Swamp cooling

[lylo]

I have a rather unique(I think)problem.My brewery is in my mechanical room which houses my furnace and in floor heat boiler.It is in the winter that I have a problem keeping my fermentation temps down as the furnace and boiler run alot more.
I have started putting my fermentor into a large container of water and add ice regularly to keep my temp around 68 degrees.
My question is:how long do I do this for?My last batch started off vigorously about 4 hrs after pitching,however 10 days later it is still bubbling!Should I be ramping the temp up?If I don't add ice it settles in around 74 degrees.

 

[audger]

that highly depends on the yeast strain, and what the temperature increase would do to the flavor.

if you are trying to get a particular recipe or flavor profile down, the temperature should remain constant right up until fermentation ends (completely). also any temperature fluctuation, either up or down, is not good for the beer in general, so as little variation as possible is best.

if you have to ferment around 74, you could shop around for yeast strains that would both work at a higher temperature and that goes with your particular beer style.

its also very possible that varying the temperature in that way would produce a flavor profile that you enjoy. just one more variable to try.

 

[paraordnance]

I usually trying to maintain temp of water in a tub with a frozen bottles where my fermenting carboy submerged for at least a week, some yeast (Kolsch) little longer. After that I just let it rump up naturally. But my ambient in fermenting room right now is around 68F

 

[bknifefight]

Most yeasts throw the majority of off flavors in the first few days of fermentation. Depending on the yeast, you'd probably be fine to stop cooling the carboy after a week.

 

[smokewater]

Use a cooler to hold the water and you won't need to add ice as often.

 

[arturo7]

It's not a swamp cooler unless you're using evaporative cooling.

 

[lylo]

Oh yeah I also have an old Oilers tee shirt wrapped around it and wicking water up.

 

[duffman2]

Oh yeah I also have an old Oilers tee shirt wrapped around it and wicking water up.

That's a pretty harsh way to treat a classic football shirt!! Luv ya blue deserves a good spot in the regular rotation of your wardrobe for sure.

Oh, wait a minute. You're talking about hockey! Carry on then

 

[BigTerp]

I usually keep mine at fermenting temps for at least 2-3 weeks. I then allow the water bath to slowly rise to room temp for the remainder of time, 1-2 weeks.