Fermentation temperature question (Los Angeles, CA) weather.

[BADS197]

I live in Canyon Country just north of LA.

When it's HOT, it's HOT!

I've come home and my apartment was 108 inside.

We don't run the a/c when not at home so temps in the apartment can climb pretty high on some days. Granted it's not always like that but it does get into the 90's.

Right now it's 87 degrees inside and I just turned on the a/c.

Ive read where you have to ferment between certain temps for 3-4 weeks.

Does it affect the brew if the temp it ferments at is higher?

I can put the bucket/carboy thing in the tub with some cold water in the morning but don't know how long that water will stay cold. I would have to use the shower in the morning but could refill it every morning with a litlte cold water and/or drop a bucket of ice on it in the morning.

Point is I'm not at home to monitor temps all day so the temp might vary depending on how long the ice lasts, water stays cool etc..

Is that fermentation temp a guildine? will it speed up the fermentation time if warmer than average?

It's my only real concern after reading more today... I'm thinking of places in the apartment to store it, a closet perhaps might be a little cooler etc..


Thanks
Jake

 

[Tankard]

I live in Socal as well, and keeping the temperature at an acceptable range is the biggest PITA for me of all. It is absolutely essential to keep the temperature below 74 degrees or so. If it's any higher, you will get off-flavors in your beer due to esthers being produced.

The ice bath is probably the best way to keep it cooler. Put the carboy in a tub of water, fill it up with water and add ice water bottles. Then, cover the carboy with a dark T-shirt or a towel, making sure that it touches the water surface so that it wicks up the water. Then, point a floor fan at the carboy.

 

[Revvy]

Here's what I use

Rubbermade bin, t-shirts on the fermenter, aquarium thermometer, a couple of gallons of water...It holds 2 carboys...I use a mixture of 2 liter and other size frozen bottles of water...add a fan if you want. With this setup I can get down to the high 50's during fermentation....

You can also use something like this with an ice cube type cooler...it's a little more expensive than my setup, and requires some modding...

http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=60288

 

[BADS197]

I have a storage bin I could fill with water and then dump a thing of ice into it, but the problem is during the day i'm sure the ice will melt. Today I dumped some bottles in a bucket around 2 and by 5:30 or so the ice was melted..

hopfully a big tray of ice (fridge has an icemaker) and water and frozen bottles will be sufficient during the day.

Either that or I'll have to get a fridge big enough to stick one carboy in to regulate the temperature.

 

[Grinder12000]

I thought I read somewhere that a good way to regulate the temp was to wrap the carboy in wet towels and put a fan on it. The evaporation keeps the temp at a steady . . .temp???

 

[BADS197]

i think i'll buy a cheap cooler and do that mod or... if i cna find a small fridge that will hold one carboy.. I'll get one and stuff it inside and set the temp on the gauge.

once i get the carboy i can measure it and look around for a fridge to fit the bill.. or just do the cooler mod and see how the temps are after a hot day in the apartment.

 

[brewt00l]

Does it affect the brew if the temp it ferments at is higher?

Yes, fermentation temps have a massive effect on how your yeast performs and what flavors/off-flavors are present after fermentation as a result. Temp control is one thing that sets great beer apart from the pack.

http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter8-1-3.html

Is that fermentation temp a guildine? will it speed up the fermentation time if warmer than average?

Check the yeast mfg's website for their recommended temp range for that specific strain of yeast. Different strains perform differently. There are even times when you may want to ferment the same strain at different temps to encourage different flavors for specific beers. I usually start with the mfgs site then search various forums for feedback on a specific yeast and see what other folks found.

There are plenty of ways to control the temp, some already mentioned in the thread. I just constructed one of these for myself to have more accurate control on the cheap:
http://www.olderascal.com/brewing/fermentationchiller/

 

[Revvy]

I have a storage bin I could fill with water and then dump a thing of ice into it, but the problem is during the day i'm sure the ice will melt. Today I dumped some bottles in a bucket around 2 and by 5:30 or so the ice was melted..

hopfully a big tray of ice (fridge has an icemaker) and water and frozen bottles will be sufficient during the day.

Either that or I'll have to get a fridge big enough to stick one carboy in to regulate the temperature.

of course it melts....but water is thermoelastic, which means that the temp of water doesn't change as rapidly as the air around it...the liquid will still stay at least 10 degrees cooler than the ambient temp, even if there is a major temp spike.

In other words, if at noon the ambient temp is 90 degrees, it would still take several hours for the water bath to reflect it...

A lot of us use this method...and mostly all of us have to go to work...we wouldn't be recommending it if it didn't work.

 

[Yooper]

Here's my solution:

This is just an igloo cooler. I removed the lid (it's hollow and not a great insulator) and made a foam lid with three layers. Only the airlock pokes out. I fill that with water about 3/4 full, and then add frozen water bottles (one or two) until the floating thermometer in the water reads 65 degrees. I change the bottles every day or two in the summer.

 

[BADS197]

I'm headed out today to find a igloo ice cube cooler

 

[Yooper]

There are more pictures in my gallery, showing the handles and the way the foam is stacked.

It's easy to do, and really makes a difference. I found my cooler really cheap at a clearance price. The foam came from Home Depot.

 

[GunnerMan]

I use my bathtub, but my question is how much temperature change is to much for the yeast? When I use my smaller tub when i drop the ice in it can bring the temp down from 69 to 66 pretty quick and when I come home from work it is usually back up to 69-70 or so. Im thinkin about getting one of those portable swamp coolers for my ferment room. here in NM the swamper works well

 

[libertyman]

Of course you could always let the high temp do its thing and come out with a really sour Ale. I made the first one by mistake. I had so many friends who loved the beer I made my fifth batch sour on purpose. Mind you I live in Washinton and the only thing that gets that hot is the oven.

 

[FSumac]

Here's my solution:

This is just an igloo cooler. I removed the lid (it's hollow and not a great insulator) and made a foam lid with three layers. Only the airlock pokes out. I fill that with water about 3/4 full, and then add frozen water bottles (one or two) until the floating thermometer in the water reads 65 degrees. I change the bottles every day or two in the summer.

That is a great idea!

 

[BrosBrew]

is it theoretical to use this water method to get the water down to 40 degrees or so to be able to brew lagers?

 

[BADS197]

I'm using the igloo cooler and we put one cold 2liter bottle in whenever we get a chance to check and even thogh it's melted it's cool water.

I dont have insulation under the lid but we will find some today.

It's working so far..

Steady bubbles for the last 2 days.

 

[TheFlatline]

is it theoretical to use this water method to get the water down to 40 degrees or so to be able to brew lagers?

I'd say it's theoretically possible, but would take a hell of a lot more babysitting and fretting.

If you're going to lager, just get yourself either a nice cold fridge or a chest freezer (costco has one right now, brand spanking new, for 200 bucks, and costs 24 dollars to run normally)