Brewing in Hot Climates

[Keith_O]

For those of us who live where it is only 10 degrees cooler than Hell, any tips or suggestions?
Yes, I do have central heat and air, but I am also a cheap-ass who usually keeps the house about 80+/- in the summer... not optimal fermenting temps....
:cross:

 

[ForestGroveBrewer]

For those of us who live where it is only 10 degrees cooler than Hell, any tips or suggestions?
Yes, I do have central heat and air, but I am also a cheap-ass who usually keeps the house about 80+/- in the summer... not optimal fermenting temps....
:cross:

Looked into a swamp cooler? Its basically a tub filled with water and swap out frozen water bottles throughout the fermentation period.

 

[Rockn_M]

For controlling fermentation chambers look at either a freezer with an external thermostat like an stc-1000 or look at swamp coolers. Swamp coolers are much cheaper but require constant monitoring.

As for the actual brew day once it gets hot outside I brew outside. I would rather be the one hot versus the family being miserable because the ac can't keep up with 10 gallons of boiling liquid for a few hours.

I also put up a misting system on the patio that helps keeps things a few degrees cooler and drink lots of water.

 

[ffaoe]

75-80 is perfect for saisons. As mentioned already, swamp coolers will help keep your temps down.

 

[Yooper]

Yep, it's tough. My friends in Texas brew, and one of them just accepts fruity off flavors (his AC is at 72, I think). One, who lives in Austin, asked me to taste his beer last month and tell him the truth- and I did.

He's now setting up a small chest freezer ($150 at Home Depot) and a temperature control ($60) to ferment in. The chest freezer with a temperature control at 62 degrees is more economical than trying to cool the house, that's for sure. He's a pretty avid brewer, though, and always has a batch going.

The beer from the uncontrolled fermentation temperature wasn't terrible- and I drank it and enjoyed it. But it was definitely full of fruity flavors and not commercial quality. He wanted to know why my beer tastes more like something he'd buy in the store (he loves hoppy beers as much as I do). He's a good brewer, so I think just controlling fermentation temperatures and taking care of his yeast will fix his issues.

So it depends on what you want, I guess. "OK" beer will happen (not at 80 degrees, but certainly at 72 if you still it in a bin with some frozen water bottles). "Great" beer will not happen at those temperatures, though.

 

[BreezyBrew]

I really think you can't brew great beer in FL unless you want to spend some money. I used an immersion chiller for about 20 batches and got tired of it. I bought a plate chiller, and the rest is history as far as getting the wort down quickly. This really shortens your brew day in the summer here when you sit in the shade and sweat like a pig. I had a freezer and temp controller from the start so I don't know what it's like without one, but it used to be 85 inside of my upstairs apt sometimes because I only had window units. Stupid in FL I know. Anyway, as stated before it's going to be tough without spending money. For me, it wasn't going to be worth my time to not make great beer, so I took a couple of years and saved up for a system that works well and it's really a lot less work for me in the long run. As they say, buy once cry once. Switching out ice bottles every six hours sounds like hell to me... No offense. Brewing saisons is a great idea if you aren't looking to spend money.

Also a fermenter keeps in a lot of the fermentation smells which significant others seem to not take too kindly to.

 

[Keith_O]

Well, until I can save enough to buy the equipment, maybe I should look into saisons...
What is a good one to try? I'm sure I tried some when I was stationed in Germany, but that has been a very long time ago...

 

[Keith_O]

***
I need a good one to get an idea of the style, sorry...
a recipe wouldn't hurt either....

 

[roastquake]

Before I got my fermentation fridge, I did and ice bath like this (and still do when the fridge is full):

I got a bunch of water/soda bottles (about a dozen), filled them with tap water and froze them.

when the time comes to ferment, I take one of my kettles (use anything that your fermenter fits in) lay down a towel (for condensation) put 4-5 frozen bottles in the bottom. Put the fermenter on top of those and fill the kettle with water

This usually keeps fermentation temps between 64-70 if I switch bottles 1-2 times a day.

I only keep it going for a few days and then let it finish at room temp

I'll add that I do this on a tile floor in the coolest part of my place

 

[Beer-lord]

I have 2 of these that I use almost year around... https://www.cool-brewing.com/
I swap out 2 quart bottles twice a day and can keep 6 gallons down to 65 in a 77-78 house.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

If you have the space... Get a used fridge, and build an STC-1000 rig.

MC

 

[showcow]

If you have the space... Get a used fridge, and build an STC-1000 rig.



MC

+1 - an stc is under $25, and you can wire it up super cheap. You can definitely find small fridges for $25-50 on craigslist, especially when the college kids get out for the summer. This is a minimal investment that will absolutely do the best thing you can do for your beer. And a small fridge doesn't take up much more room than a bucket anyway!

 

[dchmela]

On my brew days in the summer, I use an immersion chiller while the kettle is immersed in an ice bath. Plate chiller is in my future for sure.

I take over my wife's wine fridge for fermentation for 4-6 days for regular beers and as soon as I can afford another wine fridge, that will be my permanent one.

Saisons rule down here, of course. Most Belgians will work if you can keep the temps down for the first couple of days and then let them get to room temp.

I also try and brew a lot in the winter, to keep some stock for the hotter months.

Good luck and welcome to the Devil's Brew club!

 

[roastquake]

the Devil's Brew club!

I like it!

 

[Flboy]

Another variation of the swamp cooler, put carboy in tub of water, hang a wet towel over it, draping into the water, and put a fan blowing on it. This will cool you several degrees below ambient, depending on the humidity.

 

[MarathonMurse]

You could also scale down a little, if you're not a pipeline whore (and I mean that in the best way possible )

A 2.5-3 gallon fermentor in a beat up yard-sale cooler gives you pretty damn good temperature control for pocket change.

 

[Keith_O]

Ok, Well, tell me if what I have done will work...
I am using buckets, so can't do the homemade swamp cooler thing...
Spare bathtub full of water, and I have a few 1 gallon plastic jugs of water that i freeze...
I have 3 buckets in tub, I put a fresh frozen one in every 12 hrs... house is currently 74...

 

[knelson13A]

The a/c in my house is generally set on 75, and I keep my fermenters upstairs, where's its set in the 80s (we don't use that part of the house much). I'm able to maintain mid-60s fermentation temperatures with a swamp cooler setup in the August heat in Texas. I've got a big Rubbermaid bin that I fill with water and put the carboy (PET Better Bottle-style) in that. The water is usually just below the beer level. Depending on the outside temps, I use anywhere from 2 small frozen water bottles to a couple of frozen one gallon jugs, and swap out 3 times a day (when I leave for work, when I get home, and right before going to bed). Even during the hottest times in the afternoon when I switch out, the water in the tub is high-50s to low-60s.

I am in the market for a used chest freezer, though, to automate my temperature control.

 

[NTexBrewer]

http://byo.com/stories/item/1084-make-me-sweat-cool-tips-for-hot-weather-brewing

The above link is about warm weather brewing.

As far as Saison's to try:

The standard is Saison Dupont. You can usually find this at Whole Foods or Central Market. I have only seen it in 750ml bottles.

Also sometimes Saisons are called farmhouse ales.

Prairie Artisan Ales out of Oklahoma makes some good Saison's
http://prairieales.com/beers/

Amadillo Ale Works out of Denton makes a Farmhouse ale
http://www.armadilloaleworks.com/beer/

Here is a link to Total Wine and Beer that lists some Texas Brewed Saisons
http://www.totalwine.com/eng/catego.../belgian-style-ale|texas/saison-farmhouse-ale

A lot of the breweries in Austin are dedicated to making Belgian beers so I would think they brew Saisons.

 

[jekeane]

Save your money and move out of tx imo!

 

[Keith_O]

Ummm, pass ^^^^^^

 

[Keith_O]

Thanks guys, appreciate the suggestions, and with the exception of jekeane's, I'll try them all probably...

 

[Keith_O]

I keep getting the suggestion to use Saisson. Does it work well in most ale recipes? or do I need to find a specific one?

 

[HB_in_Subic]

I live in the PI where it's 75 degrees for the low almost 365 days per year. I have one of the freezer rigs and it works quite well for the fermenting. I fit two fermenters at a time in it and adjust the thermostat according to the yeast that I am using.

The Saison's are a warm weather brew that uses yeasts which prefer 76-90 degree ferment temperatures. I am going to start doing some of those as I can leave a bucket on my back porch out of the light.

It is typically 85 degrees when I brew.

 

[Rhumbline]

Another Florida brewer here. We see temps in the 30's maybe one day a year.

I've grown to love saisons. Look into the Wyeast lineup, there are some that don't really hit their peak until the temps hit 90. 3724 Is a great example.

Of course, if you have a fermentation fridge, it's a moot point.

Happy brewing

 

[BigFloyd]

Welcome fellow Texican.

Keep checking and running searches on Craigslist. You're close enough to Killeen/Ft. Hood that you have a very good chance of getting a very nice deal (think $70 or less) on a decent used fridge or freezer from someone who is being relocating and doesn't want to move it. Also check with appliance stores to find out what their delivery guys do with the old fridges they pick up when they deliver a new one.

Get an STC-1000 from Amazon ($20), build a simple outlet box for it and you will be in total, precise control of your ferment temps. No messing around with swapping out ice bottles or blowing fans on wet t-shirts. I can and do ferment lagers at 48*F in the middle of August. Cold crash and lager too.

 

[MattzKauf]

I live in AZ and have had great success with a swamp cooler. Frozen 2 liter bottles work great for the first couple of days I use two in the morning and two at night. Water stays cold and the beer turns out great.

 

[sudbuster]

I live in Arkansas, and there is no way I'm brewing past May. I have all the amenities, 2 step in coolers, a temp controlled freezer etc. The cost of operating stuff is far more than the beer is worth. What's more in the humid summer comes swarms of baddies, molds, airborne bacterias, etc. I quit brewing the end of May and pick it back up the middle of November.

 

[rodwha]

I'm still using swamp coolers and from 1 to 2 L frozen bottles, but it takes a lot of freezer space, and SWMBO isn't happy about it (just happens we have 2 fridges as the house we are renting has one).

It is a pain having to swap bottles throughout the day, as it can keep you from camping or doing any long term activities.

I'm looking at a fermentation chamber of some sort after we move to Austin in a couple of months.

But it does work well enough, and the cost is minimal.

 

[Jeffinn]

https://www.cool-brewing.com