New Product! Cool Brewing Fermentation Cooler

[koch711]

Negative - the top collapses a little. Not a big deal though, doesn't affect anything really. I use a racking cane to prop it up. Keeps a nice cool stable temp with just a few frozen water bottles. Great product for the price.

 

[discokid2k]

well if the only negative is a collapsing top, and the positive is a happy wife....no contest. Wife wins. I will be ordering shortly>

 

[alestateyall]

Here is my review.

I really like the cool brewing bag overall. I have used it twice. The first time I filled the bag with water half way up my carboy. The second time I went with no water inside the bag, just air. It worked well in both cases.

With the water bath method I used less ice. I got the water bath water from an ice bath used when cooling the hot wort after boil. That limited the amount of ice needed on day one in the bag. I think I used 2 2L bottles on day one and then added 1 2L bottle per 24 hours on the following days. I think because the water bath and beer are a big thermal mass the temp holds steady this way and that is why it took less ice. But the water bath method has the annoyance of water which you have to dump at the end.

For the just air case I had to use a lot of ice (3 2L + 5 16.9oz bottles) to get it down to about 62F overnight. Once down there I used 2-3 2L bottles to stay at 64F during heavy fermentation on a 5.5G batch.

I change bottles every 24 hours. I could probably go longer but once per day is easy to remember.

I live in the deep south and my house is at 80F (which sucks for me and the beer). I am am easily able to keep the fermenter in the mid to low 60's with the cool brewing bag with both the water bath and just air methods.

The top of the bag does collapse onto your airlock. It does not put much pressure on the airlock when just sitting there but you do have to be careful when zipping up not to push on the airlock too hard. I did break an airlock. I had an old double bubble type. Those are tall and skinny unlike the 3 piece air locks which seem more short and squat. When I was closing the lid on the cooler I pulled down to get the zipper aligned and broke the air lock. It was an old air lock which had undergone its share off stress being removed from a bung (I always have trouble with that; they stick together too well). I am going to replace the airlock with a 3 piece one. Right now I am using a blow off tube into a 1G bucket of water sitting at the bottom of the bag. That works well since the bag lid presses down on the blow off tube and holds it in place. I may stick with this method and just use an air lock when the fermenter is sitting out of the bag aging beer (I don't cool it after fermentation ends).

Edit: I tried a large a plastic cup over the airlock one day and it easily held the top of the bag up away from the airlock. The day I broke my air lock I was going without the cup. The only issue with using the cup over the airlock was the bubbling was louder due to echoing. My wife didn't like that.

Here's a link to what I mean by double bubble airlock: http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shoppingcart/products/Double-Bubble-Airlock.html

Here is a link to what I mean by 3 piece airlock: http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shoppingcart/products/3%2dPiece-Airlock.html

Another great thing is the bag collapses and is easily stored when not in use.

I also like that the bag blocks out light. My kids leave the light on in the room where I ferment constantly. No more worrying about skunky beer.

Finally when I ordered the bag it shipped very quickly and I got an email with a tracking number without having to ask.

 

[Dolomieu]

I've read a bit of this thread and was wondering if a piece of properly sized pvc pipe slide over the airlock and neck of the carboy would solve the slumping issues. My apologizes if this was already thrown out there. I wasnt able to read the entire thing.

 

[koch711]

That would solve it along with a pop bottle longer with part of both ends cut off.

 

[alestateyall]

I've read a bit of this thread and was wondering if a piece of properly sized pvc pipe slide over the airlock and neck of the carboy would solve the slumping issues. My apologizes if this was already thrown out there. I wasnt able to read the entire thing.

Actually I forgot to mention in my review I used a large plastic cup over the airlock one day and it worked great. The day I broke my air lock I was going without the cup. The only issue with the cup was the bubbling was louder due to echoing. My wife didn't like that.

 

[DonTX]

My last couple batches were off due to high fermentation temps. Just ordered a couple of these last night. Looking forward to using them to help with this Texas heat.

 

[CoolBrewing]

Here is my review.

I really like the cool brewing bag overall. I have used it twice. The first time I filled the bag with water half way up my carboy. The second time I went with no water inside the bag, just air. It worked well in both cases.

With the water bath method I used less ice. I got the water bath water from an ice bath used when cooling the hot wort after boil. That limited the amount of ice needed on day one in the bag. I think I used 2 2L bottles on day one and then added 1 2L bottle per 24 hours on the following days. I think because the water bath and beer are a big thermal mass the temp holds steady this way and that is why it took less ice. But the water bath method has the annoyance of water which you have to dump at the end.

For the just air case I had to use a lot of ice (3 2L + 5 16.9oz bottles) to get it down to about 62F overnight. Once down there I used 2-3 2L bottles to stay at 64F during heavy fermentation on a 5.5G batch.

I change bottles every 24 hours. I could probably go longer but once per day is easy to remember.

I live in the deep south and my house is at 80F (which sucks for me and the beer). I am am easily able to keep the fermenter in the mid to low 60's with the cool brewing bag with both the water bath and just air methods.

The top of the bag does collapse onto your airlock. It does not put much pressure on the airlock when just sitting there but you do have to be careful when zipping up not to push on the airlock too hard. I did break an airlock. I had an old double bubble type. Those are tall and skinny unlike the 3 piece air locks which seem more short and squat. When I was closing the lid on the cooler I pulled down to get the zipper aligned and broke the air lock. It was an old air lock which had undergone its share off stress being removed from a bung (I always have trouble with that; they stick together too well). I am going to replace the airlock with a 3 piece one. Right now I am using a blow off tube into a 1G bucket of water sitting at the bottom of the bag. That works well since the bag lid presses down on the blow off tube and holds it in place. I may stick with this method and just use an air lock when the fermenter is sitting out of the bag aging beer (I don't cool it after fermentation ends).

Edit: I tried a large a plastic cup over the airlock one day and it easily held the top of the bag up away from the airlock. The day I broke my air lock I was going without the cup. The only issue with using the cup over the airlock was the bubbling was louder due to echoing. My wife didn't like that.

Here's a link to what I mean by double bubble airlock: http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shoppingcart/products/Double-Bubble-Airlock.html

Here is a link to what I mean by 3 piece airlock: http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shoppingcart/products/3%2dPiece-Airlock.html

Another great thing is the bag collapses and is easily stored when not in use.

I also like that the bag blocks out light. My kids leave the light on in the room where I ferment constantly. No more worrying about skunky beer.

Finally when I ordered the bag it shipped very quickly and I got an email with a tracking number without having to ask.

Thank you for the very detailed review!

 

[Beer-lord]

My last couple batches were off due to high fermentation temps. Just ordered a couple of these last night. Looking forward to using them to help with this Texas heat.

You won't be disappointed. I actually had to use less frozen packs this morning as my temp was going down to 61 and I want to keep it at 64-65!
It only takes about 12-24 for my 5 gallon bucket to adjust to the temperature. Last week I pitched at 74 and put in 2 ice packs at 3 pm. The next morning the temperature in the bag was 59 and the temp on the bucket thermometer was 66. Not bad at all.
I've now used this for 9 weeks in a row thru 3 batches.

 

[scottvin]

I have a question - due to the heat in the summer I am only able to get my wort chilled to around 85*. If I place this bag in a 68-70* basement, how long will it take to get my wort down to sub-70*?

Thanks!

 

[TheSmithsEra]

I'm wondering how does it keep it cool if you need to use a blow off tube during fermentation?

 

[alestateyall]

I'm wondering how does it keep it cool if you need to use a blow off tube during fermentation?

I have used a blow off tube twice with this bag. I have a one gallon bucket that the LHBS gives when you buy LME. I filled that bucket 3/4th full and placed it in the bag next to the fermenter. Then I connected the blow off tube to the fermenter and stuck the other end down in the water bucket. The lid of the bag holds blow off tube in the water. It was very easy.

Another time I didn't use the bucket but instead filled the bag with water so the fermenter was sitting in a water bath in the bag. Then I just put the blow tube down in that water. This was easy too but I like the method with the small bucket better.

 

[alestateyall]

I have a question - due to the heat in the summer I am only able to get my wort chilled to around 85*. If I place this bag in a 68-70* basement, how long will it take to get my wort down to sub-70*?

Thanks!

It depends on much ice you add. But I would say in less than 24 hours your temp will be in the 60's. With 85F wort you will need more ice. I would try 4 2L bottles first then adjust if that is too much or too little.

Someone else may have a better guess where to start.

 

[timmah84]

Just placed my order last night and already received my tracking number. I was hoping to brew this weekend, but I really would like to test this out, may have to delay that brew session until next. That is, unless I get lucky and it magically shows up by tomorrow!

From the reviews, this will be perfect for me, always opted for the unused bath tub as a make shift swamp cooler. I live in Seattle, where it rarely gets over 80 degrees ambient, and never over 75 in my house.

 

[discokid2k]

Well I ordered mine tonight and already received a tracking#. I plan on testing ASAP, between my travels for work at least. Hopefully by mid-august I will have a kolsch report with the cool-brewing fermentation cooler. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Beer-lord]

I have a question - due to the heat in the summer I am only able to get my wort chilled to around 85*. If I place this bag in a 68-70* basement, how long will it take to get my wort down to sub-70*?

Thanks!

I would suggest you get it down a bit more before you put it in the bag (if possible) Put the fermenter in a bigger bucket with ice water and let it sit for 3-4 hours. That should bring it down to the mid 70's.
As long as it's covered, while you should be ok with 85 degrees overnight, I personally feel better getting it below 80 as soon as possible.

If you make a starter and can get the temp below 75, pitch it and then put it in the bag with some frozen bottles or ice pack.

 

[TheSmithsEra]

I have used a blow off tube twice with this bag. I have a one gallon bucket that the LHBS gives when you buy LME. I filled that bucket 3/4th full and placed it in the bag next to the fermenter. Then I connected the blow off tube to the fermenter and stuck the other end down in the water bucket. The lid of the bag holds blow off tube in the water. It was very easy.

Another time I didn't use the bucket but instead filled the bag with water so the fermenter was sitting in a water bath in the bag. Then I just put the blow tube down in that water. This was easy too but I like the method with the small bucket better.

Nice!!

 

[Beer-lord]

I just ordered my second bag! I reallly need it. I've used one constantly since I've gotten in (more than 9 weeks in a row) and can't do more than 1 beer at a time so I needed a second one. My pipeline is getting low and with 3 taps, it goes much faster than I can make it but this will allow me to do 2 batches at a time and not have to wait the 3 weeks between batches.
I love this thing!

 

[TheSmithsEra]

I just bought one!

 

[LabRatBrewer]

Im in SoCal, with a very warm garage. This hold 65-70 degrees all day with a liter of ice. Very nice drop.

 

[DonTX]

Mine arrived over the weekend. Haven't used it yet, but after reading about the sagging bag, I got an idea. Cost me all of about $3 and 30 minutes of my time (now that I have the dimensions, it can probably be made in about 5-10 minutes). I wanted something a bit more sturdy than just a cut off soda bottle.

I bought 10' of 1/2" inch PVC and 6 elbow joints. Cut four 13" pieces and two 23" pieces. You could just as easily do a square around your carboy, but I was trying to do it with fewer materials, so the triangle worked. You could also reduce the shorter a pieces a bit and still get the same results (I'll probably end up doing this).

Looking forward to using it for the first time this week. I just had to dump a 5 gal bunch because my temps got too high.

 

[Beer-lord]

Nice idea but I'm not put off by the tilting bag at all. And, you can use a plastic cup on top of a pail fermenter if you use one.

 

[alestateyall]

Mine arrived over the weekend. Haven't used it yet, but after reading about the sagging bag, I got an idea. Cost me all of about $3 and 30 minutes of my time (now that I have the dimensions, it can probably be made in about 5-10 minutes). I wanted something a bit more sturdy than just a cut off soda bottle.

I bought 10' of 1/2" inch PVC and 6 elbow joints. Cut four 13" pieces and two 23" pieces. You could just as easily do a square around your carboy, but I was trying to do it with fewer materials, so the triangle worked. You could also reduce the shorter a pieces a bit and still get the same results (I'll probably end up doing this).

Looking forward to using it for the first time this week. I just had to dump a 5 gal bunch because my temps got too high.

Great idea! I bet if you had the dimensions of the PVC pipes when you went to home depot or lowe's they would cut the PVC for you. Then putting it together would take only a few minutes.

 

[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.

Hi, So far the Fermwrap heater is working great with our Cool Brewing Cooler! With my current testing the Fermwrap alone is rising the wort temperature around 20 degrees over the room temperature. When placed in the Cool Brewing Cooler with the Fermwrap it is rising the wort temperature a consistent 40 degrees over the room temperature. The cooler seems to be holding up great so far to the heat! I will follow up in another 2 weeks just to make sure it holds up well to long term heat.

 

[jholen]

Hi, So far the Fermwrap heater is working great with our Cool Brewing Cooler! With my current testing the Fermwrap alone is rising the wort temperature around 20 degrees over the room temperature. When placed in the Cool Brewing Cooler with the Fermwrap it is rising the wort temperature a consistent 40 degrees over the room temperature. The cooler seems to be holding up great so far to the heat! I will follow up in another 2 weeks just to make sure it holds up well to long term heat.

This is pretty cool.

You might see two 10gal rubbermaid coolers hit the HBT classifieds coupled with an order for two of your coolers!

 

[TheSmithsEra]

I just got one in the mail I cannot wait to try it out!!!! So cool!

 

[EvilDeadAsh]

Just ordered one. I discovered this past weekend that I suck at building things with insulation foam. This is what I managed to come up with trying to build my SoF:

Excited to use this instead, should be much easier, and less of a headache

 

[pecochran]

Used my cooler on my current batch. I've just been using a few of those cold packs and am easily keeping temps down where I want them.

On top of that, I ordered another one today, and I had a tracking number from UPS in about two hours. Great product and great service.

 

[TheSmithsEra]

Used my cooler on my current batch. I've just been using a few of those cold packs and am easily keeping temps down where I want them.

On top of that, I ordered another one today, and I had a tracking number from UPS in about two hours. Great product and great service.

I can't wait to use mine. Have to agree about the great service!

 

[CoolBrewing]

Used my cooler on my current batch. I've just been using a few of those cold packs and am easily keeping temps down where I want them.

On top of that, I ordered another one today, and I had a tracking number from UPS in about two hours. Great product and great service.

Thanks for the feedback! We pride our self on shipping as quickly as possible and providing best customer service we can!