Keeping Bottles Warm For That First Week?

[red_one]

Hi,

What are some good ways to keep my 30 750ml bottles warm while they ferment for a week?

Thanks.

 

[dpadden]

I keep mine in the living room for the first couple of weeks, then they get banished to the garage after that...missus loves it

 

[marlow_coates]

Bedroom.

At least you know it will be at a decent temp during the night... that is if you like keeping yourself warm.

 

[manticle]

I've never worried about it. We have an old chook shed (rented house and unfortunately no chooks). My bottles stay in there week in week out. Never had a problem that wasn't due to me stuffing something up.

 

[RdeVjun]

If you have an electric hot water system housed indoors, then park them on top in a cardboard box, works a treat for me when I can be bothered. Reasonably good contact is what you want, if its too hot use some extra insulation like a layer or two of cardboard.

 

[KGB]

Stash them anywhere you can in the house. I keg and usually make a couple of bottles at the end of each brew so its easy for me to stuff them in a cupboard somewhere. A full batch would be harder so I guess it depends how accomodating the other half is.

 

[bakkerman]

Just give them 2 weeks anywhere above 18 Celsius, and the will have carbed up.... a bit longer is required for full maturation with some brews... especially if you are after something to have a souring effect.

edit after thought

 

[warrenlw63]

Tub of water with an aquarium heater is a relatively cheap and easy way.

Warren -

 

[chuckydeg]

sorry to ask a question in a forum already started but.......
I wasn't aware bottles are better warmer in the first week.
If I fermented my brew in the fridge at 20 deg then bottle and leave them out at temps between
28 - 30 deg, would that be the way to go???

Thanks.

 

[marlow_coates]

Certainly won't hurt the brew, though temps the same at which you brewed are fine also.

It is really to allow that last bit of fermentation for the carbonation.

And although you have put the effort in to brew at a good temp, a high temp for secondary fermentation for carbonation purposes is not going to destroy the beer or impart noticable poor flavours (IMO).

Marlow

 

[Phoney]

I keep mine stacked up in milkcrates and boxes in the hallway leading out to the laundry.

 

[ianh]

Hi

I in Tassie so gets a little cold. I have a cupboard which has two switchable 60W globes so I can control the temp to 20C.

Only trouble is I am now finding it difficult to obtain the old 60W globes and have to acquire them specially.

 

[kegpig]

Gday guys i have just started bottling (long time keg user) and my first 2 weeks they sat in the shed at possibly 12-14 degress will this hurt it or should i bump up temp now and cabonation will take longer?

 

[Josh]

Gday guys i have just started bottling (long time keg user) and my first 2 weeks they sat in the shed at possibly 12-14 degress will this hurt it or should i bump up temp now and cabonation will take longer?

12-14 won't hurt, but if it's an ale it might take a little bit longer to carb.

I bottled last night and mine are still sitting on the kitchen bench. I'll be acquiring some plastic crates to store them in stacked downstairs. It gets pretty cool down there, ales fermenting at 16-18C at the moment, so the bottles with their lower volume will probably get down a bit more. I'm comfortable with that cos I have enough stockpiled to not need my bottles for a while anyway.

 

[durgarth]

One of the best way's I know to maintain your bottle temp (and I live in Canberra so it gets cold) is to line your newly capped bottles on top of an old water bed heater on a flat surface. They usually come with thermostats so put the probe into the centre of the bottles and throw a blanket or two on top.

I leave them like that for two weeks (at 20 degrees or a bit higher) and then store them on the shelf.

It works like a treat, all you need is a flat surface. The waterbed heater I had left over from the 80's crushed royal blue velour waterbed, so it cost me nothing, however I'm sure there are heaps of them out there.