Cooling Tips And Recipes For Summer

[kelbygreen]

Hello.

I am new to home brew, I have brewed 2 brews and both have gone bad. I am ashuming it was from heat. The first batch was one that come with the kit it was munich lager and the second was meant to make tooheys extra dry. It had coopers heritage lager, booster blend, 12g cluster hops and amylase enzime.

We had the last few weeks have been pushing 40 degs and 2 days exceeded it, I wrapped the fermenter in a wet towel and tried to keep it wet but having to work all day makes it hard and my sink wont hold water to suberg the fermenter in. I bottled the second batch yesterday and it smelt really fruity. So I thought i will put a bottle of the first batch in the fridge (i know you gotto wait over 3 week) it has been just over 2 weeks in bottles and it smells fruity and has a off taste.

Just wondering what the best way to cool the brew and how to store it so it wont get to hot. Also wondering good beers to make in summer, I like lagers but read to try not to brew them in summer. Also is it worth keeping this beer? its just drinkable and if mix half with another beer isnt to off putting.

cheers

 

[manticle]

Various ways to control temp.

Most brewers will recommend a separate temperature controlled fridge to manitain a constant 18-20 for ales. If you can afford it and have the space and think you'll be brewing for a while then go for that. The temp control comes from a thing called a fridgemate or temp mate that you can buy from some brew shops and online retailers.

Another way is to use a disused or old, dead fridge and rotate frozen soft drink bottles each day.

A third way is a sink of water with frozen bottles and icebricks (this is what I use). When the weather is super warm a wet towel is a good addition. You say you can't fit your fermenter in the sink so maybe buy a large plastic tub or rubbish bin and do the same thing with that. It does mean having to lift a full fermenter up quite high so watch your back or get help.

The fruitiness you are getting is almost undoubtedly from the super high temps.

 

[kelbygreen]

yeah thanks. I have a lean to off my shed and a heap of timber and such from gathering left overs from jobs. I am now doing insulation so am getting a few left overs from that. I am in the process of building the lean to in and double insulating the room I am hoping this will drop temps on really hot days.

Yeah I was thinking a plastic tub we have one but misses filled it with baby stuff and wont let me at it.

Do you have to keep your bottles cool once bottled?? or is this not as important as keeping the fermenter cool. As my first batch i kept at a low 20's reached 26 one day but I wouldnt think that would kill it. Once bottled it was stored in the shed so it would of got the full grunt of the heat 1 week after bottling. I thought that might of turned it off

 

[manticle]

It's better to keep them at a constant temp but not quite as integral as when fermenting. High temps can lead to gushing beer if not refrigerated enough (as I recently found out) and the beer can stale sooner depending on what it is. However you won't change a good beer into a fruity estery one just because your bottles are at too high a temp.

They will need to be at at least 18 degrees until carbonated though (usual time recommended is around 14 days).

One thing to watch in summer though is that you prime with the right amount of sugar and make sure the beer has properly fermented out before bottling. Any bottle bomb issues will be accentuated by hot weather. Also use strong bottles designed for refilling (coopers longnecks etc)

 

[roverfj1200]

KB

An old fridge may cost $20 from weekend shopper or Freecycle (Free) a temp control $120.

But then all your beer will be great.

You can do lagers and lager. ales that don't volcano. Life will become so good.

AHHHHHH Beer and Beef...

 

[roverfj1200]

Summer Beers Extract with 5 litre boil...Easy as....
2 kg LDME
500g dex
100g dark crystal steeped 30 min
22g Amarillo @ 45
8g Amarillo @ 10
S-23 at 12deg

5 litre boil with steepings and 500g LDME

This turned out a light easy drinker with a good fruity flavour.

2 kg LDME
500g dex
100g dark crystal steeped 30 min
30g golden cluster @ 40
10g golden cluster @ 10
S-23 at 12deg

5 litre boil with steepings and 500g LDME

This one turned out quite bitter but is easy to drink.

I have put down the same brews again as both are good summer beers. :icon_drunk:

Cheers

 

[daemon]

$13 Fridge and temp control (18c) don't always work, the yeast can still get a tad excited Best way to control temps is a 2nd hand fridge. I have two now and they barely turn on twice a day in summer to keep the brew at 18c, the first cost me $18 and the 2nd cost me $13. The fridgemate cost $50 but initially i was using a $5 timer to turn the fridge on twice a day.

With a good yeast (eg US-05) the result is amazing, even with kit beers it'll end up a great beer.

 

[kelbygreen]

yeah thanks for the info will keep a eye out for a cheap fridge. So do you all just store the bottles in a cool place while secondary fermentaion or do you temp control them as well?? hopefully once i get the room built in it should be cool enough to store bottles

 

[wyatt_girth]

Before I got a temp controller (fridgemate) I used a dead fridge off the side of the road that was left out for council pick-up and kept 2 frozen 1.25L water bottles on the top shelf. Only swapped them both over once in the morning before I went to work and once more early evening. At first I had my doubts that it would do anything but it worked well too keep the ambient down to around 18 degrees. If you keep the door closed and let it do its thing you will at least be better of than having it sit in 40 degree heat.

 

[Bribie G]

I've been using a dead fridge for a year now and even in the early summer SEQ heat I'm running a lager at 14 degrees on S-189 that can take a bit warmer temperature, using three 2L PETs swapped once a day. The thing is to have a good supply of frozen bottles, my (donated by GravityGuru) big upside down fridge freezer yields up to 5 frozen PETs a day, just off one of the three shelves.

I can also put two fermenters together on the concrete floor, wedge 2 frozen PETs in the 'cracks' between the two, wrap in giant beach towel then a doonah, and keep two ales going at 19 degrees till the cows come home.

Only problem with the frozen PET system is that you have to plan your brewing well ahead before you can bugger off for a few days, othewise it's a good system and with practice you can achieve very high degree of accuracy.

 

[dpadden]

I've been using a dead fridge for a year now and even in the early summer SEQ heat I'm running a lager at 14 degrees on S-189 that can take a bit warmer temperature, using three 2L PETs swapped once a day. The thing is to have a good supply of frozen bottles, my (donated by GravityGuru) big upside down fridge freezer yields up to 5 frozen PETs a day, just off one of the three shelves.

I can also put two fermenters together on the concrete floor, wedge 2 frozen PETs in the 'cracks' between the two, wrap in giant beach towel then a doonah, and keep two ales going at 19 degrees till the cows come home.

Only problem with the frozen PET system is that you have to plan your brewing well ahead before you can bugger off for a few days, othewise it's a good system and with practice you can achieve very high degree of accuracy.

spot on Bribie. I had to give up my temp controlled fridge for the kegs and have been using the dead fridge exactly the same way. The controlled fridge used to vary one or two deg up and down, but I can keep that dead fridge almost constant.

 

[geoffi]

I use a dead chest freezer with frozen PETs. This keeps in the 'coolth' better than a fridge, but lifting the full fermenter in and out could be a bit of a cow if you had a dodgy back etc.

 

[roverfj1200]

As far as keeping the bottles cool for conditioning I just throw them in my bar area. Probably the coolest place in the house but in summer still around 25 deg day and 17 deg at night. I use S-23 most of the time and all my beer tastes pretty good as long as I make it right that is.


Cheers

 

[Screwtop]

As far as keeping the bottles cool for conditioning I just throw them in my bar area. Probably the coolest place in the house but in summer still around 25 deg day and 17 deg at night. I use S-23 most of the time and all my beer tastes pretty good as long as I make it right that is.


Cheers

:huh: :lol:

 

[Brewer_010]

An old fridge and ice bricks will do the trick, or a large esky with ice bricks. I use a big medical supplies esky (30mm thick high density polystyrene) which works a treat, maintains stable temperatures.
Or you could go OTT and get lots of bling and electronic gadgets and have less than 0.1 degree tolerance on your temperature range....
As for recipes, once your temperature control is sorted you could try some fresh wort kits for excellent results to get you started.

 

[mb83]

Various ways to control temp.

Most brewers will recommend a separate temperature controlled fridge to manitain a constant 18-20 for ales. If you can afford it and have the space and think you'll be brewing for a while then go for that. The temp control comes from a thing called a fridgemate or temp mate that you can buy from some brew shops and online retailers.

Another way is to use a disused or old, dead fridge and rotate frozen soft drink bottles each day.

A third way is a sink of water with frozen bottles and icebricks (this is what I use). When the weather is super warm a wet towel is a good addition. You say you can't fit your fermenter in the sink so maybe buy a large plastic tub or rubbish bin and do the same thing with that. It does mean having to lift a full fermenter up quite high so watch your back or get help.

The fruitiness you are getting is almost undoubtedly from the super high temps.

Is there any risk of infection/nasty things taking up residence on the surface of your fermenter tap if you sit your fermenter in a water bath for a week or two?

 

[Nick JD]

Go to your local plastics supplier and buy a sheet of 50mm polystyrene. Cut it up into a cube slightly taller than your fermenter with one side wide enough to accomodate the tap - reinforce the bottom with a sheet of plywood and four "feet".

(the key here is to have a very small air-space around your fermenter)

Glue the bottom and three sides together. Glue the other side and the top together.

Slide your fermenter in. Place a 1.25L bottle of ice on the lid. Slide on lid.

Initially experiment with your fermenter filled with water and a thermometer. A 2L of ice will give you lager temps.

 

[Bribie G]

Is there any risk of infection/nasty things taking up residence on the surface of your fermenter tap if you sit your fermenter in a water bath for a week or two?

Quite possibly, however if you give the tap a good scrub up with a little hairy bottle brush and some starsan you should be ok.

 

[geoffi]

Is there any risk of infection/nasty things taking up residence on the surface of your fermenter tap if you sit your fermenter in a water bath for a week or two?

A little bleach and vinegar in the water will probably head off any problems.

 

[manticle]

Is there any risk of infection/nasty things taking up residence on the surface of your fermenter tap if you sit your fermenter in a water bath for a week or two?

As Bribie suggested, I just give the tap a clean and sanitise before I rack or bottle. Technically there's a risk of infection whether the tap is underwater or in the open air.