anthony Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Hi guys first time brewer here and very excited to be on this forum. today i made my first brew however i could not maintain optimum temperature. my starting temp was 30c i managed to get it down to 26 with a bucket of ice water and a wet towel after 1-2 hours. i know i still need to lower it however im finding very difficult. i have learnt an important lesson, never brew on a hot day. i just wanted to know have i destroyed my first brew ? thanking you in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilboBaggins Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Welcome Anthony. I reckon you will probably hear similar horror stories of 1st time brewing from 90% of the members here. 'Destroyed' would be too harsh of a word to use. Like all of us, you will drink it and you will like it as it's your first brew man! It's not too late to get temps down either. Keep the FV in a tub full of water and freeze loads of water bottles to keep swapping in the water. Plenty of people do this when they start out and have success even in Aussie summers. Good luck mate.[happy] EDIT: My fridge was a free hand me down, my temp controller was $22, and the bits to wire it up were about $15. Look into proper tmep control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 welcome Anthony..mate i made brew rough as all get out but recently founbd this site and have decided to "care" abit more about my brew. first one i pitched since starting back was 32c...i too did the wet towelss etc and got it down to about 24.....ive already drunk it and it was fine.....all good...i do the laundry tub and frozen bottles and it goes well at around 18-22. youll get plenty of good advice on here mate...stick at it youll have plenty of fun and plenty of beer. cheers Nedg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 As above.. try to get the temps down, when it nearly finished let it get warmer and the yeast will try to get rid of as much 'dammage' as they can.. My first brew ever was done in a similar fashion, 30'c (but for most of the ferment) wasnt the best but inspired me to do better.. I belive I do (now) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 Great advise guys thanks for your help. i already wanna get cracking on my second brew. im thinking about a wine fridge that i can set to 20c and keeping it in there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 thank yourself later for it, go for an "all fridge" big as you can get, at least big enough to fit 2 FV's in... you wont need it this week, but you will in a few months.. Gumtree/ebay your ass off for it.. I always kept an eye on fridges that didnt sell and then sent a messege to them offering less than the auction price [rightful] (and got them) ed: my spelling is terrible as Ive been out in the shed... Heres one for Weggl Ive been out in the shed Destroyed my bloody Keg and in the morining Im gunna have a sore head Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 if i do get an all fridge how would i keep the temp up ? dont they only go to 4c? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Get an STC1000 temp controller. There's a couple of threads on here about them. Basically what they do is maintain the temperature by only switching the fridge on for 5 or 10 minutes at a time, and then switching it off again, rather than the fridge being on all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilboBaggins Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Heres one for Weggl Ive been out in the shed Destroyed my bloody Keg and in the morining Im gunna have a sore head [lol] [lol] Is it just me, or is the forum finally taking a turn for the better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 Genius ill be keeping my eye out for them. thanks for the advise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 **Update** first brew is sitting at 22-24c. i can see a lot of residual at the bottom. fermentation might have started but not to sure its been about 6-7 hours. is the residual at the bottom normal ? also the missus wanted me to ask a question. Q. is it normal for a bloke to be drinking in the bathroom with a bottle of scotch watching his brew ??[love] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 That temp is much better. The sediment at the bottom of the FV is totally normal. Most of it will be the cold break. And yes, perfectly normal to stare at your brew with an alcoholic beverage [cool] Most people don't do it in the bathroom though [biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Yes, completely normal, and when you bolt out of bed at 6am to check the temps, also normal... that's why we get the fridges with the controllers [lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 excellent, i guess my next objective is getting a fridge with a contoller, theres no way im risking a brew again with temp. does this mean in winter the wart should be safe in the fridge or will i have to invest in a heating mat? works given me a bonus this year so the missus has given me the AOK to splurge a little bit in this new venture. ive only been asking permission .....i mean talking about it for the past year [roll] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it mate [ninja] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 conclusion day 1. absolutely freaked out temp was to high, after 15-20 min i decided to add the yeast,from what i understand its better to get the yeast in there asap. Manage to get it to 26c after 2 hours with wet towels and fans 5-6 hours later i got it to 22-24. lots of sediment at the bottom but apparently this is normal. will check the brew again tomorrow and possibly remove the collar on Monday. will keep you all posted. once again excellent forum and thanks for all your help. any suggestions feel free to school me. now to explain to the missus im sleeping in the bathroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Anthony...your just gunna fit in here extremely well.[biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 cheers Nedg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 Ok so my brew is sitting at 24 degree. i managed to score a free fridge this morning *bonus* so im off to pick up a controller from the keg king. is it ok to move my brew to the fridge and drop the temp to about 20 ? cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Not a problem. A day at 24 deg will get the yeast working hard, so get ther temp down to 20 deg ASAP and leave it for another 5 or 6 days to finish. Wait another 4 or 5 days for the yeast to clean up a bit and then bottle. ake sure you have the same SG reading 24 hours apart though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 just to add, if fermentation creates its own heat whats a good temp to set the sensor at. im currently brewing the larger that came in the box Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 Not a problem. A day at 24 deg will get the yeast working hard' date=' so get ther temp down to 20 deg ASAP and leave it for another 5 or 6 days to finish. Wait another 4 or 5 days for the yeast to clean up a bit and then bottle. ake sure you have the same SG reading 24 hours apart though. [/quote'] thanks. last night i got it down to 24 it was after 7pm i think. today 22 is slightly blue and 24 is like a dark mustard color. there's heaps of foam from the yeast around the color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Not a problem. A day at 24 deg will get the yeast working hard' date=' so get ther temp down to 20 deg ASAP and leave it for another 5 or 6 days to finish. Wait another 4 or 5 days for the yeast to clean up a bit and then bottle. ake sure you have the same SG reading 24 hours apart though. [/quote'] thanks. last night i got it down to 24 it was after 7pm i think. today 22 is slightly blue and 24 is like a dark mustard color. there's heaps of foam from the yeast around the color. All sounds good and normal Anthony[cool] 18 to 20 is fine mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 Ok, so i set up my fridge with the temp controller and heat band you can check out the photo here my question is will the heat band melt the plastic in the fridge ? for now ive coiled it on the glass at the bottom shelf disconnected. if i hang it it will most likely touch the barrel any ideas or is this ok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guest1525228310 Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 I find the heat circuit is not essential in summer. It will maintain very steady temperature of the liquid with just a cooling circuit. Unless your sensor is in the centre of the liquid mass then you are measuring(and effectively controlling) the surface temperature of the FV which is exposed to the cold air in the fridge. I never use both for most of the year and did some tests with my digital probe in the centre of the liquid and it shows there is significantly less variation in the centre to what is recorded on the surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.