Warm weather-friendly beers?

[Boriasm]

Just got started on the hobby and enjoying so far. Have my first 1 gal batch in the fermenter now and have been monitoring the water temps in my swamp regularly. In the current weather of mid to high 60s/low 70s outside, my swamp has never gone above 70 even being away from the house for 12ish hours (work two jobs and have no way to monitor temps while I'm gone so I don't know how much it fluctuates while I'm away). But the temps are going to start rising and soon and that brings me to my question:
What beers will be forgiving in the warm temps? I'm not a fan of hefes or saisons. I like porters, browns and reds. I want to experiment with IPAs and double IPAs and I'm afraid ruining these kits in a high temp fermenting environment will turn me off of continuing the hobby. Or at least waiting until the cooler months of fall and missing out on months of home-brewed deliciousness.

Summers here in NYC are hot and humid and my small apartment doesn't have room for a spare mini fridge or really any additional cooling beyond my little swamp (or at least, no cooling methods that I know of).

Suggestions?


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[rodwha]

Belgians.

 

[thrashandburn]

Saison. I'd also like to point this out http://home.roadrunner.com/~brewbeer/chiller/chiller.PDF I don't know if you've seen this before but the link has plans for a relatively cheap and easy to build fermentation chamber that uses frozen water jugs to keep the temperature low and doesn't take up much space.

 

[jhoneycutt]

Can't really help you with summer friendly beer styles but I can tell you summers here in Alabama are much hotter and more humid than nyc. Lol.

 

[Hello]

Look into a Cool Bag. About $60 and folds up when not in use.

https://www.cool-brewing.com

 

[brewkinger]

Since you stated that you do not like hefes and saisons, mentioning that these are 2 styles which benefit from higher temps seems pointless.

Browns, reds and dark beers are all going to benefit from lower temps, unless you desire a specific yeast induced flavor.

My suggestion(s):
Stick to Nottingham yeast and a swamp cooler to keep your temps in the low to mid 60s, which it sounds like you can.
OR
Make a saison or hefeweizen. I think you are missing out on some delicious varieties.


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[Boriasm]

Saison. I'd also like to point this out http://home.roadrunner.com/~brewbeer/chiller/chiller.PDF I don't know if you've seen this before but the link has plans for a relatively cheap and easy to build fermentation chamber that uses frozen water jugs to keep the temperature low and doesn't take up much space.

This looks genius! I'll have to look into the viability of building one and see if it won't take up too much space in my apt. Lots of construction going on and I think I might be able to scrounge up the appropriate pieces on the cheap.

I've seen the cooler bag but I don't know if I'm ready to buy such a dedicated piece of equipment at that price. One of the things I'm okay with about the money put into this new hobby is I can pretty much reuse everything around the house if I find I don't like it.

RE: Alabama, that's where I went to college (Auburn, war eagle) so I completely hear where you're coming from!

And I guess I can give the hefes and saisons a shot. Maybe I'll like my home brews better than the stuff they serve at the bars. Can't hurt! Thanks for all the advice folks.



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[rodwha]

I typically don't like saisons (farmhouse ales) either, but have had maybe 2 that were pretty good.

I greatly detest bubblegum or banana flavors in my beer, and doubt I'd care for a sour.

Some of the Belgian yeasts don't give those flavors though. Maybe T-58 might be of use to you. I have a pack, but haven't used it yet. Thinking of a Belgian golden strong or pale