Brewing in the summer months?

I live in Florida and the summers can get brutal. I still consider myself a newbie, so I was wondering if I could continue brewing through the summer with good results? Any tips would be great or equipment that could be worth buying that would help me continue brewing. The brews I've done recently have done well even with outside temps hitting 90, and my A/C at 76-78.

 

you could get a cheap fridge off craigslist with a temp controller.. either the johnson temp controller(easiest but 75$) or you could buy a digital temp controller from ebay(cheapest but harder to use) the ebay controller has to be wired in through a relay.. easier then it sounds, and programmed. If you can set the time on your VCR you can program a temp controller..

edit: then you can make lagers to!!!!!

 

I'm starting to realize with advice like this my new "hobby" is going to start taking up even more room in my house - not to mention the investment

 

You could also brew with Saison yeasts which ferment at higher temps than usual ale yeasts do..

 

And if you just want to keep cheap and simple it is easy to keep your temps in the 60's by putting your fermenter in a beverage tub, fill to beer level with water and add forzen water bottles a couple times a day for the first few days then just once a day until racking.

 

Well, you really should get some super basic (free) temperature control for your beers so you don't have to run the AC 24/7, but summer is Saison Season! I love Saison and when I can leave a beer fermenting in my apartment with the AC off, it's the best. I'm going to make so much Saison this year.

 

Here's the Johnson controller for $55.

http://www.amazon.com/Johnson-Controls-A19AAT-2C-Temperature-Controller/dp/B0002EAL58

 

I have the Johnson controller myself.

Here in Arkansas you DON'T turn the AC off except maybe in December. I run the AC pretty hard here so stays about 70, for me that is fine for most ales. If you want a bump just place your fermenter under or above an AC vent and it will tend to be a couple degrees cooler than what your thermostat is set to. Digital Thermostats (like for your central unit) have a comfort zone of about 1.5 degrees either way, just a thought.

I've actually laugered in my food fridge, its pretty big so I just took out the middle shelf and turned the temp up a few degrees and then brought it back down to 34 over the next few days.

 

I read these threads and I remember what killed me the first time I started the hobby. fermented my kit "lager" that came with my coopers kit in an un airconditioned our in july...it tasted of banana's lmao. this time around I'm living in airconditioning, and have a basement that stays in the mid sixtys lol. and well my new problem is I need more bottles

 

What a nice problem to have!

 

That's $56.00 but still a darn good deal.

 

Well, if we want to be pedantic about it, it's $55.20.

 

If you are patient and keep your eye on craig's list (and your neighbors) you can get a fridge for free or very cheap. Get an Ebay controller and follow the "Ebay controller build with cheap wal-mart parts" thread and you can build a controller for about 30 bucks.

I have two free fridges and a $55 freezer in my garage

Free fridges can sit in the carport or on the porch or deck...

 

Not everywhere. The little old lady who heads up my Home Owners Association would s**t a squirrel if she saw a fridge on my porch.

 

I live in Phoenix, and it'll be over 110* within a few weeks. I feel your pain. The only long term, low maintenance choice is refrigeration. I picked up a small dorm fridge for $25 on Craigslist. Built a temp controller for another $25, and it's been cranking along in the garage for the past two years.

I tape the temp probe to the side of my fermenter, and it controls the temp perfectly. Everything else is a pain in the behind over the long term, trust me. That or move somewhere in the northern half of the US with a basement, lol

 

I may be in Alabama but I wasn't talking about the front porch...

 

What is this "VCR" you speak of?

 

I think he just dated himself! haha, I hate to admit, I still have a VCR too! I guess I just dated myself, as well..... :cross:

 

I live in GA and I can only suggest a cheap 5-cu ft fridge with a temp control. I tried the swamp cooler trick and it maybe knocked the temp down a few degrees. I think the only option is fridge with temp control

 

I've been brewing above temps (in the reigon of 82-78)(in south Florida too) and I'm wondering what kind of differences I should expect compared to proper temperature fermentation. The beer's been fine, just curious

 

Well I suppose if you describe your beer as just 'fine' after fermenting at 78-82, you would likely describe your beer as 'fan-effing-fantastic' after fermenting 10-15 degrees cooler.

 

The 5cuft chest freezer with temp controller is the single biggest improvement I've made to my brewing. Consistency from batch to batch. Fermenting on the low side of the temp range (for what I brew usually at 63F. much cooler than my basement). Being able to crash cool before racking, resulting in much clearer beer.

It's a set it and forget it solution. Put your fermentor in the freezer, set the temp, come back a few weeks later and drop the temp to 34F, a few days later rack to a keg.

 

I live in NC, which is a bit cooler than you, but I agree with the long term advice here being something for temp control. So far I've been getting by with using the coolest room of my house and leaving my AC lower than normal. That's not been ideal though, especially when taking trips for work and having to keep the house cool while I'm gone. The swamp cooler trick is a band-aid solution, and even then, only if you have a space to do it in (certainly not a closet.)

Get a freezer or a refrigerator and a temp controller and be done with it. Bonus, you'll be able to make lagers if you ever get to that point.

 

I had a friend mention that there is a product made from the same material as a soft cooler that fits on a carboy that I think could be frozen and then slipped on the carboy. Has anyone herd of this?

 

You got that right. I have 10 gallons of a Citra IPA just sitting in the basement and covered with a blanket. Temp is somewhere in the 60s and I don't worry about it.

The weather will get warmer late in the summer and from experience I know it will affect the fermentation in a bad way. I have tried the swamp cooler, but that's a big pain and I might have to go with the chamber and controller. I'm going to try a saison when it's about 10 degrees warmer so maybe I can ride out the couple weeks of actual hot weather without an investment this year.

 

+1 to brewing saisons, belgian pale ales, and Belgian IPA's with saison yeast. I found a poster who brewed a yeti clone with 3711 and loved it, another who said it'd be OK in his BDSA recipe (in my sig), a Midwest Belgian IPA kit on amazon that used it, and I just decided to use it in a few other Belgian recipes. That should keep me busy all summer.

I also have a basement (a big plus) sitting at 70 and a water bath with a few frozen water bottles will keep a batch in the mid 60s. Also look up a SOF chiller.

 

The ambient temp outside here is 102F today. The ambient temp in my house is 79F. The water temp in my swamp cooler is 63F at the moment. Swamp coolers might be a bit high maintenance with the rotation of frozen water bottles, but for brewers on a budget (like me) they work just fine! Just sayin...

That doesn't mean I don't want a chest freezer as a ferm chamber. I do indeed want one, but it's just not in the budget right now. I'd rather spend what money I do have on ingredients right now.

My Saisons are in a swamp cooler right now too, but I don't put ice in it. It stays at 71F with just the water...

 

Yes to both. Ya gotta think outside the box. I realized I could use the refrigerator in my travel trailer as my fermentation chamber. Bought a Johnson temp controller and hooked it up. Probably the single best improvement I've done for my brewing process.

 

So, could I use my small chest freezer as a keezer and a ferm chamber both? I have a STC controller coming from eBay and living in the south, being able to ferm it and serve it from the same thing would be good. I plan on kegging my beer, and I could just keep everything in the keezer it would be simpler.

 

Without temp control, many people choose to brew styles that are complimented by the time of year. As someone suggested you could brew a few Saisons.

You could also check out the "cool-brewing fermentation cooler". It looks nicer than a swamp cooler and so far it has been keeping my temps right where I want them.

 

You can get Bell's down there, right? If you bottle harvest some of their yeast, it does well at warmer temps. Somewhere on HBT, someone posted a ferm temp chart for Bell's. They reportedly do all their ales at 72 and the Two-Hearted at 77. That's doable with just a swamp cooler if your ambient temps are 78ish.

 

This makes me wander, with a temp controller on a chest freezer, can the temp be regulated to the mid 60's for ferment, and then lowered to the upper 30's for kegging? I'm just getting into home brewing, and currently like Belgium style beers and enjoy reading all the different styles and informaton on this site. I currently have a small chest freezer that I am converting into a keezer with a single tower, the brew kit from the local HBS and have ordered a temp controller from ebay.

 

Yes

 

Watch craigslist. I bought both for less then $80 each. They are wine coolers and I use the coolers built in temp control. I ferment now in the garage that reaches 95 here in SC. I can hold it steady anywhere from 65 down to 42 degrees. I can also jack the temp down and cold crash without moving the bottle and then siphon to my keg without moving also. That's a 6 gallon better bottle. These were the single best purchase I have made to improve my beer brewing.