Finding It Hard To Regulate Temperature.

[ODDBALL]

I am a total newbie to brewing but find it fascinating and an extremely worthwhile hobby. In my quest to maker good beer I have been studying the form here and on other sites on the net.

One thing that keeps cropping up, along with cleanliness and sanitation is brewing temperature. The kit's I have used for my first 2 brews have suggested brewing between 21C and 27C but I am getting conflicting information wherever I look and am looking for some clarification.

My first brew is still in the bottle and won't be ready to sample until at least the weekend, that will be 10 days in the bottle so I can't comment on it yet but I am worried the temp of the first fermentation was too high, between 24C and 26C. The one that is in the fermenter now has been between 18C and 20C for the most part. This time I have stood the fermenter in a large container (like a bath) of water and add ice to it in the mornings before I leave for work and it has kept the temp down, is this a good strategy?

How do you guys in the Queensland heat regulate your temprature?

 

[rodderz]

Without some sort of cool room or fridge, the idea you had seems pretty good. Last summer when inside the house was high 20's I had the fermenter inside a tub of water, with 3 frozen PET plastic bottles in there to keep the water cold. This was wheeled in to my wardrobe which remained pretty consistant and cooler than everywhere else at around 20C or so with some looking after. Just put some bleach in the water so it doesnt go mouldy

You could try putting a wet towel over the top with the fan on it too

 

[pint of lager]

Good work oddball, your beers will taste cleaner and less fruity by controlling the fermentation temperature in the correct range.

Kit manufacturers know that temp control can be awkward and continue to post unrealsitic temperature ranges. Some kit brewers go as far as using heatpads in summer to reach the magic 27 deg C.

The three fundamentals

Temperature control
Sanitation
Good ingredients

These underlie every good beer, be it kits or the fanciest mash.

Other methods of temperature control are spare fridges, cellars and the ferminator, which is a cool box, computer fan and ice bricks. But your simple approach of a water bath and ice will work fine.

 

[Jazman]

and the wet towell arounf the fermentor with an ice drick on top too plus the fan on the fermenter to helps

 

[ODDBALL]

Well, here she is in all her glory. A wet towel which wicks up the cooler water from the bottom and about 8 inches of water to which I add the ice to regulate the temperature.

It is a Coopers Stout brew to which I added the Brewsier ultra brew and 23 litres of water, since reading this site a bit more I think 18 litres may of been the go.

Cheers.

 

[TasChris]

Hi Oddball,
Being in Tas doesn't often present high temp problems, however I find putting the fermenter directly on to a concrete slab helps to keep the temp down. The slab acts as a large heat sink.
Mind you I can now brew lagers with out the use of a fridge as winter has started!!
Chris