# US05 - Temp advice



## neo__04 (23/6/13)

Hey all,

Just a quick question. Just done my first brew in the new house and put the fermenter in the garage with an immersion heater set around 18.
The brew was a Nelson sauvin summer ale. Says to ferment at 18 degrees. The garage is quite cold and the immersion heater doesnt seem to be keeping up or needs to be turned up but i dont really wanna take the glad wrap off and do anything.

Current it sitting around 14-15 degrees with US05 yeast. What should i be doing here? will 15 be fine just slower?
Havent brewed for a year and a bit. The memory is a bit rusty but im sure ive used US05 at 15 degrees before.

Any recommendations would be good.


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## stakka82 (23/6/13)

05 will ferment at 15, will just take a couple of days longer, probably a good idea to let it go for at least 3 weeks at that temp so it cleans up after itself as you don't have the option of increasing ferment temp to do the job for you.

That's assuming it is at FG by the 2 week mark which I would say it will be even at 15. BTW what is an immersion heater, like an aquarium heater?


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## browndog (23/6/13)

15 is right on the edge for US05, is there any way you can insulate you fermenter? a sleeping bag or doona wrapped around it and secured with a belt or some masking tape will keep in a lot of heat.


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## neo__04 (23/6/13)

Bought it from a brewing shop when I started doing kits. They do work well. Think I've just got it set too low. 
Yeah I can easily get some insulation around it. Have already put a couple of towels around it. Might pop the sleeping bag over it then.


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## Econwatson (23/6/13)

You say you've got it in the garage, if it's sitting on the stone floor, get it onto a rug or towel or something, because you'll lose a fair bit of heat through cold stone.


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## jaypes (23/6/13)

Or you could hug it


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## neo__04 (24/6/13)

Its in the shed but up on the bench. Think im gonna have to get my keezer cranking as a fermentation fridge for the moment.
Considering it got to -1 overnight lol. Hugging it is definately an option.


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## Parks (24/6/13)

My currently fermenting amber on US05 started out at 17 and has slowly, slowly dropped to 14 now over 10 days. It's in a fridge with no supplied heat but is still chugging away. I was really afraid it would stop.

Going to leave it for a week longer to make sure it cleans up, but it hasn't stopped which is great.


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## flano (24/6/13)

what do you mean by immersion heater?
Is it like a probe in the actual beer?

I have mine sitting on a heat pad with an el cheap timer on it.
It basically turns on and off to keep the temp semi average at 18 dgs.

It took a bit of experimenting setting up the timer to get it right .
Basically I have it set to turn on for 30 mins at a time and off for 15 during the coldest parts of the night and early morning.
I also have it set to turn on for 15 and off for 30mins during the warmer part of the day.


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## neo__04 (24/6/13)

Yep, fermentation immersion brewing heater, i have been using one for 2-3 years on kits and it works a treat. My old man has been using them for 10 odd years.
I checked my brew tonight and it was getting colder so turned the immersion heater up and shes sitting nicely at 18 degrees within a couple of hours.
Yep sits in the beer, thermostatically controlled. Great little devices.


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## Coalminer (25/6/13)

US-05 temps from Fermentis pdf file

fermenting range 12C - 25C
ideal 15C - 22C


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## flano (25/6/13)

ok
I have never heard of them.
can you post a pic?


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (25/6/13)

I've used US 05 at 15 degrees (Brissie winter) many times. I usually program the STC1000 for it at 16 degrees - mainly because I like it at that temp - it's very neutral and doesn't strip out hop aroma.

It can be a little slow, so when I do this, I will reydrate, pitch at 20 degrees and then bring it down. Obviously not applicable to @OP in this instance, but worth considering in future.

IIRC, I've had it lower - 14 degrees, so it's possible.


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## neo__04 (26/6/13)

Got my issues sorted, immersion heater thermostat is out a little, just needed turning up.
Happy sitting at 18 degrees even though it gets to 0 degrees overnight.

I recommend them to all.

http://www.burker.com.au/products.php?base=10


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## RelaxedBrewer (3/7/13)

I have the same heater and was scared to put it in my beer. There was grease around the temperature controller and I was not going to risk putting it in my beer (even with glade wrap around it).

I just put my fermentor in a plastic tub and fill that with water. Then use the heater to heat that water.


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## DU99 (3/7/13)

some people use an aquarium heater,i had a fermenter with bung in the lid for that purpose


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