New Product! Cool Brewing Fermentation Cooler

[CoolBrewing]

I overdid the freee packs last night. I put about 5 small ones in. This morning, the air temp inside the closed bag was 59! and my house temp is 78. I figure the temp inside the fermenter is about 68. Once it adjusts for a day, I'll just use 2.
So far, I'm happy.

Hi,
Good to hear!

Just for reference I have used 2-liter, 1-liter soft drink bottles (Pepsi and Coca Cola) and even 1 gallon water jug bottles. I have not had issues with the soft drink bottles cracking. I have them ¾ of the way full and I squeeze some of the air out before I freeze them.

Cheers,

 

[Burnmyiz]

Glad this is getting such good reviews, definitely looking forward to owning one of these.

 

[Beer-lord]

When I go home I'm going to take a quick temp reading of the difference between the ambient temps inside the bag and the actual beer temp.
My problems in the summer are that even with a wort chiller, my tap is about 80 so I need to get it to 80, then rack to the primary. I then have to take the primary and put it in a swamp cooler with ice water for about2-3 hours to bring that down to 70-75. Once it's there, I pitch the yeast, let it begin active fermentation then move it to the bag.
For me, using the bag right away does not lower the temps quickly enough for me to pitch and I'd rather not wait 12-18 hours for the bag temps to lower the primary temps and then pitch.

Southern living!

 

[alestateyall]

I live in the deep south. To cool my wort I use an ice bath and a wort chiller. The wort chiller brings it down to about 80-90F. The ice bath gets it to 70-75F.

I do the wort chiller and ice bath at the same time out side. I set my 10G pot in a 20G plastic tub from Walmart. I fill the plastic tub with ice I save over a few days before brewing.

I stir the wort while chilling with a sterilized 20" stainless spoon I leave in the wort while boiling. That speeds the process.

I can cool to 70-75F in less than 30 minutes on a hot day in Mississippi.

 

[zmurda]

I live in houston and the plate chiller only gets it down to 79 bc of the ground water. The last one i brewed i just threw in the bag and in less then 8 hrs got it down to 72. Then less then 24 hrs and it was down to 64. Fermentation started and it was fine.

 

[zmurda]

I live in houston and the plate chiller only gets it down to 79 bc of the ground water. The last one i brewed i just threw in the bag and in less then 8 hrs got it down to 72. Then less then 24 hrs and it was down to 64. Fermentation started and it was fine.

Its now sitting at a cool 66 during fermentation. U just have to watch it closely and change the bottles every 12 hrs. To start put like 4 1 liters in there. Then watch it all the time u can

 

[zmurda]

also i have noticed that fermentation now takes a lil longer in the bag and the smell is different from what im used to. i guess the yeast are happier with the lower temps and arent under any stress due to high temps.

 

[Coff]

I am very interested Has anyone tried to use one of those Curtec 15 gallon fermenters in this thing?

They are about 20.5x16.5 inches (HxD)

Mr. Cool-Brewing, any idea if the dimensions of my fermenter will fit in the cooler?

...with adequate room for water bottles of course.

 

[CoolBrewing]

Mr. Cool-Brewing, any idea if the dimensions of my fermenter will fit in the cooler?

...with adequate room for water bottles of course.

Hi,

Thanks for the question, Going by your measurements I would say it would be tight.

Please see attached for the breakdown.

You have plenty of height for an airlock however I am concerned about the diameter.

A typical Aquafina 1-liter bottle has a 3” diameter. You would only have 2.5” clearance all the way around the fermenter or up to 5” on one side depending how you position it. It will fit a few bottles however you don’t have enough clearance to distribute them evenly around the fermenter.

In summary the fermenter will fit but you won’t have much room for extra bottles.

 

[Beer-lord]

1 full week in and after a few days, I'm not even using the same amount of frozen bottles/packs to keep the fermenter to 64 in a 78 degree house. There is now only 1 degree difference between the beer temp and the inside of the bag.
I'm extremely pleased. I want another one but am tight on money now but maybe I'll win one in the giveaway. It's hot here 7 months of the year.

 

[CoolBrewing]

1 full week in and after a few days, I'm not even using the same amount of frozen bottles/packs to keep the fermenter to 64 in a 78 degree house. There is now only 1 degree difference between the beer temp and the inside of the bag.
I'm extremely pleased. I want another one but am tight on money now but maybe I'll win one in the giveaway. It's hot here 7 months of the year.

Thanks for the feedback! I’m glad it’s working well for you!

 

[Coff]

Hi,

Thanks for the question, Going by your measurements I would say it would be tight.

Thanks for the response, I'll think it over. If I end up buying it I'll certainly let you know how it worked out since I know alot of people sue these.

 

[brewer_sam]

Just started fermenting a bavarian hefeweizen in this cool brewing fermenter. I will keep you posted on the results I have with it. I have 2 2L and 1 1L frozen sitting in there.

 

[brewer_sam]

So far so good. I might actually have to pull some frozen bottles out. My apartment stays at around 78-79F. The fermometer that is on the fermenting bucket is reading 61-63. And since the ice is thawing in air and not in water they last much much longer for me.

 

[Beer-lord]

So far so good. I might actually have to pull some frozen bottles out. My apartment stays at around 78-79F. The fermometer that is on the fermenting bucket is reading 61-63. And since the ice is thawing in air and not in water they last much much longer for me.

I find myself having to do this every 2 days or so. I've been from 61-64 non stop depending on whether I use 2 or 4 reuseable ice packs. I use the blue ice thingy's from K-mart....I have 2 large and 6 small and started with 1 large and 3 small but now mostly use 1 large and 2 small to keep in the 61-64 range.
My stick on thermometer (can't swear it's accurate) says the fermenter is 62 and my ambient temp is 63-64. For me, it's the only reason I'll be brewing 5 gallon batches in the summer which is way cheaper than my 2 & 2.5 mini mashes. I am very happy with this great and simple idea (but I've already said that so many times already).

 

[brewer_sam]

Me too, I'm already very satisfied with this product. Getting consistent temps without all of the fluctuations that I used to have should result in better tasting beer. And in the end, it's all about better tasting beer!

 

[alestateyall]

Does anyone have a good solution for the bag sagging? Mine sags bad.

My sagging solution, which I don't like is using a large blow off tube instead of an air lock. The weight of the cooler lid doesn't hurt the blow off tube. Problem is a I have about 5 gallons of water in the bottom of the bag so the end of the blow off tube is in water. My carboy is also sitting in the water. It works well but I am worried about mildew inside the bag over time.

Temp control works great. Holding 66-67F with one 2-liter bottle of ice added ever 12 hours. 77-80F ambient temp.

 

[koch711]

My solution, although not perfect, is to use a racking cane to prop it up. The sagging is my only complaint, but I guess that's what happens with the ability to compress and store it easily.

 

[alestateyall]

My solution, although not perfect, is to use a racking cane to prop it up. The sagging is my only complaint, but I guess that's what happens with the ability to compress and store it easily.

Yeah. I have no major issue with the sagging. I just want a good work around. I am planning to by some small wood planks at Lowes cut them to the right height. Or maybe cut an old broom stick.

 

[dcott]

Finally got around to trying mine. Works GREAT!!

Kolsch is actively fermenting in the basement at 55F with two 1gal jugs of ice.

 

[CoolBrewing]

Finally got around to trying mine. Works GREAT!!

Kolsch is actively fermenting in the basement at 55F with two 1gal jugs of ice.

Thank you for the feedback!

 

[brewer_sam]

Over a week in and I'm so glad that I switched to using this product. Temps have been extremely consistent in the low to mid 60s when the outside ambient temp was 78-79F. Great product, and not having to have to monitor a swamp cooler is very nice.

 

[Silverbullet]

Very interested in buying a few of these but would like a decent workaround for the sagging. Don't want it hitting/blocking the top of the airlock....

 

[Burnmyiz]

Had anyone tried a 1 or 2 liter bottle with both ends cut off, over the air lock sitting on top of the carboy? I'm not sure how heavy the material is but it could be an option

 

[alestateyall]

Had anyone tried a 1 or 2 liter bottle with both ends cut off, over the air lock sitting on top of the carboy? I'm not sure how heavy the material is but it could be an option

Great idea!

 

[CoolBrewing]

Had anyone tried a 1 or 2 liter bottle with both ends cut off, over the air lock sitting on top of the carboy? I'm not sure how heavy the material is but it could be an option

Thanks for the feedback everyone! This is a good idea for those who don’t want the top resting on the airlock.

We did our testing with the cooler top resting on the airlock with multiple brews both in a carboy and fermentation bucket with no issues. The lid is not heavy or tight enough to block the airlock from working correctly.

Cheers!

 

[Beer-lord]

I've done 1 batch with a blow tube and have 1 now with the airlock and have the cover zipped and it's not tight at all. If you wanted to, you can just sit a cup next to the airlock that is higher than the airlock and would give it a tad bid of headroom. I don't find it needed.

 

[h22lude]

2.) We will work on testing with Fermwrap and heating pads and report back!

Any word on these tests? I would like to know as well. I have big temp swings from winter to summer where I live so I need a product that can keep the beer cold in the summer and warm in the winter.

 

[CoolBrewing]

Any word on these tests? I would like to know as well. I have big temp swings from winter to summer where I live so I need a product that can keep the beer cold in the summer and warm in the winter.

Thanks for the question! I should have an answer on this within a few weeks. I will keep you posted!
Cheers

 

[discokid2k]

Hi, Good questions!

1.) You should be able to easily cold crash in a 62 degree basement. This would require about a 20-25 degree drop from the ambient temperature.

Please see these testing results in a 80-85 degree room. There was no problem keeping temps 20-25 degrees colder than the ambient temp.

This was a 5 gallon batch in a 6.5 gallon plastic fermenter. This batch had 2x 2 liters and 2x to 4x 20oz changed every 24 hours. The wort was a little too chilled to begin with so ice was not added until 48 hours on Saturday

2.) We will work on testing with Fermwrap and heating pads and report back!

So I am planning on ordering but does anyone have any negative feedback? There is no similar item on the market and the wife will kill me if I have another swamp cooler in the house. I too, live in TX and need a solution for the heat. Seems most are happy so I am sure I will be satisfied. What is the life expectancy of this product?