warm weather brewing?

[ahaley]

True, but if you only brew a couple of batches of ale per year and only need temperature control for the first 4-5 days per ferment, having an extra fridge doing nothing but taking up space isn't a great option for some folks.

Even just working with the seasonal temperatures I can still brew more than I can possibly drink. My wife doesn't drink, and so what I brew is mainly for my consumption and for gifting/swapping with friends (and I have several friends who homebrew, so I often get more beer back than I can give away).

I've been brewing every 3 weeks to establish a pipeline, but that is faster than I can drink it (though I do make a good effort to keep up ). I have 6 cases of Centennial Blonde ready to drink and another 5 gallons sitting in primary which I'll probably bottle next week. I also have 2 cases of cider, so I have plenty of hot weather beverages to get me through the summer.

I'm probably going to do a stout next week that will be nice and ready for around December. After that I'll probably be done with ale brewing until the fall as it is getting too warm in my equipment room. I have a 5 gallon batch of apfelwein bulk aging now, I'll probably bottle that in another month or so. Later in the summer I am going to do a Winexpert Merlot kit, so at the end of the summer I'll have something like 60+ bottles of wine of various sorts.

SWMBO will be traveling for a few weeks at the end of the summer, so I can bring my primary into the AC'd kitchen and bang out another ale. Later in the fall I can start using my equipment room again for fermenting ales, and I want to attempt a lager or two over the winter when my equipment room gets down in the 50s.

The end tally: A *lot* of good beer being made, no refrigeration needed.

Wow thats pretty good! I dont know if ill have time to brew every 3 weeks! I think for now ill be using a swamp cooler or a bath tub with ice for the low temp yeast, all my buddies here want me to brew just for them! Ive been reading a little on mead recently, how do you guys like it? Is it a summer drink or usually a cold winder drink?

 

[ahaley]

Thank you for your military service! I'm in Houston and I don't think there's hardly any other place muggeyer during the summer than the gulf coast. I've got a couple of old fridges in the garage (I know worst place) one with a temperature controller for my fermenter. Not a huge investment if you have the space but allows you to brew any style anytime consistently.

Dont mention it, I've wanted to enlist since I was about 12 and I dont think id last as a civilian!

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

Ive been reading a little on mead recently, how do you guys like it? Is it a summer drink or usually a cold winder drink?

Mead is good anytime but that takes a while for it to drop clear so you can bottle. When you start getting into ciders and meads the primary ferment gets much longer and slower relative to beers. Definitely try it though.

Check out EdWort's Apfelwein. It is crazy cheap, easy, pretty temperature insensitive, and oh-so-good warm or cold. Be sure to follow the recipe and let it age as long as you can. Let it sit in primary for 2-3 months, then you can bottle it still like a white wine or bottle carbonate it like beer/cider. It is like a dry hard cider, very wine-like, but with 9% ABV. When aged it is really smooth, almost dangerously so.

 

[ahaley]

Mead is good anytime but that takes a while for it to drop clear so you can bottle. When you start getting into ciders and meads the primary ferment gets much longer and slower relative to beers. Definitely try it though.

Check out EdWort's Apfelwein. It is crazy cheap, easy, pretty temperature insensitive, and oh-so-good warm or cold. Be sure to follow the recipe and let it age as long as you can. Let it sit in primary for 2-3 months, then you can bottle it still like a white wine or bottle carbonate it like beer/cider. It is like a dry hard cider, very wine-like, but with 9% ABV. When aged it is really smooth, almost dangerously so.

Ill tty it thanks! My younger brother has been bugging me to make mead cuz of the game skyrim

 

[firerat]

You'd think fridges cost thousands of dollars by this post. Craig's list, $50 to $100, done. Brew what you want year round, anywhere...

I go my mini fridge off Craiglist for $30 and a hand with moving a couch.

I got my chest freezer for $65.

I've seen listings on Craiglist all the time for people willing to pay you to take their old fridge.