Fermentation temp is rising, should I be concerned?!?

[mbosco]

Brewed EdWorts Robust Porter via BIAB on Saturday and like many have said the notty is giving a very active ferment.

My room temp is 67, but the fermenter is showing around 73-74. I moved it closer to the floor to hopefully bring down the temp a bit. Should I be worried??? If so, any ideas how to bring the temp down a bit?

 

[azscoob]

Fermentation is an exothermic reaction, so it is going to put out some heat, often 5-10° above ambient temp, You need to look into a swamp cooler or similar temp control process. An easy way to get started is to put the fermenter in a spare bathtub or in a rubbermaid tub, add cold water to the tub and put a shirt over the fermenter, this will wick water up the shirt and provide some evaporative cooling, adding a fan to blow on the shirt also helps. Toss in a couple frozen water bottles and you have a good way to keep temps in check.

 

[BetterSense]

You should do something about that as soon as possible. Active fermentation will shoot the temperature up in the beginning and you may have to do something to cool it down even if you have a fairly cool environment. You can do the swamp cooler thing, or in the short term, what I do is put some ice on top of my bucket and throw an old blanket or beach towel over it. You can either use a frozen jug or a gallon ziplock bag of ice. .

 

[Surly]

Brewed EdWorts Robust Porter via BIAB on Saturday and like many have said the notty is giving a very active ferment.

My room temp is 67, but the fermenter is showing around 73-74. I moved it closer to the floor to hopefully bring down the temp a bit. Should I be worried??? If so, any ideas how to bring the temp down a bit?

get a t-shirt, soak it in water and cover your fermentor. Then, get a fan and blow some air towards it.

 

[Surly]

You should do something about that as soon as possible. Active fermentation will shoot the temperature up in the beginning and you may have to do something to cool it down even if you have a fairly cool environment. You can do the swamp cooler thing, or in the short term, what I do is put some ice on top of my bucket and throw an old blanket or beach towel over it. You can either use a frozen jug or a gallon ziplock bag of ice. .

Get the wet t-shirt on it and the fan blowing. Then, begin gathering what you need for BetterSense's approach. good luck.

 

[permo]

You should do something about that as soon as possible. Active fermentation will shoot the temperature up in the beginning and you may have to do something to cool it down even if you have a fairly cool environment. You can do the swamp cooler thing, or in the short term, what I do is put some ice on top of my bucket and throw an old blanket or beach towel over it. You can either use a frozen jug or a gallon ziplock bag of ice. .

+1, get that notty under control. Nottingham fermented over about 72 degrees is not tasty.

 

[mbosco]

Thanks for the quick replies and sudden onset of panic....

Just ran down and put the fermentor in a big tupperware storage bin. added some water and a bit of ice and wrapped in a t-shirt. Will keep a close eye on it for the next couple of hours and see where it goes.

Thanks again!

 

[Homercidal]

I concur with the swamp cooler thing, but your beer will be fine at those temps too. If you can get it a bit cooler, it would be better, but under 70-ish is still pretty good.

 

[mmonacel]

Make sure to put a cap or two of bleach in with the swamp cooler water. I found out from experience that you can get some nasty crap growing on that shirt after a week or two otherwise. Freeze up some water bottles or jugs (the larger ones will keep frozen longer) and use that to periodically cool down the water.

 

[Surly]

You got some very good advice here. The community heard you needed information and responded.

Now, take a deep breath and relax. You will have some wonderful beer.

BTW - It was once I began concentrating on temperature control that the taste of my beer improved greatly.

Good luck.

 

[mbosco]

Thanks again all. Got it down to about 69 now and will keep watching. Thanks again for the QUICK help.

 

[azscoob]

Thanks again all. Got it down to about 69 now and will keep watching. Thanks again for the QUICK help.

Thats what we are here for!