Brewing in Summer

[Nizmoose]

Okay so it's the summer time in Australia again and this is my first summer as a homebrewer. I started in March and the only problem I've had is keeping the beer warm enough. Now that we start to move into the warmer months in South Australia where I live I'm already struggling to keep my current fermentation at a desireable temperature. I'm going to start my first all grain batch hopefully in a weeks time and I'd really like to get everything on the fermentation side as right as possible. So I have a few questions that I thought I'd put up and hopefully other new brewers come across this before having to ask it themselves as I'm sure many new brewers such as myself dont neccesarily have the luxury of a fermentation fridge. So my questions:

1: How much of a difference is US-05 going to make at 22degreesC versus say 18? Whats the highest a yeast like US-05 will ferment at before it starts producing noticable esters and more imortantly, fusel alcohols?

2: My currrent method of cooling which is yet to provide consistent results is to put my 10L fermenter inside my 30L fermenter which has water in it and a wet towel around it. Besides the use of a fridge is there much to do to improve this system and how much success have people had?

3: I do have a spare fridge availble in the shed however it does have drinks and some food stuff in it and thus a temp controller is out of the question, I've never brewed a lager before but is this a good chance to have a crack? Will a fridge on a warmer setting (it does have a temperature controller - you know the shitty warmer colder ones) be capable of the right temps for brewing a lager? Does stuff like the CO2 and sulfur need to vent at all?

Now I promise I have searched this topic a fair bit, read articles from byo and the like but I'd really like to hear what you guys do and think. It's all well and good to hear an american talk about summer but personally I think Australia can be somewhat a different beast so I'd like to hear what the ahb guys do.

Cheers,

 

[philmud]

1. I'd say 22C is probably around the upper limit, if not just above it. I've fermented Nottingham yeast around that temp & it wasn't too bad.
2. Sounds like a pretty effective swamp cooler. Adding ice periodically could help too, and some members report good results blowing a fan into the wet towel. If that's an option, it could help.
3. Do you know what kind of temperature the warmer setting is? Could still be a bit cold for lager yeasts. Additionally, you want to be able to increase the temp for a diacetyl rest, and I believe drop it back down again incrementally to lager.

My 2c: if you're going to keep brewing, proper temp control is inevitable really. Work out what you need to do to get it over the line and work towards it!

 

[BrosysBrews]

Okay so it's the summer time in Australia again and this is my first summer as a homebrewer. I started in March and the only problem I've had is keeping the beer warm enough. Now that we start to move into the warmer months in South Australia where I live I'm already struggling to keep my current fermentation at a desireable temperature. I'm going to start my first all grain batch hopefully in a weeks time and I'd really like to get everything on the fermentation side as right as possible. So I have a few questions that I thought I'd put up and hopefully other new brewers come across this before having to ask it themselves as I'm sure many new brewers such as myself dont neccesarily have the luxury of a fermentation fridge. So my questions:
1: How much of a difference is US-05 going to make at 22degreesC versus say 18? Whats the highest a yeast like US-05 will ferment at before it starts producing noticable esters and more imortantly, fusel alcohols?
2: My currrent method of cooling which is yet to provide consistent results is to put my 10L fermenter inside my 30L fermenter which has water in it and a wet towel around it. Besides the use of a fridge is there much to do to improve this system and how much success have people had?
3: I do have a spare fridge availble in the shed however it does have drinks and some food stuff in it and thus a temp controller is out of the question, I've never brewed a lager before but is this a good chance to have a crack? Will a fridge on a warmer setting (it does have a temperature controller - you know the shitty warmer colder ones) be capable of the right temps for brewing a lager? Does stuff like the CO2 and sulfur need to vent at all?
Now I promise I have searched this topic a fair bit, read articles from byo and the like but I'd really like to hear what you guys do and think. It's all well and good to hear an american talk about summer but personally I think Australia can be somewhat a different beast so I'd like to hear what the ahb guys do.
Cheers,

US05 at higher temps will lose ability to give a nice clean finish, you could always look at a saison style instead, yes it will be a very different beer but may be a nicer and closer to style end product until you get temp control up and running. Even though I temp control I still brew with the seasons to reduce running costs of fridge and heat belt and also fine that lagers in winter are great in summer and ales in spring and autumn are great other times of the year. I know that people used to use wet terracotta as a way of cooling food without a fridge so it may be something to look into.

 

[Midnight Brew]

Im with Prince Imperial, inevitably you will need a fridge with a temp control however until then your other options could be switching to a saison yeast that can go to a higher temp. Most ale yeasts will go up to 22C but present more esters.

I just think it will be a massive pain to worry about fans with wet towels or switching frozen water bottles into a dead fridge every few hours. Happy yeast, happy brewer.

 

[citizensnips]

I'm surprised your going AG before getting a ferment fridge. Once you have an stc, fridge and heater you will never look back. Its set and forget and it improves your beers out of sight not to mention allowing you greater control of what flavour profile your after. You could use US-05 although I think 22 is its upper limit as it can go down to 15 without much issue. Not that I've used it before but I would be thinking the standard coopers kit yeast wouldn't be a bad idea as it's much more likely to tolerate the higher temperatures.

 

[Feldon]

My 2c.

According to the US05 spec sheet 22C is within the recommended range and you can go up to 24C. I've had it up to 26C briefly late in the ferment without any adverse effects (I guess a tasting buff might find something to note - but for me, its fine)

OP, you don't say where you ferment your beer - in the shed?; in the kitchen? If you can manage to ferment inside during summer you can take advantage of your house's insulation properties and internal air-con (if you have it). Most sheds become ovens in summer - houses are designed for human habitation and are cooler. Most houses/flats also have a cool zone(s), often the bathroom, and on southern side of the building where the sun don't shine. Also consider that if the house air temp does rise (eg while you are at work) its not going to increase the beer temp immediately - it will take some time.

I ferment inside (ales only) and know my house, temp-wise, like the back of my hand. I start the ferment as cold as possible - towards the lower spec for the yeast. For US05 that's as low as 14C, but 16-18C is usual for me. The temp will rise gently as the fermentation gets underway to about 22C. I have the fermentor on an old bedside cabinet on casters and move it to different parts of the house if needed - out to the unused second bathroom in summer, into the kitchen area in winter. Causes the odd tiffle with the wife sometimes.

Beer (and good beer) was made long before temp controlled fermentation fridges, and although they may be desirable they are not essential to making good beer. In fact, I would suggest that learning to control ferment temp within close limits using nothing but ambient air temp is part of the craft of craft brewing.

 

[philmud]

I'm surprised your going AG before getting a ferment fridge.

I did this, but as others have suggested I brewed saisons. My third AG was in a fridge though.

 

[manticle]

I used a water bath for years - either laundry sink or domrstic bath will do a good job if you rotate ice bricks and frozen pet bottles through it. However even in melbourne, hot weather in summer really makes that a struggle. Great for the rest of the year though
In summer, saisons and biere de gardes with the ocassional belgian golden strong if you can keep the temp lower for the first 2-3 days.
22 is too high in my view - if you are starting out and used to brewing at 26, 22 is the absolute upper limit for the temp of the wort (remembering fermentation generates heat).

 

[stewy]

I've brewed with US05 at 22c & it came out fine. It's a very neutral yeast

I use one of those eskys on wheels that zips up. It fits my 30L fermenter. Put ferment in, add cold water & wrap wet towel or shirt around fermenter ensuring its in the water also. With this method I can easily keep temp 8c below ambient by swapping out 2 frozen 600ml Mt Franklin water bottles every 12 hours. I rotate them at 6.30am & 6.30pm. It's very effective & takes minimal effort. (My garage is a constant 26 in summer & doesn't fluctuate at all so this makes it easier. In winter it sits right on 19c.

 

[Nizmoose]

1. I'd say 22C is probably around the upper limit, if not just above it. I've fermented Nottingham yeast around that temp & it wasn't too bad.
2. Sounds like a pretty effective swamp cooler. Adding ice periodically could help too, and some members report good results blowing a fan into the wet towel. If that's an option, it could help.
3. Do you know what kind of temperature the warmer setting is? Could still be a bit cold for lager yeasts. Additionally, you want to be able to increase the temp for a diacetyl rest, and I believe drop it back down again incrementally to lager.
My 2c: if you're going to keep brewing, proper temp control is inevitable really. Work out what you need to do to get it over the line and work towards it!

Cheers ive been meaning to try out nottingham is it particularly neutral at somewhat higher temps? I guess more forgiving? And yeah ferm fridge is inevitable I should point out that I'm a 21 year old uni student still living at home (probably not for tooo much longer) and so adding a third fridge to two already is probably pushing my luck haha.

Im with Prince Imperial, inevitably you will need a fridge with a temp control however until then your other options could be switching to a saison yeast that can go to a higher temp. Most ale yeasts will go up to 22C but present more esters.

I just think it will be a massive pain to worry about fans with wet towels or switching frozen water bottles into a dead fridge every few hours. Happy yeast, happy brewer.

Have never drank a saison let alone brew one but it might be a good idea to go and find one try it and if I like it brew one, cheers for the suggestion!

I'm surprised your going AG before getting a ferment fridge. Once you have an stc, fridge and heater you will never look back. Its set and forget and it improves your beers out of sight not to mention allowing you greater control of what flavour profile your after. You could use US-05 although I think 22 is its upper limit as it can go down to 15 without much issue. Not that I've used it before but I would be thinking the standard coopers kit yeast wouldn't be a bad idea as it's much more likely to tolerate the higher temperatures.

Yeah I'm going AG mainly because can't hold it off any longer, my extract brews are good and the process is fun enough I guess and I know I'm still new (five batches in) but I want something more involved and AG just doesnt look that hard to do, can't wait to be able to do a mash and to really take control of the recipe, and I'm so over trying to scrape extract off of everything trying to get it into a pot haha, I'm only going to be doing 10L batches in my 19L pot with my three ring burner and will be doing BIAB to keep it in the one vessel. The coopers yeast isnt a bad suggestion although my only brew on coopers yeast seemed to finish high and gave me green apples and that turned me off a bit, having said that it'd be extremely naive of me to blame the yeast entirely as clearly I didnt do soemthing right but nevertheless every other batch I've done has been us-05

My 2c.

According to the US05 spec sheet 22C is within the recommended range and you can go up to 24C. I've had it up to 26C briefly late in the ferment without any adverse effects (I guess a tasting buff might find something to note - but for me, its fine)

OP, you don't say where you ferment your beer - in the shed?; in the kitchen? If you can manage to ferment inside during summer you can take advantage of your house's insulation properties and internal air-con (if you have it). Most sheds become ovens in summer - houses are designed for human habitation and are cooler. Most houses/flats also have a cool zone(s), often the bathroom, and on southern side of the building where the sun don't shine. Also consider that if the house air temp does rise (eg while you are at work) its not going to increase the beer temp immediately - it will take some time.

I ferment inside (ales only) and know my house, temp-wise, like the back of my hand. I start the ferment as cold as possible - towards the lower spec for the yeast. For US05 that's as low as 14C, but 16-18C is usual for me. The temp will rise gently as the fermentation gets underway to about 22C. I have the fermentor on an old bedside cabinet on casters and move it to different parts of the house if needed - out to the unused second bathroom in summer, into the kitchen area in winter. Causes the odd tiffle with the wife sometimes.

Beer (and good beer) was made long before temp controlled fermentation fridges, and although they may be desirable they are not essential to making good beer. In fact, I would suggest that learning to control ferment temp within close limits using nothing but ambient air temp is part of the craft of craft brewing.

Yeha sorry my fermenter is in the laundry although I've been moving it into the lounge/dining area when I've been getting worried about temp and it certainly wont be in the laundry during summer. I'll be keeping it in a room which will be air conditioned with ducted for the night and some of the day and so hopefully that'll help. Might just have to be vigilant about the ice and water bath methods.


I'm hoping I can score a free broken bar fridge to try and put some ice in that for something a little more insulated? I think I read somehwere on here that someone had made a polystyrene and expanding foam fridge like box for their fermenter and were able to maintain lager temps with nothing but ice blocks?

 

[Bribie G]

A dead bar fridge and swapping frozen PET water bottles (ed: 1.25L soft drink size) will do the trick. Mostly two a day. I did that for a summer in QLD before I got a fermenting fridge.

I used a normal sized domestic fridge that was on kerbside collection, but a more compact bar fridge would be ideal and easy to dispose of afterwards.

How much freezer space do you have? If you have a good chest freezer then you can freeze bottles of brine that work even better.

Another trick is to steal a real estate corflute sign and cut it to make a "baffle" for the fridge door to give extra insulation.

ed: maybe contact your local electrical stores who do a free "remove your old fridge" deal and if you explain what you want it for and that you aren't a fridge mechanic they might be glad for you to take the junk off their hands.

 

[Nizmoose]

A dead bar fridge and swapping frozen PET water bottles (ed: 1.25L soft drink size) will do the trick. Mostly two a day. I did that for a summer in QLD before I got a fermenting fridge.

I used a normal sized domestic fridge that was on kerbside collection, but a more compact bar fridge would be ideal and easy to dispose of afterwards.

How much freezer space do you have? If you have a good chest freezer then you can freeze bottles of brine that work even better.

Another trick is to steal a real estate corflute sign and cut it to make a "baffle" for the fridge door to give extra insulation.

ed: maybe contact your local electrical stores who do a free "remove your old fridge" deal and if you explain what you want it for and that you aren't a fridge mechanic they might be glad for you to take the junk off their hands.

Cheers for this, what sort of temps were you maintaining in summer? Good tip on the electrical store I might have a look around!

 

[philmud]

Cheers ive been meaning to try out nottingham is it particularly neutral at somewhat higher temps? I guess more forgiving? And yeah ferm fridge is inevitable I should point out that I'm a 21 year old uni student still living at home (probably not for tooo much longer) and so adding a third fridge to two already is probably pushing my luck haha.

To be honest I'm not sure if it's any better than US05, it's just that I've used it around 22C and at the time I thought the resulting beer was ok. I reckon you'll be happiest with a saison yeast though, buy one and see what you think, but even if the style isn't that exciting to you, consider using it in a style you prefer. Sure the difference will be dramatic, but I reckon it'll be better than a cooler fermenting yeast fermented too warm.

 

[TimT]

Yeah I'd totally go with saisons. Keep an eye on the temp for the week and pick the right time to do a brew.

 

[Grott]

Hi Nizmoose, noet your in Adelaide as well. Have a look at the - Fermenter temperature control- topic, the foam box method is cheap and works exceptional well even in our heatwaves. This may be your answer until you get a fermenting fridge set up.
cheers

 

[Nizmoose]

Hi Nizmoose, noet your in Adelaide as well. Have a look at the - Fermenter temperature control- topic, the foam box method is cheap and works exceptional well even in our heatwaves. This may be your answer until you get a fermenting fridge set up.
cheers

Thanks for this I had a look and a fermenting chamber definitely looks like the way to go for me, I'm not fussed about having to switch over ice bottle periodically and it'll be something fun to make!

 

[storeboughtcheeseburgers]

I'd really recommend investing in a bar fridge and one of these: https://nationalhomebrew.com.au/beer/brewing-equipment-pots-and-hardware/mangrove-jacks-temperature-controller

very easy to set up, no assembly and does the job great for me!

What people have said, temperature control = good beer Doesnt matter if its AG, Extract or whatever.. if you can have constant temp, the yeast will love the wort.

 

[Nizmoose]

I'd really recommend investing in a bar fridge and one of these: https://nationalhomebrew.com.au/beer/brewing-equipment-pots-and-hardware/mangrove-jacks-temperature-controller

very easy to set up, no assembly and does the job great for me!

What people have said, temperature control = good beer Doesnt matter if its AG, Extract or whatever.. if you can have constant temp, the yeast will love the wort.

Yeah that looks pretty nice and I think a ferm fridge will happen for me in the future but at the moment I've fully jumped on Grott's idea of using foam boxes glued together to make fermentation chambers with temp gauge for $12 a pop. He's able to maintain lager temps if he tries hard enough and I'll be building two in the next week or so. He's managed to keep it within a degree of target temp in the middle of heatwaves so keen to give it a go.

heres the link to the thread if anyone is interested:
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/81908-fermenter-temperature-control/

 

[Eagleburger]

Cost me the princely sum of $19.50 to set up my first fermenting fridge. $2.50 for the bar fridge and $17 for the stc-1000, both off ebay. My current upright freexer cost $40 off gumtree and holds a 60L fermenter + 20L cube and a few 2L bottles of cider.

 

[Spiesy]

Ask for a second hand fridge for Xmas, mate.