Fermentation Location?!

[BOBBYTBREW]

I am brand new to home brewing (brewed my first batch yesterday!) and to this forum...I brewed an Amber Ale yesterday and I'm wondering where in my house is the best place to put the fermenting bucket. I'm afraid that my basement will be too cold (Chicago area in winter) and I'm afraid that my closet will be too hot. What is the best place to ferment my beer?

 

[jppostKW]

First of all welcome to HBT!!!! What temps are your closet and basement if the closet stays about 70 degrees you will be fine. you want to drop that temp a little bit put a wet t shirt around your bucket and have a fan blow across it.

 

[BOBBYTBREW]

The temp in my closet is about 70 degrees and the basement is around 58 degrees.

 

[user 29674]

of the two, the closet is your best bet. i stash my carboy behind a full length mirror on a stand in my master bedroom. out of sight so the kids dont mess with it, and it enjoys the nice constant 67* in my bedroom.

 

[Marko73]

58 degrees might not be too bad depending on what you are brewing. A lot of yeasts do really well in the low 60s. One thing to note too is that your beer will be a few degrees warmer during active fermentation than the ambient temperature. So you could push mid 70s in your closet.

 

[BOBBYTBREW]

Yes, I have it in the closet right now but I need to move it because it is making my suits for work smell like beer. I don't mind it, but my co-workers might not like it too much!

 

[BOBBYTBREW]

I'm brewing an Amber Ale with the cheap Munton's yeast...

 

[EvilGnome6]

One week in the basement and two weeks in the closet.

 

[ShortSnoutBrewing]

I'll go against the grain here and say put it in your basement. Fermentation temps can be 5º - 10º warmer than the ambient temperatures. At 58º ambient you're just about perfect for most ales.

 

[BOBBYTBREW]

If I've already had it fermenting a little over 24 hours in the closet at 70 degrees is it alright to move it to the basement now or will that mess up the yeast's work?!?

 

[user 29674]

I'll go against the grain here and say put it in your basement. Fermentation temps can be 5º - 10º warmer than the ambient temperatures. At 58º ambient you're just about perfect for most ales.

I've heard that repeated frequently around, but its not been my experience. Every time I take a gravity reading I check the temp with my lab thermometer and it nearly always only +2* from ambient according to the thermometer I keep next to the carboy.

If I've already had it fermenting a little over 24 hours in the closet at 70 degrees is it alright to move it to the basement now or will that mess up the yeast's work?!?

Just try to keep the sloshing around to a minimum and it will be fine. When I move mine for bottling I usually lift the carboy onto a beach towel and then grab the towel and drag it. Keeps it from sloshing around much. Obviously wont work out very well for you if you have to go up or down stairs but it at least will get you there.

 

[jeffmeh]

I would opt for the basement, but you should check the yeast specs to find out the optimum temperature range. In general, the lower end of the range will produce a cleaner-tasting final product. If you can get it off of the basement floor so that it does not act like a heat sink, and perhaps wrap the fermenter in a blanket, you will probably end up with a fermentation temp in the lower 60's.

 

[ShortSnoutBrewing]

I've heard that repeated frequently around, but its not been my experience. Every time I take a gravity reading I check the temp with my lab thermometer and it nearly always only +2* from ambient according to the thermometer I keep next to the carboy.

I am going to guess that you aren't taking temps during active fermentation (as in within the first 24 - 48hrs of it taking off, when all the actions happening). I could be wrong, but that's my guess. Sure, after a week or more when the "fun" part is over you will start to normalize with ambient temps, but the amount of energy created when the action happens is quite a bit. Before I started controlling temps I easily had batches rise into the mid/upper 70's in a 65º basement.

 

[riromero]

You could turn down the thermostat to 65 and put on a sweater.

 

[user 29674]

I am going to guess that you aren't taking temps during active fermentation (as in within the first 24 - 48hrs of it taking off, when all the actions happening). I could be wrong, but that's my guess. Sure, after a week or more when the "fun" part is over you will start to normalize with ambient temps, but the amount of energy created when the action happens is quite a bit. Before I started controlling temps I easily had batches rise into the mid/upper 70's in a 65º basement.

I have before with similar results, but that was back in my first few brews when I was constantly obsessing over the fermenter. I'll check it this weekend when I brew and see to satisfy my own curiosity (and yours I suppose.)

 

[jezter6]

I'd go with the basement and maybe a blanket wrap to keep it just a little warmer.

You can look at getting something like a brew belt to keep your fermenter warm when fermenting in cooler locales. Or things like aquarium heaters in a tub of water, etc.