Maintaining Fermentation temps

[sking]

Hi all,

I'm going to be brewing my first all grain batch this weekend...if I get everything in order.

After my boil, and once I have cooled the batch with an immersion chiller, how do you keep the fermentor at the desired temps? Especially curious since this will be done in my basement which is extremely drafty and cold.

Thanks!
Shenton

 

[cfonnes]

How Cold?

In the summer the basement room that I ferment in is 66 - 68

In the winter I open the door to the room to let some heat in, it stays between 64 - 66.

You may have to due something about the drafts, so that the temps will be the same during the night and the day.

 

[Yooper]

If it's below 62 degrees, it may be hard to ferment ales without some help. I have a cooler that my fermenter fits in, and I use a water bath around it with an aquarium heater to keep it at my desired temperature.

I like to ferment ales (the actual fermenting beer temperature, NOT the room temperature) at about 62-65 degrees, depending on which yeast strain I'm using. Some a bit lower, some a bit warmer.

You should have a stick-on thermometer on the outside of the the fermenter, because the room temperature is often different than the the actual fermenting temperature since fermentation produces heat. In the winter, when it's cooler, there isn't a huge temperature difference, but I've seen the beer up to 10 degrees warmer than the room in the summer!