Larger Brewing In The Garage, Unstable Temps.

[hijax]

Hey all.

I am wanting to start putting down a few largers and not sure how the unstable, low temps will effect the beer. I'm down in tassie and the garage where I brew sits at a pretty stable 10 degrees for about 85% of the day. But at around 4 or 5 am can drop as low as 3 degrees.

Just wondering what possible effects this may have on the fermentation, will it stall it with a larger yeast? Will it kick back in again when the temp rises?

Any comment/suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[Clutch]

Thermal mass should mean that the temp of the wort will take longer to drop, am I right?

 

[Nick JD]

Any comment/suggestions would be much appreciated.

Lager only has an R at the end.

Fermentation of a large amount of liquid behaves like a thermal buffer. The fermenter will be the average temperature of the room + a degree or two due to yeast's exothermic activity.

 

[hijax]

Good point. I didn't think of that!

 

[yum beer]

brew baby, brew.

 

[cam89brewer]

I agree. You will be fine to brew at those temps, make the most of it and save power!!

 

[Brewman_]

Yeh the temp is right.
But as you mention the temperature fluctuates, and yes thermal inertia is very good, but you should try to minimise the fluctuation if you can. Try to insulate the fermenter to minimise this if you can.

Fear.

 

[kdaust]

Yeh the temp is right.
But as you mention the temperature fluctuates, and yes thermal inertia is very good, but you should try to minimise the fluctuation if you can. Try to insulate the fermenter to minimise this if you can.

Fear.

After it's come down to temp of course.

My laundry is the same at the moment. Lager yeast is chillin in its hood at 10degC.

 

[Mike L'Itorus]

Lager only has an R at the end.

Fermentation of a large amount of liquid behaves like a thermal buffer. The fermenter will be the average temperature of the room + a degree or two due to yeast's exothermic activity.

I'm so pissed of at the moment. 'Cos I agree with Nick. Boo hiss, there's a first. <_<

"I am currently drinking LAGER".
"My cock is much LARGER than Nicks' cock".


Big difference. Very big. Very, very big.

Re the temp: as others have stated, thermal mass plays a part. Consider: Half a cup of coffee left on a bench in a 10C room. Consider further: a 10L bucket of hot water left on the same bench. Which cools first? The coffee. Much less liquid, much less thermal mass.....How long does it take a bottle of coke to get down to drinking temperature in the fridge in the middle of summe?? (Nudge, Nudge......nudge hard enough, and you'll realise that you probably already have a fair idea of the answer).

If you average 10C, other than for 2-3 hours, where it gets lower (down to 2 or 3), the least it will likely get down to is....off the top of my head, pure guess....mebbe....7 or 8???C. Healthy pitch, and it should be fine.

 

[.DJ.]

very [/i]big.

I never type LOL because I never usually laugh out loud...

but...

LOL!
:lol:

 

[mondestrunken]

So, I have the same problem at the moment.

During rainy/overcast nights the garage temperature stays pretty constant at around 10 degrees. But on clear nights, the outside temperature can get down to -4, -5 at the moment :blink: , which means 3-5 degrees inside the garage in the morning.

I noticed fermentation slows down appreciably on cold nights.

I've set up a heat pad on one of those light timers, which turns on for a couple of hours during the middle of the night.

It seems to be working pretty well so far.

I'm thinking of putting some insulation in the garage roof, but I'm not sure I can justify it...

 

[tiprya]

Why not just hook the heat pad up to a STC-1000 or similar, to keep the brew at exactly 10?

 

[thylacine]

So, I have the same problem at the moment.

During rainy/overcast nights the garage temperature stays pretty constant at around 10 degrees. But on clear nights, the outside temperature can get down to -4, -5 at the moment :blink: , which means 3-5 degrees inside the garage in the morning.

I noticed fermentation slows down appreciably on cold nights.

I've set up a heat pad on one of those light timers, which turns on for a couple of hours during the middle of the night.

It seems to be working pretty well so far.

I'm thinking of putting some insulation in the garage roof, but I'm not sure I can justify it...

Colin at LHBS in Kambah currently has fully assembled temperature controllers, that both heat or cool, for seventy-one dollars.

 

[hijax]

Thanks very much for the feedback and grammar lessons.
Much appreciated!

Time to go brew that LAGER!

 

[Plastic Man]

Putting fermenter in an old fridge (non working) works well. Buffers inside from outside temp swings. Keep an eye on temp and if its getting too low wack a bottle or two of hot water in to bring up a bit.

 

[mondestrunken]

Colin at LHBS in Kambah currently has fully assembled temperature controllers, that both heat or cool, for seventy-one dollars.

Been there, seen them, and one of them's on my to-buy list!!!

 

[Weizguy]

Putting fermenter in an old fridge (non working) works well. Buffers inside from outside temp swings. Keep an eye on temp and if its getting too low wack a bottle or two of hot water in to bring up a bit.

+1 for the old fridge or freezer as an insulation chamber.

It's not as good as the temp-controlled environment, but at least it a temp-mitigated environment.