Seasonal Brewing

[robbiep]

Hi guys,

For those who dont have a spare fridge with temperature control, have you ever considering seasonal brewing?

For example, i have a cellar, and in winter im sure it will get pretty cold down there, perfect for brewing lagers.

Whereas in autumn, when its not as cold, ales could be brewed?

Whats your thoughts?

Cheers,
Robbie

 

[sponge]

I believe quite a few people do that.

Ambient temperatures will determine what beers are best brewed at what times of the year. For example, many people brew saisons over summer as they'll happily ferment in the high 20's with no issues, unlike trying to brew a lager at those temperatures which would end up undrinkable.

Fermenting fridges help avoid these issues, but if you can get away with brewing without the fridge and just using ambient temperatues (as long as they're reasonably stable), you save yourself a little bit of power if you dont have to use your fridge, or you can use your fridge for say lagers and whatnot whilst brewing some ales at ambient.

 

[jacknohe]

When I didn't have a fridge with temp control I would only brew according to the seasons. Summer was out for sure. Three months of brewing really. I never looked into doing a saison at the time.

But personally, my brewing has really sharpened up with temp control. Wouldn't brew without it now.

 

[JDW81]

Hi guys,

For those who dont have a spare fridge with temperature control, have you ever considering seasonal brewing?

That is how I brew as I don't have temperature control yet (just need to wire up my temp controller then I'm there though).

Ales and wheats in the winter as the garage stays between 15-19 degrees and saison in the summer. Garage hits a balmy 32-33 on those hot summer days, and holds that temp most of the night, perfect for wyeast #3724 (belgian saison)

 

[Midnight Brew]

I brew ales in summer still, I wait for a few steady days where I know the temperature isnt going to rocket back and forth too much. So if im aiming to brew at 19ish then I wait for temps to be min 16-17C max of 20-23C. My fermenting room is a room knocked out of the side of the garage and holds steady temps depending on the weeks weather. So this week for example I pitched last Saturday night and its been holding at 19-20C and the temperature is going to be rising now cause the hot weather is coming in but it shouldnt effect the outcome too much because the wort has already fully fermented. 4-5 days of steady temp is what your after in my case. Id love a fermenting fridge but the horder of the household hasnt changed his ways.

 

[Lecterfan]

I have temp control but still usually have a brew going that is dependant upon ambient temps. I have a can cooler with a rubber camping mat inside it for my 'ambient' beers...generally a brew will get the first few days in there with ice blocks or a heating pad (depending on the time of year) and then the next week or so ambient (that is the summer routine). Wy3711 is an obvious choice as it doesn't care too much about fluctuations or needing excessive constant heat, but surprisingly I find nottingham pretty good also...keep it reasonably stable for the first 3 days or so and then let it have its way.

You can still make excellent beers without temp control, just not as consistently or as easily. Most Belgian yeasts that I've tried prefer the warmth and are vigorous enough over the first few days of ferment to withstand drops in temp overnight. YMMV as they say.

 

[manticle]

Yes I do this.

In the midst of wiring up a fridge which will mean I can do one brew at a time out of synch if I like but saisons in the summer, lagers in the winter and various ales dotted around in between and this will continue as I rarely only have one fermenting brew going.

Also use water baths to moderate and maintain temps.

 

[madawoods]

works for me, just choose an appropriate yeast (check the forecast!) and place in the room with the most stable temp.