my first batch of brew is in my fermenter sitting on my kitchen counter. over he last week and a half i have watched my temp go from 68 to 72 almost every day. is this ok? the weather is crazy around here, last week it was in the 40's and now its in the 80's again.... how do you guys deal with rising and falling temps without moving the bucket every ten seconds and without building a 300 dollar climate controlled area? I do have an old window ac unit and i can afford a 20 dollar space heater,,but the wife will kill me if i spend more than 50 bucks on this stuff....any ideas? or are there more forgiving beers that i can brew? I would LOVE to not have much in the way of mechanical "life support" KISS is my moto......
tempetaure whoes
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You might be a little high in the temperature range as it is, depending on the style of beer / yeast you've got going.
More consistent ferm. temps on the cheap? Swamp cooler. You probably already have everything you need. Rubbermaid container, put cool water in there with your fermenter, some people then cover it in a wet t-shirt or towel, then start switching frozen water bottles out a couple times per day. I've seen someone on here say they did it for about 12 bucks.
More consistent ferm. temps on the cheap? Swamp cooler. You probably already have everything you need. Rubbermaid container, put cool water in there with your fermenter, some people then cover it in a wet t-shirt or towel, then start switching frozen water bottles out a couple times per day. I've seen someone on here say they did it for about 12 bucks.
Just setting it in a water bath is fine of your average temp is near your target fermentation temp and the minimum and maximum aren't far apart. All that added mass means much slower (if any) temperature swings. Honestly, if your ambient temp is just going from 68F to 70F, I doubt your 5 gallon batch is much affected.
Elweydoloco
Well-Known Member
Yes sir you've got some solutions.
As far as the temperature fluctuation as long as it's less than 20 degrees in a day it won't shock your yeast. Even then if it's a slow gradual move, it won't be that bad. Your difference is between day and night so you're fine.
Yeast fermenting at higher temperatures give off flavors in your beer. So you want to avoid it somewhat. However it still makes perfectly good tasting beer in my opinion it will still be better than most the crap at the stores.
You can search the forums for what most call a "swamp cooler".
Essentially a trash can filled with ice water and a box fan on top to keep the air circulating. This will hold you relatively constant and will get in the under $50 range.
As far as more forgiving brews, Steam Beer is an ale brewed with lager yeast at higher temperatures.
Ale yeast forms on top lager yeast forms on the bottom.
Rather than me type everything here's a good synopsis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_beer
As far as the temperature fluctuation as long as it's less than 20 degrees in a day it won't shock your yeast. Even then if it's a slow gradual move, it won't be that bad. Your difference is between day and night so you're fine.
Yeast fermenting at higher temperatures give off flavors in your beer. So you want to avoid it somewhat. However it still makes perfectly good tasting beer in my opinion it will still be better than most the crap at the stores.
You can search the forums for what most call a "swamp cooler".
Essentially a trash can filled with ice water and a box fan on top to keep the air circulating. This will hold you relatively constant and will get in the under $50 range.
As far as more forgiving brews, Steam Beer is an ale brewed with lager yeast at higher temperatures.
Ale yeast forms on top lager yeast forms on the bottom.
Rather than me type everything here's a good synopsis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_beer
cimirie
Well-Known Member
spam said:
I never thought temp control was nearly as big a deal as some brewers made it out to be. I made some good beer keeping temps in the low 70s in the cooler parts of my house. Now that I have a ferm chamber, there's a huge difference.
Swamp coolers, as suggested above, can be very effective. The downside is that you have to have the ability to change out the frozen bottles several times a day.
You said you have access to a window AC unit. Can you dedicate it to brewing? I had an extra. Using styrofoam insulation and liquid nails, I built a ferm chamber that holds 2 carboys or buckets and a small bucket I can use as a blowoff bucket. I also purchased a clear plastic fluorescent light cover. I cut that up and duct taped together the plastic to form a cooling duct and affixed it to the ac unit over the cold air out vents. I cut out a section of styrofoam and inserted my cooling duct. I control the whole thing with a temp controller. If you have the ac unit, the materials will run you about $40 and the controller about $50-60.
I know you said your wife will tap you out at $50, but another 40-50 will give you a reliable set-and-forget method of ferm temp control that will drastically improve your beer.
I use a Sterilite 66 QT storage container for my swamp cooler. I think it was about $16. It holds 2 carboys. I cut holes in the top for the necks of the carboys. I wrapped the outside with bubble wrap from my incoming shipping boxes and covered that with towels. Mid summer I changed the ice bottles, usually 2 at a time in the morning, evening and before going to bed. Now it's one bottle once or maybe twice in 24 hours.
great ideas all! thanks! In the winter my basement will be at about 50-60f for 8 months maybe a swamp cooler/tub with a cheap aquarium heater would work for the cold months? and frozen water bottles for warmer months?
