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Controlling Fermentatiom Temperature


JohnE9

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As summer is fast approaching and I am about to start my first brew using a recently purchased Coopers DIY Kit, I have noticed it is rather important to keep the fermentation temp as close to 20C as possible.

 

My house is not air conditioned unless you count the afternoon sea breeze and so the temp inside gets over 30C or higher on hot days. [joyful]

 

What are some tips to keep the FV relatively cool? Like draping a wet towel around it or standing it in cold water.

 

All tips graciously sought.[crying]

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Welcome to the forum John!

 

The best method is to get a fridge and an external thermostat like an STC-1000. It is a set and forget system.

 

Otherwise there are a few tips in the FAQs (link below):

 

FAQ - Temp Control

 

Lots of people use these methods. Kelsey/Otto did for a long period of time so he could give you a few tips.

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Thanks Hairy. [happy]

 

Might try the wet towel method with a fan blowing on it. Basic I know but the budget does not run to a dedicated fridge with external thermostat.

 

Will let yous all know the results in a few weeks time.[pouty]

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Before my ST1000 fridge setup I would freeze 3x2L plastic bottles and place them triangularly next to the FV in a bath. Then a damp towel covering them all.

 

I'd use all three bottles on a really hot day, then 1 bottle on an average day.

 

Cheers,

 

Adz

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Mine is dressed in an old t-shirt and sits in a tray of water. T-shirt soaks up water which evaporates and cools the beer. If it starts to get hot I put big blocks of ice either in the tray, on top of the fermenter, or both.

 

If it gets ridiculously hot I also have a $15 water feature pump (from Bunnings) which I can use to keep the t-shirt wet. At the same time I aim a fan at it, hey presto, supercharged evaporative t-shirt Bunnings pump cooling system away!

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The above seem fairly good methods, and clearly the best method is a fridge with temp control device.

However unfortunately not all of us have the finances or space for a second fridge.

So far, as the weather has been warming up I've gotten away with a fairly cheap low tech solution.

I have a 60 litre plastic storage tub which I half fill with water, bung the FV in there and keep an eye on the temp.

If it gets to or above 20c I pop a bottle full of frozen water in there, making sure the temp doesn't get too low. I will let it get as low as maybe 16c (when I forget to check for a while,) but try to make sure the temp doesn't get too much over 20c - preferably keeping it around 18 - 20c.

With this method I've managed to brew some pretty clean tasting Canadian Blonde brews, and have found the sediment settles even better if I get the temps lower still, whilst settling the brew out for a second week.

It doesn't really matter what method you use, so long as it suits your budget, lifestyle (not all of us can sit checking the temp all day), and you can trust that the temp will at least be stable and not permitted to get too warm; that said, some prefer a bit of esters in their beer, in which case brewing at a bit of a warmer temp may suit. As PB2 says, the keys to a good beer are quality ingredients, temp control, and hygiene. All other factors are variables determined by your preferences or skills.

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Thanks Adz, King Ruddager and Beeblebrox for all the inspired ideas. [biggrin]

 

Depending on the FV temp and how hot a day it is, I can play around with all the methods and come up with a hybrid.

 

I am retired, so I can spare the time to sit around and watch the pretty bubbles. [roll]

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Yep, I did indeed use a couple of methods before I removed all the bottles of fermented grape juice from an unused fridge and turned it into a fermentation chamber.

 

One method was to stick the FV in a large saucer filled with water, wrapping a towel around it and tipping cold water over the towel. Sometimes I'd put a fan on it too, and it seemed to work alright, the beers certainly tasted fine.

The other method I used was to stick the FV in one of the laundry tubs and fill it about halfway up the FV with water, then use frozen soft drink or juice bottles to keep the temp down. This worked better than the towel method, however I only had to use it on one brew before converting the fridge.

 

I was lucky that we had a spare fridge sitting around doing nothing though. It definitely is the best method but I understand not everyone can do it this way. Those two abovementioned methods are certainly much better than nothing though. [biggrin]

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