temp and bottling

last week I bottled a batch that went from OG 1.074 to an FG of 1.020. My concern is that with the weather here my whole house is almost 80 DEGREES. Will this pose a problem?

 

No it will be fine. If you can find the coolest place in the house...in the low 70's that would be best...But "room temp" is fine...Temp control is only crucial during the initial stage of fermentation.

 

On a beer that big, you wouldn't notice too much if it were fermented too warm, but you really should try to keep it cooler if you can.

In hot weather, I put my fermenter/s in the bathtub, put about 8 inches of water in the bottom and wrap bath towels around the fermenters. Then I put a fan near teh tub and turn it on low so it is constantly running an blowing a slow breeze across the fermenter/s. Each morning and evening, I ladle a bit of water onto the towels to keep them wet, but they do a pretty good job of wicking water out of the tub by themselves.

When it's REALLY warm out, I freeze a few 2 litre bottles of water and chuck them into the tub in the morning .

This method keeps my fermenters around 18°-21° C, which I consider a perfect fermenting temp for everythign except Lagers (which ferment in my lagerator)

 

Thanks for the advice, right now I'm brewing a 5 gal batch with 6lbs am 2row, 2lbs rye and 1 lb wheat. just going with what was in the freezer, any thoughts

 

Looks like your FG was a bit high...average attenuation is about 75%. Yours should have been 18 and not 20...(74 / 4 = 18.5)

80F will be a bit warm. At that temp you should really pay attention to your brew so it does not overcarb especially since it was "almost" but not quite finished fermenting.

 

thanks will do

 

My apartment averages over 80 degrees in this summer heat as well. I actually built a box out of styrofoam big enough to hold about 4 cases, stuck a frozen water bottle in there, and change it out once a day. That keeps the bottles at roughly 70 - 75 degrees. Cools em down just enough, I think.

Of course, I am quite the beginner and have no idea if this extra effort will make much difference.

 

Reminds me of a song...

"I got a beer on the seat... and it's boiling in the heat....
tappin' my toe to the sound of ole Johny Cash."