New to the northwest

[sirbrewsalittle]

I just moved here from Colorado, and I have a question for the local brewers. How do you brew durning the summer months with no A/C to keep the beer in the right temp for fermentation? Do you guys use a spare fridge or something? Thanks for any info on this.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

Hey, sorry to take so long to respond. Welcome to WA!
If you have no AC you must be on the west side of the state. I am too (in Tacoma), and since I ferment in an unheated garage, I ferment in a fridge and a chest freezer year around. Before I used temp control, I had a basement and would ferment at ambient air temp. It worked, bit my beer improved exponentially when I dialed in fermentation temps.

Where are you at, and where can you ferment?

 

[acidrain]

No matter where you live, a dedicated fermentation chamber will improve your beer a lot.
I picked up a nice Gatorade display fridge off Craigslist for $125. Added an ST1000 off ebay and have a pretty nice display worthy fermentation chamber.
On the other hand, you can find used fridges for free on Craigslist if you're willing to travel with a pickup truck. May not be display worthy, but will do the job.

 

[wilcode190]

Until you get some control. You can set it on your garage floor even in the summer the cement stay's relatively cool. Or during the winter just find the coolest closet you have.

 

[Upthewazzu]

The "Northwest" is a pretty big area that, contrary to popular belief, extends beyond Portland and Seattle! Whereabouts are you located, that may help us with recommendations.

I'm on the dry side of WA, but close enough to Idaho that it doesn't get outrageously hot here (upper 80's, lower 90's mostly). I mostly avoid summer brewing, but if I do I try to brew something where I can take advantage of the warmth. I used my crawlspace to ferment a Kolsch in the upper 50's, and my "man room" space to ferment a Hefe in the mid-70's. I do my usual IPA's and pale ales in the spring and fall when the ambient temp of my man room is in the low 60's. My philosophy is less about controlling temp and more about adapting it to certain styles.

 

[sirbrewsalittle]

Sorry I didn't specify where I was. I'm right out side of Tacoma. I don't have a spare fridge or anything like that. Thanks for the info, I'm looking forward to starting brewing again.

 

[gowheelin]

I have a garage on north side of house. Concrete floor. Pretty constant temps.