Frementation temperatures

Brewing processes and methods. How to brew using extract, partial or all-grain. Tips and tricks.

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rfm
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Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2012 7:13 pm

Frementation temperatures

Post by rfm »

I apologize if this sounds like a dumb question, but starting out brewing and many times it will tell me to let the beer ferment at a range of certain temperatures. How do I maintain that temperature? Summer time was out of the question when certain ranges are in the 62-70 range. Not sure if a refrigerator can hold a fairly normal temperature of this range...
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jeff
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Re: Frementation temperatures

Post by jeff »

rfm wrote:I apologize if this sounds like a dumb question, but starting out brewing and many times it will tell me to let the beer ferment at a range of certain temperatures. How do I maintain that temperature? Summer time was out of the question when certain ranges are in the 62-70 range. Not sure if a refrigerator can hold a fairly normal temperature of this range...
Of course the ideal situation is for the room where the fermenter is placed to remain at a temperature within the optimum temperature range for the selected yeast. Some climates make this difficult. There is a lot of equipment on the market (some quite expensive) for controlling fermentation temperature. Options include cooling/heating jackets and sophisticated fermenters with all the bells and whistles built in. However, I personally use another method.

If you have an extra freezer or refrigerator that you can devote to your beer for a few weeks you can purchase a relatively inexpensive temperature controller that converts your freezer or fridge into a precisely temperature controlled fermentation room. The principle is simple: turn the built-in temperature controller in the freezer or fridge to its coldest setting, then plug it into the new controller and dial in your desired temperature. Using its own temperature probe to monitor the internal temperature, the controller sends power to the freezer or fridge when it needs to drop. Overriding the built-in temperature is necessary because most freezers and refrigerators maintain temperatures that are too cold for fermentation even at their warmest settings.

Hope this helps!
Jeff
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renagade
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Re: Frementation temperatures

Post by renagade »

+1

I use this method myself with a 7 CF chest freezer. They only way I roll now! Remember that fermentation temps in the carboy or bucket are 5_7 degrees warmer then the exterior. Set your controller according to that.
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