New brewer question about temperature

[texasgeorge]

Hi all, first post about first beer, and looking for some input.

I have my first batch (German Wheat kit from William's Brewing) in my fermentor as we speak... airlock went nuts after and no apparent activity. The question though, is about the temp in my closet. Because of a medical condition with one of our household members, we have to keep our home above 80 degrees at all times. The temp of the closet is steady at about 77. I have a pan that I've tried to keep cool water in but the ambient temp just heats it up to room temperature in no time... certainly needs more attention than a working man can provide.

What's this going to do to my brew? What are the best options for future brews to try and regulate a lower temp in the future? Any help appreciated.

 

[Brewsmith]

That high a temp can possibly give some off flavors. Is your fermenter glass or a plastic bucket? If it's glass, or plastic without a spigot, keep it surrounded by a water bath and put ice in the water to keep the temp down.

 

[texasgeorge]

Thanks for the quick reply... that's what I was afraid of...

I'm using a plastic bucket with a spigot that I was given. How does that change things? I think that a 5 gal glass secondary is numero uno on my list of things to buy... but that's not this discussion

What would be the ideal setup in my situation... consider a budget concept and an ideal "money is little object" setup.

 

[Brewsmith]

A 6 or 6.5 gallon carboy is the right size for a primary. You need the extra gallon or so of space for the krausen. If you can get one of those, then just get a big rubbermaid tub, one that is about 18 inches deep or more and keep an ice bath around it. If you search this site, you'll probably find a picture or two. Having a bucket with a spigot, I would say keep it in the garage. If that's too cold, use an electric blanket.

 

[Brewsmith]

Or use the same setup with an aquarium heater. There's a recent thread about these.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=7907

 

[El Pistolero]

What are the best options for future brews to try and regulate a lower temp in the future? Any help appreciated.

Get a big rubbermaid tub (~ $7 about Wally World), set the fermenter in it and fill it with water. Fill a few empty one gallon jugs with water and put them in the freezer. Swap an ice block out once every morning and evening...you can easily maintain a relatively stable temp in the 60s this way...even down here in hel...err...Houston.

What would be the ideal setup in my situation... consider a budget concept and an ideal "money is little object" setup.

The above is the budget setup, but if money's not an issue than just buy a used fridge, rip all the shelves out, and use that as your fermentation chiller. You'll need an external temp controller too...around $70 IIRC.

 

[Mudd]

As mentioned, put the fermentor in a large pan of water, cover with towels (one end each towel in the water), put a fan blowing across the wet towels.

This will keep the temps several degrees cooler than amient. The ice will help too!!

Think "SwampCooler".

 

[samuelzero]

That high a temp can possibly give some off flavors. Is your fermenter glass or a plastic bucket? If it's glass, or plastic without a spigot, keep it surrounded by a water bath and put ice in the water to keep the temp down.

Do you think it matters if there is a spigot? I have a bucket that acts as my primary/bottling bucket, and I was considering trying a water bath for my next batch.

It seems to me, that if the level of the water bath is below the level of the wort in the fermenter, that physics would dictate that no liquid from the water bath could get in through the spigot.

Any opinions on this?

 

[texasgeorge]

I've been kinda kicking this idea around myself after the advice... I wonder if you could find a small solid rubber bung to plug up the spigot... or to attach a small piece of a siphon tube and let it hang out of the container outside the water so that no cooling water gets into the spigot. Expert opinions?

 

[Mudd]

Nature abhores a vacuum.
The natural molecular motion will mix them if there is any opening...

Sorry.

The extra siphon tube sounds good.

 

[Mudd]

Courtesy: Given2Fly @ the BrewBoard.

Link to entire thread

Temp control for ferment bucket:

 

[Mudd]

Courtesy: Given2Fly @ the BrewBoard.

Link to entire thread

2 Liter soda bottles filled with water and frozen - Change once a day

 

[The Happy Mug]

I use a big rubbermaid tub, and alternate frozen 1 gal jugs between my freezer and the tub water. I switch them twice a day, and it seems to work well for me. Lately, I've been thinking about making an ice box, like they used in the days before refridgerators. Insulated box just big enough for the carboy and a 1 gallon jug. I think it would keep a more steady temperature.

Edit: Crap, that post above blew my idea out of the water. Mudd got there before me.

 

[budbo]

What are the best options for future brews to try and regulate a lower temp in the future?

get the household member a space heater and turn down the thermostat. is the obvious solution.