When can you ferment at ambient temps at your place?

[431neb]

Yep, I know almost all the time. Ignoring any FNQ K&K efforts that are at final gravity in 4 minutes, what I'm trying to ask is what season (or date if you like), can brewing at ambient temps be safely carried out without detriment to the fermenting beer?

There must be a simpler way to ask this question….

Is it cold enough where you are to ferment outside of a fridge? ie with only a heat pad or band as temperature control?

I'm thinking that Mid April in Melbourne must be close to hitting the safe zone for a (pseudo) ambient ale yeast ferment with just a heat belt to keep the chill at bay. My ferment chamber is chocka-block, I have two cubes begging for yeast and what is probably the largest fermenter collection in the Southern Hemisphere. Someone give me a green light!!

 

[SmallFry]

Dude, it's going to be 11 degree overnight.

Maybe think about doing some lagers???

 

[manticle]

Got one on right now. APA I made on the weekend.

In Melbourne - autumn and early spring quite often. Winter and late spring with water baths.

I have ferment controlled fridge now but for several years I had to take care of temp in other ways. Early autumn and early spring required the least intervention.

 

[Tony]

Saison in 40 deg heat in January!

 

[manticle]

That too.

 

[Tropico]

Well, at 150km north of Melbourne, this time of the year is very similar to spring.

You should check the 7 day forecast for max and min temps. Just like summer, there are cycles of the warm sunny days and cool nights followed by the cold south west changes that come through. I don't think the ambient daytime temp should be above 24C from now on, and you brew shouldn't come anywhere near up to that temp after a cool night.

Anyway, winter is coming, stock up on the ales, there will be plenty of time during winter to do lagers (with heating).


Edit: Pitch you yeast on Friday 18/4 in the afternoon

 

[Bribie G]

Hereabouts we are right at the Southern end of the Subtropical Zone (Köppen climate classification) * and from the end of April to October it's sweet for ales.

However it depends on your premises, I'm in a brick and tile with insulated ceiling so the garage doesn't vary a lot during the day. However a fibro hut or tin shed obviously would be a different story.


* moving down to NSW? mate your'e going to freeze your arse off..... actually I wear exactly the same clothes as I did on Bribie Island most of the year

 

[Midnight Brew]

However it depends on your premises, I'm in a brick and tile with insulated ceiling so the garage doesn't vary a lot during the day. However a fibro hut or tin shed obviously would be a different story.

That pretty much sums up my brewery. From September to May it's a usually about 18-20. Sometimes it gets a little colder so I wrap the FV in a towel to help it retain its heat (and it works) but thats usually in early September and into May. During winter it gets too cold down there so I ferment inside under the kitchen bench with towels again. I've just got to be careful of summer heat waves and know what the temps are going to be. Plan to do saisons then anyway and age them away for drinking at a later stage. I really should hook up a fermentation fridge and be set all year but space restrictions limit me.

 

[geneabovill]

I have fermented at ambient from about now all the way through winter with a water bath and aquarium heater set to 16°c.

I'm in Newcastle, so drops to 3°c in the dead of winter.

 

[431neb]

Good enough for me. It seems a little chilly this-morning. I think it's going to align quite closely to the first time the fire gets lit for the year too.

Once upon a time I wouldnt've cared so much about temp control and blasted forward with wet towels, ice blocks and insulation etc but I guess a few years with a temperature controlled fridge have made me a bit anal about accuracy.

Thanks gents, a water bath would make a nice buffer against big variances and a saison is a great idea for when it warms up a bit Tony (welcome back BTW).

 

[manticle]

You can be accurate with water baths etc - it just takes more effort and more attention. The first few days are the most important. Since you are dealing with a thermal mass that generates its own heat, I found that getting the wort to a few degrees below intended ferment temp before pitching worked a treat. Helped by the fact that I no-chill, I continue this practice now that I use a fridge for most brews.

Maintain the temp of the water bath at or just below target temp, measure hydrometer samples to make sure it's within a beesdick.

 

[mr_wibble]

If the beer is going to stay under 20.

In the last 7 days we've had highs of 27 & 33, so not there yet.

 

[Mutaneer]

I'm in Hobart,
is about 16-20 degrees in the cupboard in my spare room (window faces South East so gets a little morning sun to warm it up) all year round.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

All year round in NW Tassie.

In summer, it's in the spare toilet on the tiles and stays about 20 degrees based on that. In summertime here the sun is up about 6am and down about 10pm at the equinox, so the the daytime/nighttime temps don't vary enough to cause issues with lazy yeast.

In winter/cooler weather, it goes in the Hot Water System cupboard, in which the temp in the cooler months is about 18-20 degrees with virtually no fluctuations.. Not had any nasties as a result.

Carbonating in winter is a pain, because the shelving isn't crash hot, so I'm moving boxes around the system in the vain hope of having enough room for my bottles. Yet another reason to go back to kegs (not that I need any other than $$).

 

[TimT]

Temperature will vary from room to room too - if it hits mid-20s outside, some rooms in the house with little to no direct sunlight just won't ever get that warm. Bathrooms, with their frosted windows and tiled surfaces lose heat pretty much straight away so they're great if you want to minimise heat during the day. Alternatively, if you're fermenting an ale that needs temps around 18-20 degrees and it's a cold day (by Australian standards) of temps around 10 degrees, consider moving the ale to the kitchen and doing some cooking.

Melbourne's weather is very kind. Any season other than summer is good fermenting time really.

 

[spog]

Saison in 40 deg heat in January!

Tony,good to see you here again.
Cheers...spog.
( sorry for the high jack).

 

[Bizier]

There are about three days of the year in Perth, and they are not consecutive.

 

[indica86]

Tassie.

In summer?

Doesn't your summer only last two weeks?

 

[pk.sax]

He has a picture of-
The sun
The beach &
A kegerator

On the dunny wall to trick the beer into thinking its summer.

 

[Bribie G]

All year round in NW Tassie.

In summer, it's in the spare toilet on the tiles and stays about 20 degrees based on that. In summertime here the sun is up about 6am and down about 10pm at the equinox, so the the daytime/nighttime temps don't vary enough to cause issues with lazy yeast.

In winter/cooler weather, it goes in the Hot Water System cupboard, in which the temp in the cooler months is about 18-20 degrees with virtually no fluctuations.. Not had any nasties as a result.

Carbonating in winter is a pain, because the shelving isn't crash hot, so I'm moving boxes around the system in the vain hope of having enough room for my bottles. Yet another reason to go back to kegs (not that I need any other than $$).

:icon_offtopic: Solstice, not Equinox.

That's whether or not the Moon is waxing gibbous.