Brewing In The Far North Qld Heat

[lockstock]

any tips for brewing in far north qld (in summer)?? Im a bit worried about the heat affecting the brew. I have the kit in the coolest room in the house but i'm not sure whether this will be enough to keep temp at a decent range?

 

[elec]

any tips for brewing in far north qld (in summer)?? Im a bit worried about the heat affecting the brew. I have the kit in the coolest room in the house but i'm not sure whether this will be enough to keep temp at a decent range?

Fridgemate or SCT100 temp controller and an old fridge.

Regards from the far, far north

 

[Vanoontour]

Esky with some ice packs rotated thru. Cheap and effective until you get a fridge

 

[lockstock]

ive read that immersing the kit in a tub of water and throwing a bit of ice in every morning might do the trick for now? dont want it running to hot to avoid creating headache causing "esters?" reckon that'll work for now?

thanks vanoontour posted before i saw yr reply. I'll give it a go..

 

[bignath]

ive read that immersing the kit in a tub of water and throwing a bit of ice in every morning might do the trick for now? dont want it running to hot to avoid creating headache causing "esters?" reckon that'll work for now?

absolutely.

And it doesn't have to be a "for now" process either. Can be a permanent fermentation method if you like. I'm actually considering moving from a temp controlled fridge to a water bath full time, so i can turn off the fridge apart from condition phase of beers. Should save me some money as it's a massive fridge, and it's starting to show it's age a little. I reckon it's costing me a fair bit to run.

Admittedly, the fridge is the best bet for lagers as not every lager yeast works at warm temps like a couple of them do, in which case you won't get a water bath down to 10-12 degrees.
Apart from that, if you're brewing ales, a water bath is an excellent option.

 

[Liam_snorkel]

water bath is fine throughout most of the year in Qld, but in summer when you get the odd week of mid 30deg maximums, it can be a battle to keep it in the low 20s (let alone 18deg).

this happened last week resulting in me having to postpone a brew by a week.

 

[beerdrinka]

i"ve just set up a fridgemate controller on an old fridge out the back. Doing a lager first to see how it goes. I had the same problems last summer keeping the temp down and the fridge controller seems to be doing the trick. Just measure the fridge you intend to use to make sure your fermenter will fit inside (allow for the airlock at the top too). The fermenter's sitting right on 14c and slowly bubbling away. I'll let you know how she turns out.

 

[lockstock]

absolutely.

And it doesn't have to be a "for now" process either. Can be a permanent fermentation method if you like. I'm actually considering moving from a temp controlled fridge to a water bath full time, so i can turn off the fridge apart from condition phase of beers. Should save me some money as it's a massive fridge, and it's starting to show it's age a little. I reckon it's costing me a fair bit to run.

Admittedly, the fridge is the best bet for lagers as not every lager yeast works at warm temps like a couple of them do, in which case you won't get a water bath down to 10-12 degrees.
Apart from that, if you're brewing ales, a water bath is an excellent option.

doing a mangrove jacks classic blonde and its in the laundry sink with ice and down to about 24C at the moment. i reckon it'll go down to 18-20C overnight. Dont really want to spend money on the fridge so i'll see how it goes.

 

[manticle]

Water bath and brew seasonally.

Saisons when it's really hot - if you don't like them then acquire the taste.

Lagers when it's really cold.

Everything else in between.

The main thing with the water bath is that it will be very effective at keeping the wort/beer constant, especially if you rotate ice bricks through it(the water, not the beer). Measure the temp of the water and measure the temp of any hydrometer samples. They should be similar. However you should make sure that your brew temp is a few degrees lower than intended fermentation temperature before you pitch the yeast (technically several hours after pitching but it's easiest to get it to the right temp first). The first few days of the ferment are the most crucial although consistency is better than spikes and troughs.

 

[elec]

doing a mangrove jacks classic blonde and its in the laundry sink with ice and down to about 24C at the moment. i reckon it'll go down to 18-20C overnight. Dont really want to spend money on the fridge so i'll see how it goes.

Whats nighttime temps at your place bud? Its been fairly constant 24 arround here. I reckon it will drive you mad trying to keep the temp even halfway constant. You don't need much of a fridge, as long as it goes. Should be able to pick up a roughie for next to f all, and a controller won't set you back more than 50-60 bucks, if you look about. I've been through exactly what you are trying to achieve, and I reckon you will be fighting a losing battle, and your beer will suffer as a result.
Where in FNQ are you located.

regards

 

[QldKev]

Whats nighttime temps at your place bud? Its been fairly constant 24 arround here. I reckon it will drive you mad trying to keep the temp even halfway constant. You don't need much of a fridge, as long as it goes. Should be able to pick up a roughie for next to f all, and a controller won't set you back more than 50-60 bucks, if you look about. I've been through exactly what you are trying to achieve, and I reckon you will be fighting a losing battle, and your beer will suffer as a result.
Where in FNQ are you located.

regards

I'm a lot further south than you guys, (currently getting about 21 at nights, and about 30 days) Years ago I stuffed around with water bottles/ice bottles before I got a fermenting fridge. I agree with elec, my beer did suffer from the temp fluctuations and I was checking the stupid temps 3 to 4 times day. I scored a free fridge and paid at the time $100 for a controller (virtually same as a $20 STC-1000, but many years before) I've never looked back. Now even if I need to catch up brews I can't be stuffed with manually monitoring temps, and resulting in a inferior beer. I just squeeze more into the fermenting fridge. (which can fit 2 fermenters and other crap)

 

[manticle]

If you've got the space for an extra fridge and know you will be brewing for a while then by all means - set up a dedicated fermentation fridge.

If for whatever reason, that's not an option, water bath is your best bet.

The wort on my APA is currently at 17 degrees (that's the liquid inside the cube, not the ambient temp of the air around it). I think we got 29 here today. I put fresh bricks in in the morning, refreeze them at night and place in again next morning.

It's just good to know what options there are. Ferment fridge for ease of use and peace of mind is common but there are other ways and means if you need.

 

[ekul]

For $50 you could get a fermenting fridge set up. The most expensive part is going to be the stc1000 which once you've bought power cords will be around $35 and 15mins hooking it up. Check garage sales at the end of the day, should be able to get a reasonable fridge for less than $20. I bought a great fridge off ebay for $3, works really well.

Its going to replace my current fermenting fridges.

 

[manticle]

Space and how much time you are going to dedicate to brewing in the future are also issues though. It seems like every guy who gets a coopers kit for christmas gets told to go get another fridge and set up a kegging system (requiring, among other things, another fridge) before they even know if they'll still be brewing next week.

 

[ekul]

if you like beer, why wouldn't you be?

 

[manticle]

True. I like to be accomodating to everyone.

Just the kind of sweet natured, kindly old soul that I am.

 

[flano]

I put frozen soft drink bottles around my fermenter with an occy strap acting like a belt and cover it all with one of those thin silver hypothermia blanket things.

keeps it sitting on about 20 during stinking hot days.

 

[lockstock]

got it running at 20C. got a deep freezer with a shitload of big ice bricks in it. adding one in the morn and a big one in the arvo seems to be doing the trick. luckily its a plastic sink and not a stainless so theres not as much heat loss. bought a copper tun kit and it says to run at 18-30C? they telling me lies? obviously the closer to the lower end the better!? At what temp does the bad "esters" or "fusel" alcohol that causes headaches and hangovers start? Thanks for all the input guys!!! and i'm definitely considering the fridge and thermostat controller for sure cos its only gonna get hotter here in cairns!