Temp Control in Brisbane Winter

[dsclark]

Hello everyone!!

Total n00b question.

I live in Brisbane and am planning a couple of brews in winter. (ales)

Do I need a brew belt or is Brisbane winter ok for brewing?

If I need a brew belt do I need to connect it to a temperature controller??

If so what are good too buy? I see some cheap ones on ebay for $20.00 (STC-1000)

Is it worth get a fridge and fermenting in that for winter or is that only good for summer??

Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Cheers!!

 

[hairydog]

Gday dsclark,

Brisbane weather seems to be around 22 at the moment and may drop cooler in the next few months maybe 18-20

which is perfect ale yeast fermentation temperature and when fermentation is in full swing it will rise maybe half to one deg c.

The nights might be colder but shouldn't halt the fermentation process at current temps.A mate of mine lives west of Toowoomba

his nights are cooold and would need a heat belt or mat during the night to keep the yeast comfortable,go hard brew as much as

you can now is what I say,US05 and Nottingham have a good variance in temperature range where yeast is happy.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

In the house I'm currently in, it gets warm, and I need 'cool' temp control. Last winter I assumed that (like other houses) I didn't need to do anything in winter and ended up with diacetyl, acetyldehide laiden beers.

In our house in Wavell Heights (the lower level was concrete and got no sun because it was behind a hill of sorts and trees), I could put beer down there, it'd hold a stable 16-18 degrees and I'd ferment at that temp for ales.

 

[unwrittenlaw]

For this time of year, I'd recommend a heat belt with a timer for the early hours of the morning at least, if you can't get around to wiring up an STC. Ideally you want to aim for a fridge + heat belt with STC to ferment with year round.

 

[2cranky]

I've had a ferment going the last couple of weeks in my fermenting fridge with STC controller. I used a 3L milk bottle filled with hot water in the fridge. Once the ferment got going it maintained 18 (fridge probably even turned on occasionally). I then used the 3L milk bottle again to get to 22c this took 2 days and i needed to replace the bottle morning and night to hold at 22c. It worked but I've quickly got over it!
So I just bought a keg king 40W wrap mat from HOPPY DAYS. This will plug straight into the heat side of the STC so I wont need to baby sit it as much.

 

[dsclark]

Great looking set up! Just wondering if it the STC-1000 that you are using?

 

[fdsaasdf]

For ales I use a heat pad with the heat function of the STC-1000. Haven't transitioned to using the brewpiless board just yet...

 

[Randai]

Honestly for winter I still find given the amount of heat that actively fermenting beer can put off that it'll be great temperatures for ales in an insulated environment. So I have a freezer with temperature control and still find that in winter it will need to be turned on (less often than other seasons) for ales, since even at its coldest in a house you are still pretty warm, but if you have an enclosed environment for fermentation then you'd see that temp bump up a bit.

 

[2cranky]

Great looking set up! Just wondering if it the STC-1000 that you are using?

Yep. That's it. You need to get 2 cheap extension leads, a project box and a sparky to wire it for you. I got a couple of leads from Bunnings and used an empty screw box for mine.

 

[2cranky]

That's a bit of a pov version. My keezer has the swanky one

 

[Colo]

My ferment freezer is in a non insulated shed outside, so over those cold couple months we have I have a heat belt on mine. Don't necessarily even have to have it wrapped around the fermenter, just having it inside the freezer/fridge should be enough.

 

[Rocker1986]

Most of the time the fridge I ferment in keeps the brews warm enough on its own, and it does even turn on occasionally during the most active phase of fermentation.

Once fermentation dies down though, I use either of two methods to keep it warm. One is simply opening the fridge during the warmest part of the day, then closing it again, the other is boiling some water in an Erlenmeyer flask and sticking that inside the fridge to keep things warm overnight. I hardly ever need to bother doing these things though.

 

[laxation]

I've been using one of these: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/80W-Elec...erment-Pail-/361140134738?hash=item5415a12352

Plugged into one of these: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Digital-...819369?hash=item1a1f7399a9:g:d1wAAOSwcUBYICff

total cost under $25...

I've used it on two fermenters: the newer Coopers style with the loose top, and a 25l blue water barrel from Bunnings.

It was much better/more accurate on the Bunnings barrel. Takes a bit of trial and error to get the right temp on the Coopers one (but never far off). Must be something to do with the plastic and temp probe not being as compatible...

 

[Lakey]

I have a brew in my fermenting fridge set to 18° with an stc1000, but the fridge mysteriously shit itself over night and the fridge is now at 25°. So i dont think any heating is needed if your brew is in an insulated fridge.

 

[Black Devil Dog]

Fermenting a couple of apa's at the moment, they've been going for about a week at 18 deg, yesterday I set my temp control to 20 for a d-rest (not really required but I do it anyway).

Checked the fridge first thing this morning and it's sitting at 20 deg.

Certainly no need for heating at the moment.

Maybe in August I might drag the hot water bottle out.

 

[Matplat]

Maybe there are micro-climates around, I'm fermenting at 18 with no problems, but struggling to get up to 20 after peak activity has passed....