Fermenting in Phoenix

[whittezn]

Hello all,

I recently got transferred to the great city of Phoenix and the current temperature is 106°. Besides this being too hot for a human civilization to exist, it can't be good for beer fermentj g. In order to keep my electric bill below $300. I typically do not lower my AC past 80°. Has anyone had success with their beer fermenting with a temperature that high before?

Thank you for your help.

 

[GuldTuborg]

Saisons and chest freezers are your friends.

But, I understand your pain. I would shoot myself if it were routinely over 100F out.

 

[biodarwin]

I live in Louisiana and while not as where you are I have the same issues. I built a fermentation chamber out of foam board insulation and frozen 2 liter bottles. Low energy requirements and works for me with a 78 ambient temp.

 

[jakenbacon]

Don't know where you are in PHX but What Ale's Ya sells a 13 dollar pump w/hose for swamp cooling the brew. It's the only thing keeping me going in summer, I honestly can't believe how well it works....

 

[BigFloyd]

If you have the room, hunt for a used freezer/fridge on Craigslist and then build a controller outlet box using an STC-1000 ($19 on Amazon). It works great and you do not have to modify the freezer/fridge.

It's a dual temperature controller. You wire it into a standard 2-plug outlet that you mount in some kind of project box (either homemade or bought at Radio Shack). One (cool) outlet is for the freezer/fridge. Into the other (warm) outlet, you can plug some kind of small heater and then put that heater inside the freezer if it's going to be sitting in a really chilly place.

Set the target temp (in Celsius) on the STC-1000. Set the tolerance (default is +/-0.5*C). When the temp (as read by the sensor) climbs 0.5*C above the target, it powers up the cool outlet and keeps it energized until the temp drops to the target and then turns it off. Likewise with the warm outlet if it gets 0.5*C too cool. You tape the sensor on the side of the fermenter and place some kind of insulation like bubble wrap over top of it so that it reads the bucket temp and not the air.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ebay-fish-tank-controller-build-using-wal-mart-parts-261506/


https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ebay-aquarium-temp-controller-build-163849/

 

[tarawa]

I live in Florida and had to use a swamp cooler until I got my fermentation fridge up and running. I just sent away (thanks to another member mentioning it) for some yeast that is made in New Zealand. Ferments ale between 68 and 90 degrees. Purchased some online from Rebel Brewers. They are sponsors on the site. I hope it works because I can brew another batch of ale before the first is complete.

 

[pdxal]

As mentioned, Saison yeasts will thrive at that temperature, and you can rig a fermentation chamber or use an old fridge/freezer fairly cheaply and control the temperature reasonably well.