letting them sit in a closet for a few months. I might cry though! Haha

 

[eric_618]

If you have an interior closet where you can put them along with a ceramic heater that has a digital thermostat, that works very well.

I can definitely look into this...

Thanks!

 

[SkippyWilliams]

I keep mine in a huge cooler in the basement. The cooler stays at 71 degrees and with the lid closed all the time it keeps them dark and just in case there is a bottle bomb (none yet..knock on wood) it will keep it all in the cooler.

 

[ForrestWoods]

Hey guys, I'm about to bottle my first batch ever. I have a question though... I keep reading that storing them at 70° is ideal. I live in *cold* northeastern Pennsylvania. My house is kept at either 68° or 62°. I have a programmable thermostat, and it's only at 68° for four hours a day (it's set to crank up just before I get home from work), except weekends where it's at 68° for sixteen hours a day. My furnace is forced air, which means there are quicker fluctuations in heat than say radiators.

My question is, what are my options for keeping my conditioning beer nice and toasty, shy of doubling my gas bill???

Thanks much in advance!!!

I too keep my house around 62*. I picked an upstairs bedroom we don't use, shut all vents but one. Over the one vent, I put a cookie cooling rack over the vent. On top of the rack I put a big Rubbermaid tote lined with a blanket and put the bottles in the tote covered. Once or twice a day I would spin the tote to evenly distribute the heat. I tried just sitting the tote in the vent, but with the rack, the heat was distributed across the bottom of the tote. I also surrounded a the bottom with a towel to keep the heat in. A little over a month with the door closed in the bedroom other than to spin the tote, I had a 10.5% RIS carb to perfection

 

[unionrdr]

I put mine in 12 pack craft beer boxes in the warmest room in the house,the MB. Works well when the capper isn't worn out. waiting for the new one to come in now. Unless I win one of those kegging systems in the huge giveaway at noon!...

 

[Mostly_Norwegian]

I store mine in the kitchen underneath the counter and my place is always between 60 - 68, and have yet to have a problem with either carbonation or bombing bottles. The two most recent batches; an extra ipa with a 6.8%abv and a milk stout with about a 5.4%abv both had carbonation in slightly under a week.

 

[unionrdr]

Ime,60F is too cool for the beers to carb fast or even at the normal rate of 3-4 weeks.

 

[Mtdesh]

I put mine in a cooler with a seed germination mat( like$20 on amazon). I have one of those wireless thermometers that reads inside and outside temp. I put the outside temp transmitter in the cooler. And keep it in my basement. I keep the other end of therm on my kitchen counter so I know the temp inside the cooler without having to go down stairs

 

[eric_618]

I put mine in a cooler with a seed germination mat( like$20 on amazon). I have one of those wireless thermometers that reads inside and outside temp. I put the outside temp transmitter in the cooler. And keep it in my basement. I keep the other end of therm on my kitchen counter so I know the temp inside the cooler without having to go down stairs

Excellent! I think I have my solution. Thanks!

 

[Hackwood]

I'd try just using a small lamp with a low wattage bulb in a closet. Have a thermometer ready and see where it can keep your temp. Maybe set up a little "fort-like" surrounding out of towels or blankets/sheets and set the aging bottles inside with the lamp. I think it could might work.

 

[cburba]

My first batch is conditioning now. I also used a big cooler in my basement but I have the top open a crack and it has about 4 inches of water in the bottom with a fish tank heater to keep it right at 69-70 degrees.

 

[eric_618]

I put mine in a cooler with a seed germination mat( like$20 on amazon). I have one of those wireless thermometers that reads inside and outside temp. I put the outside temp transmitter in the cooler. And keep it in my basement. I keep the other end of therm on my kitchen counter so I know the temp inside the cooler without having to go down stairs

I just ordered a germination mat. That was a great idea, thank you!

 

[Calichusetts]

My house is anywhere from 65-70 during the winter. I keep my brews under several blankets next to a baseboard heater. Never an issue. I even lost power a few weeks ago and the house dropped to below 50 after a few days. My batch still carbed perfectly in 3-4 weeks.

 

[eric_618]

Viola!!!