How to keep bottles cool

[BearsWickedBrew]

The wet wicking tshirt trick has worked wonders for keeping the temperature of my Ale Pail below 70º. This comming Sunday, my american wheat will hit the 2 week mark, and I am planning on bottling shortly thereafter.

I was wondering how other people deal with bottle conditioning during the summer months. Does anybody have any tricks that I could use in a 80-85º apartment?

 

[DuffmanAK]

If you have centeral air, I saw someone once bought some of that 1-2inch thick insulating board, and built a small box ontop of an AC vent. He used it to keep his fermentor cool, but I'm sure the same could be used for bottles.

Another option could be to fill a cooler with water/ice and then put the bottles in. Though, being that they'll float/move around you would need to let them sit upright somewhere for a while to clear/settle.

 

[carnevoodoo]

You could always just get a big cooler and moderate the temps in there with ice. No water needed if the cooler is big enough.

 

[Grinder12000]

The first question is why would you have the AC on 80-85.

Good idea with #2 but can you fit 48 bottles in one cooler??

I have a Sub Zero refrig but the warmest it gets is 45. hmmmmmm

 

[BearsWickedBrew]

The first question is why would you have the AC on 80-85.

Good idea with #2 but can you fit 48 bottles in one cooler??

I have a Sub Zero refrig but the warmest it gets is 45. hmmmmmm

Well thats the thing...this 80º-85º is sort of a worst case scenario. I've been cranking my Window Unit AC during this week and a 1/2 so far of fermentation (in addition to tshirt trick). My electricity bill will be through the roof if I continue this for an additional 3 weeks of bottle conditioning.

 

[Revvy]

Temp control isn't (that) crucial during bottle conditioning, at least not as much as it is during the initial stages of primary fermentation.

But a couple options if you want to do it...Some people on here store their bottles in plastic milk crates...you could consider doing a water bath and setting the milk crate in there.

If you are handy, you could get some of that corrigated plastic garage and campaign yard sign material, then take apart a cardboard sixer pack, and build a bunch of them and store those in a water bath (like the rubbermade bin I use to keep my carboys cool with the ole t-shirt method.)

 

[carnevoodoo]

Even a big rubbermaid bin would work. I have a couple of coolers that would easily hold 48 bottles in 24 pack boxes, but I understand that not everyone has that or the room.

A rubbermaid bin with a 2 liter bottle of ice just hanging out in there will likely drop the temps a few degrees and keep them there.

But the previous poster is right. Temp is less of a concern at this stage.

 

[Jordan Wilson]

My solution was to build a box out of styrofoam insulation (available at home depot). A little caulk along the edges, and I have a box big enough to hold four cases of beer that fits in my closet. My apartment is hitting the 85 and even 90 degree mark this summer, but I can keep the inside of the box at 70 - 75 by simply swapping out a frozen water bottle once or twice a day.

Of course, this involves several hours to devote to the project of building it, and as has been mentioned before, temp control is not as important at this stage as it is during fermentation. So whether it's worth the time and $20 - $30 is a matter of preference.

 

[adx]

You shouldn't really have to worry about the bottles. Just keep them near the output of the AC and it'll be OK. The time to worry about temperature is during active fermentation.