Fermentation temp

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kmonty

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I plan to make all the beginning recipes from Brewing Classic Styles - after I buy a chest freezer and temp control.
The book is quite particular regarding the fermentation temp for each recipe so I want to make sure I do it right.

My question: if the recipe states it as 67 degrees, does that mean to simply set the temp for the temp control at 67 and leave it alone? Or do I need to monitor the temp of the actual fermenter and maintain it to 67 degrees?

Thanks!
 
The themp controller will turn on and off by sensing the probes temperature.
You need to measure the beer temp but you will always have a bit of swing in temp.

A good compromise is to tape the thermometer on the outside of your fermenter and to shield the probe from the air with some insulation (bubble wrap or foam)

Some people prefer to use a thermowell and put the probe in the thermomwell so it is reading the center of the beer's temperature.
 
67 should be the temperature of your fermenting beer. When fermentation is going hard the beer can be up to 10 degrees warmer than your ambient air temperature. So theoretically the air in your chamber might need to be 60 degrees or so when it's really bubbling away. Keep an eye on your beer temp and when fermentation slows you will likely need to start bumping up your ambient temps. The sticky thermometers are cheap and do a decent job of reading your beer temps.
 
I'm not an expert in this area, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night. This is a summary of what I've found after reading a lot on the subject awhile back...

The higher the fermentation temp, the more active/faster the fermentation will be, which equals higher beer temps over surrounding temperature. Basically, the fermenting beer temp is relative to how vigorous it's fermenting. So, a beer fermented at lower temps will usually ferment slower and will not generate as much heat and not be as much higher in temp than a beer fermented at higher temps. The difference in temp is relative to fermenting activity and increases as fermenting temps increase. This being the case, a beer fermented at lower temps might only be a few degrees warmer than the ambient air temp whereas a beer fermented at high temps could be nearing 10 degrees warmer than air temps.

Just some food for thought as saying the fermenting beer is always X amount higher in temps than ambient temps is a broad and general statement.

As others have said, there seems to be good luck with sticking the probe to the side of the bucket/carboy and insulating it.
 
Thank you so much for all the great advice. Seems as though taping the temp sensor to the side is the way to go.
Will try that.

Now all I have to do is hunt down a good chest freezer on Craigslist...
 
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