68 is great. A little warm for some, but I tend to make really good ales at 68-70 ambient
68 is great. A little warm for some, but I tend to make really good ales at 68-70 ambient
Originally Posted by Evan!
Depends....depends if we're talking ambient temp or your carboy temp while fermentation is happening...depends on the strain...depends on your preferences for esters and phenols....etc.
It's important to remember that your wort will be fermenting a few degrees warmer than your ambient temp. Personally, I like to ferment many of my ales in the mid 60s since I generally like more restrained esters and phenol plus I am kinda sensitive to fusels.
A reworked fridge is the best. You can buy an override temp controller (Johnson is cheapest at around $50, digital models are more).What setups are available or able to be homemade for controlling brew temps, other than the aforementioned water, ice, wet towel, and fan? Perhaps an old fridge reworked to maintain proper temps, or maybe a large wine cooler?
A mini-fridge can work as well - just make sure it is big enough to hold a carboy as many of them cannot. They will hold corny kegs but not a fermenter due to the motor mount in the bottom.
Google "Son of Fermentation Chiller" for another method. This will give you detailed plans for building an insulated styrofoam chamber utilizing ice blocks and a recirculating fan. This low-cost system can drop temps 15F, but of course you still have to replace/maintain the ice bottles.
A last thing is that you need to maintain the proper temps "mainly" during the vigorous primary fermentation phase. This is where the majority of the off-flavors are developed - during that first 3-7 days. So keeping up with the ice block maintenance can be limited to that period and you will take care of MOST of the off-flavors. Not ideal, but makes it a little easier to deal with. I say this because in the cooler method, you'll be replacing 2L bottles every 6-8 hours that can get in the way of unimportant things like work/school/etc.
Last edited by christo; 07-10-2009 at 01:46 PM.
Sand Gnat Brewing - the beer with a bite!
Primary: MooHoo Stout
Secondary: RIS (barrel)
Keg: American Wheat, Lemon Wheat, Lemon IPA, Doppelbock, Bock, Munich Dunkel
Bottled: BDSA, Wood-aged Belgian Strong, Century Ale (10/10/10BW), Cyser, Buckwheat Mead, Fireweed Mead
On Deck: Amer Standard & Lite Lager, Sweet Red
Just for reference, what temp would be considered too cold for primary fermentation? I have an old side by side fridge but it is probably too narrow. I am familiar with the Johnson controllers as used with humidors.
A man is only as good as his word.
Depends. You want ale's in the mid 60º's in general, lagers start in the 60's but need to get down to the 40º's. For most ale's, they will stall out below 60º
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I utilize a 21.5 cf side by side for serving - I can put 3 cornys on the bottom - and then I can ferment lagers on the top rack. Since we still use the freezer side I don't keep my Johnson controller on it, but I can keep the temp at around 46-48F so works well for lagers and perfect for serving.
Sand Gnat Brewing - the beer with a bite!
Primary: MooHoo Stout
Secondary: RIS (barrel)
Keg: American Wheat, Lemon Wheat, Lemon IPA, Doppelbock, Bock, Munich Dunkel
Bottled: BDSA, Wood-aged Belgian Strong, Century Ale (10/10/10BW), Cyser, Buckwheat Mead, Fireweed Mead
On Deck: Amer Standard & Lite Lager, Sweet Red
Wow.. lots of good info.. I dont think i've ever read every single post on a thread before.. :p
Where did you get those coolers? I was just looking at an old radio and musing about using pieces of a thermoelectric cooler.
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