Danny Boy Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 I just bought the Coopers DIY kit....I want to start brewing as soon as possible. Problem: my garage temperature right now (and for the coming week) is forecast for around 80 - 85 degrees F.....(32 - 34 C) ....too hot to try it? Any help appreciated... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 Way too hot. Although it's not quite in the low 30s celcius, it's more like 27-29C. Assuming you are using ale yeast, you will need to cool the brew down to around probably 23-24C at the most, to have any hope of producing something drinkable. Optimum temperature would be 18-20C. Options include a wet towel and fan blowing on it, putting the fermenter in a tub of water and using frozen bottles of water/freezer blocks to keep the temp down, ghetto style cooling boxes, or the best and easiest method being a temperature controlled fridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil2803 Posted September 24, 2016 Share Posted September 24, 2016 Found this on ebay. Has a cooling and heating function but only the one relay. Looks like a bargain for around $30 http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/AC-240V-Digital-Thermostat-Control-Temperature-Controller-Switch-Relay-Sensor-/271869105763?hash=item3f4ca95663:g:BR8AAOSwDNdVjBiV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie49 Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 Found this on ebay. Has a cooling and heating function but only the one relay. Looks like a bargain for around $30 http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/AC-240V-Digital-Thermostat-Control-Temperature-Controller-Switch-Relay-Sensor-/271869105763?hash=item3f4ca95663:g:BR8AAOSwDNdVjBiV Hi, I saw this a while ago. Only downside is you can't have both cooling and heating connected at the same time, which certainly is not a problem here in Sydney, thanks to the exothermic properties of fermenting beer. Also, I haven't seen anyone on this forum review it. The price is good, and if I needed one, I'd try it at least (and post a review for us all to share). Cookie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karstiron Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 Just wondering what/how/details everybody is using to control FV fridge temps... Until last night...nothing. . Now I have a wired STC-1000 to control my Gumtree special Kelvinator all-fridge. Happy days! Oh' date=' and just set it to 17.8 (+- 0.5) with a 5 min compressor delay. It's happily working away bringing the amber ale I made yesterday down to 18 degrees. My first ever temperature controlled brew! [img']biggrin[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gag Halfrunt Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 I finally have a brew fridge an am currently fermenting a pale ale in it. The only problem is I dont yet have heating function wired in (I didn't think it would be a problem as we are coming into spring). I can only monitor my temp at the moment but not control it. My beer is now down to 15.5c is this too cool for the yeast? Im worried it may stall. What is the minimum temp it will still thrive at? (Coopers kit yeast btw) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristinaS1 Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 What day of fermentation are you on? During the first three days the yeast tend to create a bit of their own heat.... That is pretty cool for Cooper dry yeast, and most other ale yeast as well. Could result in sluggish fermentation or the yeast going dormant. Try warming it up to 18C, or at least get it above 16C. Cheers, Christina. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 What sort of day time temps are you getting where you are? You could open the fridge during the day to warm it up and then close it at night to keep the heat in. I use this method a fair bit in winter when warming lagers up to D-rest temps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karstiron Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 Hi all, Not wanting to hijack this thread, but my questions are related to temperature control. So now I finally have temp control with a dedicated brew fridge and STC 1000 controller. As a total newb to temperature controlled brewing I have a question to the experienced… I made a brew over the weekend, an all-grain late-hopped amber ale. I did a cube no-chill overnight and on Sunday morning, transferred it into the FV and pitched it with rehydrated US-05. The wort was about 24 degrees when I pitched it. I left it for about 3 hours before transferring it into my temp-controlled brew fridge where it got down to 18 in about 2 hours and now sits at 18 degrees, thanks to my STC. Question is, what is the ideal temp to pitch? For example, should I pitch at mid/low 20s and then leave it for a day or a few hours, or cool the wort and pitch at 18? There may not be much in it, but I kind of figured the yeast would get a quicker start with a warmer wort, even if only for a few hours. What do others do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 Generally I pitch at whatever temp the wort is sitting at and then stick it straight in the fridge to bring it down to 18C or whatever I'm fermenting it at. If I have room in the brew fridge, I stick the cube in it for a few hours beforehand to bring it down closer to my intended ferment temp. I don't see much value in pitching warm and leaving it up there, because the yeast will start throwing funky flavours if it's not brought down early enough. I'm led to believe that these flavours can begin to form even as early as the lag phase. My process is basically tip the cube into the FV, pitch the yeast, stick the FV in the fridge, tape the STC temp probe to the side of the FV about halfway up insulated underneath some packing foam, set the STC to desired ferment temp with a differential of 0.3C, then close the door and let it do its thing. When the SG gets to a certain point I raise the temp by a few degrees and leave it there until a few days post reaching FG, then it gets crashed to 0C for a week or two weeks depending on if it's ale or lager. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karstiron Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 Generally I pitch at whatever temp the wort is sitting at and then stick it straight in the fridge to bring it down to 18C or whatever I'm fermenting it at. If I have room in the brew fridge' date=' I stick the cube in it for a few hours beforehand to bring it down closer to my intended ferment temp. I don't see much value in pitching warm and leaving it up there, because the yeast will start throwing funky flavours if it's not brought down early enough. I'm led to believe that these flavours can begin to form even as early as the lag phase. [/quote'] Thanks Kelsey, that's awesome. Will definitely put it straight in for my next brew. And just a general shout out, really appreciate your constant willingness to help and provide advice. Cheers mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gag Halfrunt Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 What day of fermentation are you on? During the first three days the yeast tend to create a bit of their own heat.... That is pretty cool for Cooper dry yeast' date=' and most other ale yeast as well. Could result in sluggish fermentation or the yeast going dormant. Try warming it up to 18C, or at least get it above 16C. Cheers, Christina.[/quote'] G'day Christina and Otto, Pitched at 22 about 5 days ago, Slowly went down about a degree or 2 each day. I thought the fridge confinement would keep it semi constant but it is now down to 15. Never thought I would need heating this time of year. Just goes to show. I will try to warm it up somehow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gag Halfrunt Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 What sort of day time temps are you getting where you are? You could open the fridge during the day to warm it up and then close it at night to keep the heat in. I use this method a fair bit in winter when warming lagers up to D-rest temps. With the shitty weather we seem to be experiencing I reckon opening the fridge during the day would only make the situation worse. Damn this crappy unreliable Victorian spring weather, its currently pissing rain and down to 11 degrees after a pleasant sunny morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie49 Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 Greg, Have you checked that it is still fermenting? Two indications - firstly there should be some 'action' on the surface of the wort (often described as krausen, but not always that volatile, for want of a better word), and the second, far more reliable, is the change in specific gravity (SG) - this should be going down on a daily basis. If not, it has stalled and you need to get it going again. Two solutions I have heard of (never needed them, thankfully) - warming it up to around 19-20 deg Celsius, and the second, pitching in more yeast (but make sure it is rehydrated, not dry). There may be more solutions, am sure others can help here. As the fermenting wort is exothermic, it should be easily capable of coping with an ambient temp of 15 degrees - mine does even better than that, the room it is in regularly goes down to 10-12 in the winter. Hope this helps Cookie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gag Halfrunt Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 I finally have a brew fridge an am currently fermenting a pale ale in it.The only problem is I dont yet have heating function wired in (I didn't think it would be a problem as we are coming into spring). I can only monitor my temp at the moment but not control it. My beer is now down to 15.5c is this too cool for the yeast? Im worried it may stall. What is the minimum temp it will still thrive at? (Coopers kit yeast btw) Yay! have finally set up proper temp control with stc cooling and warming all functional. Previously mentioned brew seemed to survive the ordeal and is now happily a week into bottle conditioning. Have another brew in fridge set to 18.5 and seems to be going well with temp holding steady. Will bottle this one then Its prob kegging from then on(I hope). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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