Towel to lower fermentation temp

[monstervictor]

Hello community,

I have around 8 brews under my belt and I am pretty happy with the results so far. I have read several times that temp control is one of the most important factors to great beer. Having said that, i did a new batch last saturday and i know that during the first days of fermentation, trmperature can raise ~3 C, 10F or more... I cane out with the idea of hugging my carboy on a wet towel and turn on the fan to see if the temp decreases and have some sort of simple temp control.

Has anyone tried this before? Does it make better beer?

Thanks


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[rodwha]

I have read of people doing this in conjunction with it sitting in a tub of chilled water.

I never used a towel or fan, but I did fill plastic storage bins with water and used 1-2L bottles filled with water and frozen to keep the temps within range. It was a hassle in that I had to rotate bottles every 8-10 hrs or so, which kept me from going out for too long. It also took up way too much room in the freezer as the larger bottles could take over 24 hrs to completely freeze.

I now use a 7 cu ft chest freezer with an STC-1000 controller for ~$200.

 

[m00ps]

Before I got my chest freezer ferm chamber, I would just use a wet t-shirt and stick it under the A/C vent. worked like a charm, it would easily keep it 4-5F cooler during the hot summer months. I re-wetted the shirt maybe 3x per day, espcially overnight. A heavy towel may retain more water, but also may insulate the thing since it's thick. Id go with a t-shirt

But main point: Yes, anything you can do to control fermentation temperatures will make better beer. Its one of the most overlooked points in newer brewers

 

[johngaltsmotor]

Yes a t-shirt wick in a pool of water with a fan is typically called a swamp cooler. As the water evaporates it removes heat from the fermenter inside. It is a cheap way to reduce temperature without the cost of a more complicated system (but not as easy to adjust or control).

 

[dkevinb]

Sure does. Search for "swamp cooler" here. I use them. I currently have 12-gallon rope totes that I put a few inches of water into, then put the fermenter in that and cover the fermenter with an old T-shirt such that the shirt hangs in the water. That will drop the temp a couple of degrees at least. If that's not enough I have a small fan that I point at it to drop it a few more. Finally, you can add more water to the tote and drop in some frozen water bottles. I use 2-liter soda bottles.