Cold Weather Brewing

[big d]

evening ahb,ers
heading down to adelaide/perth in a few months and was wondering if you guys continue brewing in the way cooler months.?
if so as i guess many of you do how do you go maintaining good average fermenting temps as surely there are some days/nights where brew belts etc dont cut the mustard.?

i need to know this for when i make the big move down south for good.

cheers
big d

 

[Kai]

I do all my brewing inside, so I don't find it a problem. A brew belt or even just a camping bed roll keeps the heat just fine.

Indeed, winter's a blessing for my brewing as I can chuck my beer outside for the night to knock a few degrees off if need be.

 

[ben_sa]

i too am looking foward to bvrewing in winter, Im sick of this wet towel and a tub of water lol

Big D, i have a hot box with a 25watt globe in it to keep wam in the realy cold nights

Maybe ill put a 100W globe in lol

Ben

 

[deebee]

Never had a problem with too cold in Perth, bigD.

We have one gas heater down the bottom end of the house. I keep my fermenter up the other end of the house where there is almost no heating. Even in dead of winter, I find it pretty hard to get my brew below 12C, so it's never too cold for a lager.

I wrap my fermenters in a blanket or towel all year round to keep out light and reduce temperature fluctutions. I once put a hot water bottle under a fermenter to raise an ale's temp a degree or so. Other than that, cold's not a problem here.

 

[jayse]

cold is good.
no probs at all, i love it.

jayse

 

[JasonY]

Yep doesn't get that cold down here, the old heat strap has always been more than effective even when I had the fermenter in the garage shouldn't be a worry big d.

 

[Boots]

Usually a towel or quilt wrapped around the fermenter keeps mine at around 19 using the heat it generates itself.

Then after racking to secondary I just stick it in the shed and it'll sit at around 12-13 degrees.

 

[sosman]

I am brewing in a fridge. This will be the first Winter I have brewed with it.

I am hoping that the combination of heat from fermentation and defrost cycle will manage to keep the temperature where I want it. If it gets really cold then I can turn on the butter warmer.

 

[Tony M]

I have a cupboard big enough for fermenter and 30 botts or 60 stubbies. Great for winter ales. Also have a fridge fitted with a 0 to 40C thermostat and a 75W light globe mounted at the bottom, so it will do both summer lagers and winter ales. It also makes a diacetal rest easy. Just switch the fridge from cold to hot.

I forgot to say that my cupboard is fitted with a $30.00 thermostat and a light globe. Works well. (must be something I drank starting to affect my memory)

 

[big d]

thanks for the info guys.i will be heading to perth for good in a few years so good to hear it doesnt get too cold.mind you after living in the tropics for 20 years anything below 28deg c is bloody cold for me. :lol:
will have to keep the alcohol content up in june/july when in adelaide/perth as it may be somewhat cool for me.

cheers
big d

 

[Jazman]

be like me in winter brew lagers no need for temp pads

 

[danbeer]

I went and bought an electric blanket for my winter ales..
Cheaper than a heating pad, and keeps light out...


On a related note, the temp in one part of my house seems to be sitting at about 12-18 deg. Is this too warm for largers? It feels like it might be a bit too cold for ales..

 

[bonk]

if it stays towards the 18 deg range then it would still be ok for ales, i know some yeasts like this temp range...but i would have a stab and say that the ester production would be less and produce less "fruity" ales.

you could also look at using Kolosh (sp) yeast or even the old cali common yeast to produce lager "like" beer. both should work well in this range.

 

[bonk]

on Big D's question,. *sigh* how good would it be to worry about how cold your brew is when its fermenting then trying to cool the thing down from 30+ temps. anyone want to donate a fridge for my brewing....... no? oh well it was worth a try.... *bigger sigh*.

 

[sosman]

Bonk - I found a person I don't even know willing to donate a fridge. They were updating their kitchen and the old fridge worked fine. I asked at the local Betta Electrical store to look out for a working fridge for me. All I had to do was to pick it up.

 

[bonk]

sorry for the thread hijack big d.
thats good idea sosman, however i need to wait till i move out of this poxy sized 1 bedroom unit and into a place where i have room. once i get that, i'll look at getting a fridge.

back on thread again

 

[big d]

hey bonk
at least the dry season is upon us so i quess that counts for cooler brewing temperatures although i wont be breaking out the heating pads unless i moved to the alice.

big d B)

 

[bonk]

yeah i've been waiting for 9 months for this weather. can't wait for it to hit with its full effect woohoo, "cool" temps atlast. ...... well if you call 28 deg during the day cool then its cool

 

[Jovial_Monk]

the old electric blanket around the fermenter trick, eh? Hope your fire insurance is paid up!!! Really, quite a few brewers doing that stupid trick have had sheds or houses burned down that way!

In Marion where I live, just a blanket is enough. Haven't used the heater belt i bought in '99 for years now, other than trying to warm condition a batch of bottles in winter for a comp.

jovial Monk

 

[danbeer]

the old electric blanket around the fermenter trick, eh? Hope your fire insurance is paid up!!! Really, quite a few brewers doing that stupid trick have had sheds or houses burned down that way!


Yeah?
Lekky blanket was much cheaper than buying either a heater pad or belt.
I don't see how they can be a fire hazard if they are in good condition, used sensibly, etc....

Anyway... now I have dicovered lager yeasts.
No more warming required in the cooler months.