Frustrated with high fermentation temps.

[9/9]

I feel about ready to give up on this stuff. We just brewed our fourth batch and have been having a really hard time getting the fermentation temps as low as they should be. The first two brews they were both around 74 degrees. Knowing that is too high, the third brew we wrapped the bucket in a cool, wet t-shirt. It got the bucket down a degree to 73, but wouldn't go any lower. This time we turned our AC way down (our house does not have individual room controls) to 60 degrees after we finished the brew. This morning I checked at the bucket (12 hours after pitching) was bubbling away at 78 degrees!

What are you all doing that I am not? If the fermentation process is putting out close to 20 degrees of heat, do you all keep your buckets and carboys in an air temp below 50? If that is going to be the case, I think we are not going to be able to continue, since we can't afford any expensive equipment at this time.

Any help on what I am missing here would be greatly appreciated.

(and, before anyone asks, I have checked the strip thermometer on the bucket with regular water and it works fine)

 

[Bernie Brewer]

How has your beer been tasting??? 74 degrees isn't unreasonably high for the actual bucket temp. If the air temp is around 65-75 you should be ok.If you are really concerned about it, put the bucket/t-shirt into an ice bath. That'll cool it down more for you.

 

[Dr_Deathweed]

Well if you are REALLY concerned, you can go extravigant with one of these ideas:
http://homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=45567&highlight=fermoire
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=54562

A fridge with a temeperature controller works well too. Depends how much you are willing to spend/how much room you have.

Or look up "Son of a fermenttion chiller" on Google. Or just stick the whole fermenter in a bigger bucket with cool ice water. Here are a few cheap and easy ideas for you to get started with:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=32651&highlight=fermentation+chiller

 

[Professor Frink]

How has your beer been tasting??? 74 degrees isn't unreasonably high for the actual bucket temp. If the air temp is around 65-75 you should be ok.If you are really concerned about it, put the bucket/t-shirt into an ice bath. That'll cool it down more for you.

This is what I do. I bought a huge plastic tub at Target and fill it up with ice water and put the fermenter in it, then put a T-shirt on it and run a fan at it. It drops the temp by 10 degrees or so.

 

[Evan!]

This is what I do. I bought a huge plastic tub at Target and fill it up with ice water and put the fermenter in it, then put a T-shirt on it and run a fan at it. It drops the temp by 10 degrees or so.

+1. The big bucket with rope handles that you see being used for horse feed or to hold sanke kegs at frat parties works well.

I also try to winter-load my brewing schedule so I'm brewing more during the months when my basement is in the upper 50's/lower 60's. It doesn't always work out, because I just love to brew, but at least I try.

 

[Bobby_M]

Do the frozen water bottle exchange trick. Put the fermenter in a plastic tub of tap water. Freeze two 1 liter bottles of water. Drop one in the tub of water. The next day, swap the bottles. The melted one goes in the freezer, the frozen one goes into the tub. Of course, if you find that you're dropping too low, you can wait a few extra hours in between exchanges.

 

[Torchiest]

Another option: put the carboy in a bathroom, then close the door and make sure the A/C vent is open. When I did that, I could get that bathroom pretty cool, and had the carboy around 71ºF pretty frequently. The bathroom tends to be the coolest room in the house.

 

[mr x]

I don't understand how this is getting so out of control. I ferment in carboys in a basement in the summer that is in the mid 60's. I never get much over 70. What yeast are you using and what's your pitch temperature? A 78 degree bucket in a 60 degree room after 12 hours just isn't adding up if you pitched at a reasonable temperature.

 

[9/9]

I don't understand how this is getting so out of control. I ferment in carboys in a basement in the summer that is in the mid 60's. I never get much over 70. What yeast are you using and what's your pitch temperature? A 78 degree bucket in a 60 degree room after 12 hours just isn't adding up if you pitched at a reasonable temperature.

I don't understand either, which is where my frustration is comming from. I have been using nottingham dry yeast (rehydrated) for most of my brews, including this one. I don't remember exactly what my pitching temps were for my first few brews, but this one was at 76 when I pitched. Maybe I should be pitching a lot lower? I had read that you should pitch somewhere below 80, but should I be pitching around 60 or so?

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I was really just pissed off when I saw that 78 degrees this morning, after a night sleeping in a 60 degree house. It might be too late for it to help this brew, but I will look into getting a bucket with ice water for the next batch.

I appreciate the help.

 

[Beerthoven]

A 78 degree bucket in a 60 degree room after 12 hours just isn't adding up if you pitched at a reasonable temperature.

mrx has a point, me thinks. Cool your wort to 65º before you pitch your yeast.

The ice water bath seems like a tried and true method for cooling fermentation temps. If you don't want to have standing water around, then a large cooler with frozen water bottles seems to work well also (look in YooperBrew's gallery). Remember, once main fermentation is over temp control isn't as important.

Are your air vents in the floor? Someone on here built a 3-sided box out of foam insulation board and placed it over the vent with the carboy inside (open side of the box down). The box traps the cold air coming from the vent and thus cools the carboy. This will work better in the summer, obviously, than now.

Also, scour craigslist for used refrigerators or freezers. I got mine for less than $100. Controllers are cheap too, like $30 or so.

 

[mr x]

Definitely pitch that yeast in the mid to high 60's.

I've actually let my nottingham hit 82 when I first started brewing, and the beer was fine. It seems to be a pretty tolerant yeast, so even if you are getting moderately high temps, I think your beer will still taste pretty good. Have you tried it?

 

[Trencher]

High fermentation temps work fine for IPAs or Belgian styles. If your current batch gets too much yeast character, just dry-hop it!

That's not always an option of course. I had a similar issue toward the end of last summer and put together a simple cooler for my primary for less than $25.
Pick up the biggest rectangular plastic Rubbermaid-style tub you can find (make sure the primary will fit into it with some extra space) and a sheet of rigid insulation for use under siding. Cut up the insulation and line the bottom and sides of the tub with it - I got 2 layers all around from a single sheet. Drop in the fermenter and a few 2-liter bottles of ice, and wrap the top with an old blanket.

I can keep a fermenting batch at 60 degrees with very little effort, just check the temp a couple times daily and replace ice as needed. Sometimes I'll even rack my wort into the fermenter after boiling/cooling and put it in the chiller overnight to get down to my pitching temp. This contraption has made a wonderful difference in my beers!

 

[9/9]

Okay, so I don't feel quite as bad as I did before.

Next time I will pitch in the mid-60's and try the ice bath option. For that, how much water do you use? How much of the bucket is actually under water? The bottom third?

You all are live savers here.

 

[McKBrew]

McKBrew's ghetto solution:

Get a cardboard box a little larger than your carboy. Line the inside with some cheap styrofoam and add a couple one gallon containers of ice water. Add a small fan to circulate the air. I've used this in the summer and had no problem keeping temp's below 70.

 

[Torchiest]

I second the idea of looking for cheap or free fridges. After six months of looking and a few false starts, SWMBO found a free, full size, in perfect working order fridge which now resides in my garage. It was definitely worth the effort. Check freecycle.org.

 

[bradsul]

Or if you can't have a second fridge for whatever reason, I definitely second the recommendation for a son of fermentation chiller. It made all the difference in the quality of my brews. I use it year round to manage my fermentation temperatures.

 

[idkid]

For that, how much water do you use? How much of the bucket is actually under water? The bottom third?

I recently had the same exact problem when the temp outside started getting higher and the heat was still on (I live in university married housing, unfortunately we don't control heating at all). So I grabbed a big plastic storage container, put my carboy in, and put about two to three inches of water in. My tempt went down to 68 in my carboy and I haven't added anymore water. This has been for about the past 5 days. I was previously around 76-78, so I got it down a good 8-10 degrees. Some people also add a wet shirt to it as well, but in my case it didn't seem necessary.

 

[Blender]

I always thought that this guy had a great idea of cooling his carboy. It might give you some new ideas. >> http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=60288

 

[9/9]

Well, I got home today just in time to avert a major disaster. The airlock was full of krausen and the lid was bending out and ready to pop off. Luckily I got to it and released some of the pressure before it exploded all over the place, and was able to jury rig a blow off tube. The temp is down to 72, which is more in line with the other brews I have done, but this is the most active fermentation I have had, by far.

Hopefully it is not an indication that anything is wrong. We will see, I guess.

 

[DeathBrewer]

+1 for the Son-of-fermentation chiller. Works wonders for me in the summer months..can bring the ambient temp down by about 25*F if needed. haven't really needed it around here during the winter.

 

[9/9]

I always thought that this guy had a great idea of cooling his carboy. It might give you some new ideas. >> http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=60288

That looks like a great idea! I think that the "son of fermentation" may be a bit out of my league, construction-skills wise. My students are going to be away for spring break in a couple of weeks, so maybe I will just that free time to work on building something.

 

[Laurel]

I always thought that this guy had a great idea of cooling his carboy. It might give you some new ideas. >> http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=60288

This is fantastic. I've been wanting to make a lager but have been worried about fermentation temperatures, plus I don't want my beer to get to hot this summer. Luckily, I bought this very same cooler last summer, so I'll make one of these!

 

[fratermus]

I feel about ready to give up on this stuff. We just brewed our fourth batch and have been having a really hard time getting the fermentation temps as low as they should be. The first two brews they were both around 74 degrees. Knowing that is too high, the third brew we wrapped the bucket in a cool, wet t-shirt. It got the bucket down a degree to 73, but wouldn't go any lower.

How about pointing a fan at the wet shirt bucket? Would be cheaper than chilling the whole house.

A giveaway fridge with a controller is, I suspect, going to be the Final Answer (as Regis might say). I finally bit that bullet.

 

[greenleaf]

I live in FL so my house is always warm and almost never below 76 degrees. I cool my wort to 70 degrees and it stays between there and 74 with no major issues. I do tend to select yeast strains that are in the higher and of the temp range though.