Experience warming one fermenter in a cool chamber

[drunkinThailand]

I have one fermentation chamber (chest freezer with controller) but want to be able to ferment multiple beers in there. One suggestion I have seen a few times is to get anther controller and a way to heat 1 fermenter. Then set one controller to control the freezer and the beer that requires the colder temp, then the second controller to heat the warmer fermenter.

I would love hear from someone who has done this and how it went. Anyone tried it and succeeded or failed?

thanks

 

[RM-MN]

Unless you are trying to make a lager at the same time as an ale you don't really need to do the two controllers. Give the ale 4 to 7 days in the chamber and then take it out and let it come to room temp. The first few day will be when the off flavors develop if fermented warm. Once the ferment slows down, there isn't any reason to control the temp.

If you choose to do both a lager and an ale at the same time, choose the right yeast and compromise on the temperature. Nottingham works to the middle to upper 50's just fine and many lager strains will be fine at that range too.

 

[drunkinThailand]

Thanks for the advice RM-MN. I will keep that in mind because I will probably hope to do a lager and ale at the same time sometime.

The problem with just taking a fermenter out and letting it rise to room temp is that I live in Thailand, so room temp will be in the upper 80's to 90's to 100+ pretty much year round. Do you think I could do that even at this extreme range?

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks for the advice RM-MN. I will keep that in mind because I will probably hope to do a lager and ale at the same time sometime.

The problem with just taking a fermenter out and letting it rise to room temp is that I live in Thailand, so room temp will be in the upper 80's to 90's to 100+ pretty much year round. Do you think I could do that even at this extreme range?

I just don't know because most of us live in a temperate climate or have air conditioning that keeps the temperature more moderate.

If you are willing to experiment, try making a small batch and trying it with that smaller amount so you won't be wasting a full batch if it turns out a dumper.

 

[kh54s10]

When doing ales I just put the probe on the current batch, leaving the other one in the chamber. I don't brew often enough that the first one is not fully fermented before the second one goes in. I leave the beers in primary long enough that I have not had any issues.

 

[drunkinThailand]

RM-MN - I like the idea of doing a small batch and giving it a try, I'll have to do that sometime. Or maybe just make an extra big batch then split off a small amount to a separate fermenter before pitching.

 

[RM-MN]

RM-MN - I like the idea of doing a small batch and giving it a try, I'll have to do that sometime. Or maybe just make an extra big batch then split off a small amount to a separate fermenter before pitching.

Either way will work. I'm glad you are willing to give it a try as most brewers are stuck on the idea that a batch has to be 5 or 10 gallons and won't consider doing a 1 gallon test batch or taking part of a batch to experiment with. Please let us (me?) know how it turns out if you do. Most of us that post here don't have the location to do that kind of experiment.

The other possibility if you want to do a lager and something else is to do a saison as that kind of yeast likes it hotter and might do well without being in the fermentation chamber.

 

[drunkinThailand]

bump - still hoping to hear from someone who's warmed one fermenter in a cool chamber so I could maybe do a lager and an ale together

 

[FatDragon]

Being in Thailand himself, @badlee may have some advice on letting an ale go tropical after a controlled fermentation in the first couple days (per @RM-MN's original suggestion). I've done something similar a few times, but while my ambient temps in the warmer months are warmer than most western homebrewers', they still don't usually hit the temps you're talking about. I also haven't done it more than a couple times since I rarely have more than one brew in primary at a time, so I don't really have much data to share.

My suggestion if you go the route of using two controllers would be to create some kind of jacket for your warmer fermenter, with a heating element of some kind - maybe electric heating strips or heating wires like you find in electric blankets - inside and a layer of insulation - along the lines of Reflectix, maybe - around the outside. If you don't have your heating setup (and warmer fermenter) insulated against the freezer's cold ambient temps, you're going to compromise your ability to maintain your desired temps on both fermenters and overwork your heater and compressor, causing potentially shorter life on those components and increasing your energy bill in the meantime.