The Golden Months Of Brewing Are Here

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Bribie G

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Until around September, fridges are for cold conditioning only ( and the very occasional lager brew ) - apart from that the fermenters will line up like little soldiers on the concrete brewery floor - Looking to use the yeasts that like 16-18 such as Wyeast 1056, 1469 etc.

Current Forecast for the coming week, we tend to have milder nights here on the Island due to the marine influence.

Maybe a bedtime doonah wrap for the little dears on the really cold nights we can get here up till end of August.
 
My little storage unit under the building is sitting at a constant 16 degrees day and night right now. I'll be brewing like a mad bugger the next few months. Mind you, even in summer it doesn't get much above 20 if you don't get an extended spell of 35+ days, which is rare so close to the water, and even then a tub & frozen water bottles knocks it back pretty quickly.

I've never brewed using anything other than US-05, WLP-001 and recultured Henry Weston's scrumpy yeast, so hopefully the lower temps will allow me to branch out a bit.
 
I'm going to start bottling up some brews so i can really take advantage of the cool weather, other wise the kegs will just sit there full.
 
I'm going to start bottling up some brews so i can really take advantage of the cool weather, other wise the kegs will just sit there full.
I'm not following, why would you drink from bottles instead of your kegs?
 
Hell yes. Gotta love the Qld winter for ales. My laundry is navigable by walking on the handles of the scattered blue willow cubes. A Zythos PA, Amarillo/Galaxy PA and a Target/Cascade PA. And a Boh Pils having a little rest.
 
Yep Bribie, the next few months are looking very promising indeed. I've just moved house, there's a new brew shed to finish equipping with a sink and plumbing, but in the mean time a pair of cubed English ales are itching for some yeast- I'm not that bothered about hooking the fridge controller up as with these temps it should work fairly well unplugged anyway (the STC is in a box somewhere...). B)
 
Brewing in winter in Qld is da bomb!

Ales (APA, ESB, EPA) come out clean, weissbiers perfect, even lagers and faux-lagers are do-able. Everything ferments, power used is less, and you don't spend every time you go downstairs looking at the temp probe on the STC1000.

Concrete floor, brick house (underneath level) and lots of dark space. Average temp this week under the house is 16.7 degrees.

I feel sorry for our southern brethren who have to worry about keeping things warm in winter.

Think I might use the time to acquire some jerry cans for new fermenters, so I can do more in the ferm freezer in summer.

Goomba
 
Got a bsaaz pils in a cupboard on the southern side of the house coasting along at a constant 13 degrees. Heat cord around the ESB in the fridge upstairs though. I intend to brew a shitload of lagers in my first Tasmanian winter.......
 
Yep Bribie, the next few months are looking very promising indeed. I've just moved house, there's a new brew shed to finish equipping with a sink and plumbing, but in the mean time a pair of cubed English ales are itching for some yeast- I'm not that bothered about hooking the fridge controller up as with these temps it should work fairly well unplugged anyway (the STC is in a box somewhere...). B)


Brew shed with sink and plumbing.........................I can only dream...................
 
I'm not following, why would you drink from bottles instead of your kegs?

WEll the amount of fermenting space available now far outweighs consumption, so if i bottle i can get really in front, otherwise i've only got 4 kegs. My keg fridge is down stairs so grabbing a bottle out of the kitchen fridge is easier as well.
 
My garage is sitting at around 16 deg but will cool to more like 14 over the next month.

I plan to make a Kolsch for my stepsons 18th birthday on the floor. but i do need to wrap up fermenting ales in a leccy blanket to keep them chugging along during winter.

I just made a Saison and pitched 3726 farmhouse ale, and it will go live in the bar area where the fireplace keeps it at a nice mid to high twenties.

I remember my garage in Tamworth was so cold it would near stop lager yeast at about 6 deg wort temperature. I will never forget putting an electric blanket on a lager to get it to 10 deg so it would ferment :) and mashing in when it was -2 air temp at 7:30 in the morning had its challenges.

But the bottles were good to drink strait off the shelf.... no fridge needed :)
 
what do you mean winter is for ale brewing, up here winter is for lager brewing with no fridge, my laundry and back room sits at a constant 11 deg in the middle of winter at the moment it is sitting a 14 deg. Nothing like living up the mountains if you like lager brewing, I only use the fridge if I'm brewing in summer

forcast not to far from me

cheers steve
 
That's about it for me for the year.

I'm just fermenting an Oktoberfest, and hopefully I'll be able to get another lager in... unless anyone knows of a yeast strain that works best between -5 and -8.
 
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