temp control

[OHIOSTEVE]

I just tasted two beers that are exact remakes of some I made a few months back. The ONLY difference ws the use of a swamp cooler to control ferm temps. The differences in the beers is very noticable. Mainly in the smoothness and lack of after taste in them.

 

[pwndabear]

respectively, with and without???

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

the ones fermented at room temp are good but have a little afterbite, not knowledgable enough yet to really describe it. the ones that were temp controlled are smoother and "cleaner" tasting.

 

[Indian_villager]

Sucks to be you. My room stays around 70F so I have no work to do. And my first and (thus far) only brew came out great!

 

[carnevoodoo]

Sucks to be you. My room stays around 70F so I have no work to do. And my first and (thus far) only brew came out great!

If your room is at 70, your beer is getting too warm. The beer will generate 5-10 degrees of its own heat and you'll be well over proper temps. So your beer might have come out great, but you will be able to notice it once you realize what the off flavors are.

 

[arturo7]

Last summer I saw a tub on sale at a party store for 5 bucks.

Had I known how much this simple device would improve my beer I would have gladly paid 20.

 

[dfc]

Get an upright freezer and a thermostat. No more swapping out frozen water bottles.

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

Get an upright freezer and a thermostat. No more swapping out frozen water bottles.

kept it in my bedroom with the AC running constant. I kept the water level even with the beer level and with the t shirts on it and no fan I kept the WATER at 62-63 degrees with no ice.

 

[BmillaTheBrewzilla]

I too have had very good luck keeping my fermentation temps under control with swamp coolers. It is usually 72 to 74 in my apartment, but I can keep my fermenting beer at 64 to 68 no problem. It requires more work during the first three days or so while the fermentation is very exothermic... I need to put in a frozen water bottle or two every 6 to 10 hours.

 

[Hang Glider]

+1 to this whole thing

My beers were noticably better once I paid more attention. I try for 64F in a water bath, so the beer temp is closer to 64F also. When using air, (the cold fridge method or other chamber), you need to get the temps to 60 or less, to accomodate for the temp rise.

 

[impur]

I'm doing my first swamp cooler method currently. I put the ale pale in an 18gal rubbermade bucket filled with water. I'm not adding ice, doing the tshirt, or blowing air at it though. My house temp stays around 70, and I ferment in the bathtub of one of my bathrooms. The temp doesn't get over 68 in there with the door close and exhaust fan running. The temp of the water is 65 so i think i'm good to go. I might try the tshirt and fan on the next batch, i imagine the temp would get down around 60 though. Isn't that getting to low?

 

[Hang Glider]

I've been on a couple of craft-brew tours - the ones I've talked to set their fermenters to 62F - certainly the low range of the yeast - for a reason. Better beer.

Impur - i doubt you'll get down to 60 in a closed off bathroom - unless you seal the door and NEVER peek at your brew. Sounds like you'll probably be at optimal range!

 

[impur]

Thanks. I'll do a test run and see what it gets down to before i go for it.