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For those of us without proper temperature control ...


King Ruddager

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It really comes down to personal preference king; originally I used to just go with ambient indoor temps, and that was fine initially; I got some esters, and the brew would ferment quickly and that was fine with me for a while.

 

Last summer some of my brews got to maybe 27c - which at first puzzled me as the room was not that hot, but of course the fermentation process adds warmth.

 

Nowadays I try to keep my brews at about 18 - 22c, and simply use a 60 litre plastic tub on wheels, which you can get cheaply.

I half fill it with water watch the stick on thermometer, and pop in a frozen water bottle if I see it getting to or past 22c.

 

For my mind anything over about 24 will give you some esters, but if you just want to make sure you don't ruin your beer, consistent and under 25c should be okay, remembering that 1) the fermenting process will mean the wort is warmer than the ambient temp if not chilled somehow 2) it's preferable for a slow change in temp so as not to impede the ferment. 3) any form of temp control is better than none.

4) acting before the temp gets too high is better than acting after, as you can't undo what gets done once it's happened.

 

I'd say from my limited experience, you can get away with little or no temp control in the cooler months, but from early spring onwards you at least want some sort of buffer to stop your brew getting too warm; warming up in winter is slow, but in Summer it can heat up pretty quickly, and it seems of the days this spring already have felt like summer!

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