Yeast Temps - Which Is Better?

[Jesse]

G'day,

Short question: Is consistently high temperatures better than fluctuating lower temperatures for ale yeast? Will lower fluctuating temps = better beer?


Long Blurb:
I live in QLD. It's summer and my fermentor is getting to hot.

Currently I have a system going...

I place my fementor in a big tub of water (3/4 of the way up the fermentor) and this alone will maintain it at about 22-24 degrees. Which is better than ambient 30-35 degrees.

In the morning before work I put bottles of ice in the fermentor and this cools the lot down from 21 to about 16-18.

When I get back from work it's about 22ish chuck lot of icein another to bring it back down to 18.

So basically my ale yeast fluctuates from 16-21 is this better than consistently higher temps?


Please don't answer back with "buy a fermenting fridge" the budget doesn't allow

Cheers :icon_cheers:


Jesse

 

[tim_mortensen]

Short answer: temp fluctuations from 16-21 is better than consistently higher temps, especially 30+!

cheers,

mortz

 

[Supra-Jim]

Can you get hold of some styrofoam boxes and fashion some kid of crude insulation to sit around/over your water bath?

This would be cheap (possilby free if you're lucky) and would definitely help to reduce the temp fluctuation.

 

[newguy]

Your current routine is fine. When I used to live in an apartment the summer temps would get to 30+ for days at a stretch. I'd put my carboys in a tub of water (about 10cm deep) and "dress" them in an old t-shirt. The shirt would wick up the water and cool the fermenting beer quite well. I think the actual beer temp is a lot more stable than your water bath - I assume that's the temperature you're actually measuring? Either way, nothing to really worry about unless you're trying to brew a lager.