Realistically, what can I expect with temp fluctuations?

[thrillho]

Hey all,


I don't have temperature control for my brews at the moment, but as the room I use to brew holds a relatively constant temperature, I'm still making great tasting beers.

My question is, how much of a difference to taste or anything else will temperature fluctuations between 15-18 degrees (though mostly happy at 16) cause? I'm using US-05 yeast, but happy to keep the temps low to make it "clean".

Thanks for any help!

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

You will find that the fermenter temp wont vary as much as the air temp in the room, so what you really need to know is how much the temp of the wort is changing. Those stick on side thermometer strips are crap so dont use them. Depending on your thermometer type you may be able to take readings thru the airlock hole.

Basically if you keep it under 18*c and the flucuations arnt to big then I would doubt you would notice much change in taste. 3*c isnt that much to worry about

 

[syl]

^^ What he said. For US05 you should be fine.

Also: the beer will be warmer than the room by a few degrees during active fermentation.

 

[CosmicBertie]

Yeah, that amount of fluctuation isnt too bad. But if you go higher (20+) then you head into weird ester taste territory, and below 14 you start to get into dormant territory.

At least if it gets too cold you can warm it up and swirl the fermenter.