Controlling fermentation temperature for Newbies

[lovelldr]

See above re garage however currently in the garden weighing up options for 2nd shed

Sorry, didn't know you'd replied when I posted that

But, could still do similar to water bath, adding some ice instead of warming. But would need to do quote often...

As for shed idea, this could end up being just as warm as outside, so in summer, it could end up in late 20's...

Wat kinda temps will give an off flavour? I do mine in the loft and got temps of 26 some days , nothing i could do about it either

From what I remember, off temps come at over 24'c. Summat to do with fusal alcohols. Will impart a banana type flavour. Hope was a wheat beer, lol. To be honest though, I wouldn't worry too much. It affects it mostly in the beginning period of fermentation from what I remember...

[sbond10]

Herbal essesences for a great head retention and lovely shine to your beer

[Barticus]

Cheers fellas, seems that its either not high enough to cause the poor taste or I need to try and find somewhere safe in the house for the water / aquarium heater route. Garage converted into teenager bedroom which in turn rules out over full shed.

Wat kinda temps will give an off flavour? I do mine in the loft and got temps of 26 some days , nothing i could do about it either

I really have no idea. Some people are saying that not fermenting at the correct temperature range (in this case its 18-20 but room temp is 22) and others like you are saying a higher temp hasnt affected the taste.

Im just trying to get to the bottom of why mine doesnt taste very nice, so far and wondered if anyone had found a simple solution for keeping a brew within that sort of range without buying a fridge.

[Barticus]

Herbal essesences for a great head retention and lovely shine to your beer

[Matt12398]

Barticus, sit down, put your wallet away and be patient.

I'm not sure who these people are that claim their beer tastes great straight out the FV but they either have something wrong with their tastebuds or they are magic. Mine tasted like rough cider following two weeks in the FV. I bottled it and then a week in the warm and a couple weeks in the cool and it tasted pretty good. However, it's now at the point where it's really coming good, around the 5-6 week mark, and it is better than a lot of pints you get served in pubs and I'm choosing to drink it over the shop bought ales because I like it so much. If you can get all that out of a kit, imagine the possibilities of all grain when you get to that stage.

So, stop tasting it every five minutes, let it do its thing and when you're sipping pure joy in a glass in a couple weeks come back here and tell us all about it. Then go to town on the kids pocket money for some new equipment.

[Barticus]

Barticus, sit down, put your wallet away and be patient.

I'm not sure who these people are that claim their beer tastes great straight out the FV but they either have something wrong with their tastebuds or they are magic. Mine tasted like rough cider following two weeks in the FV. I bottled it and then a week in the warm and a couple weeks in the cool and it tasted pretty good. However, it's now at the point where it's really coming good, around the 5-6 week mark, and it is better than a lot of pints you get served in pubs and I'm choosing to drink it over the shop bought ales because I like it so much. If you can get all that out of a kit, imagine the possibilities of all grain when you get to that stage.

So, stop tasting it every five minutes, let it do its thing and when you're sipping pure joy in a glass in a couple weeks come back here and tell us all about it. Then go to town on the kids pocket money for some new equipment.

ok

[Monkeybrew]

Keeping the temp down in summer is definitely alot harder than keeping it warm in the winter.

Don't overlook a brewfridge, I picked a cheap fridge on eBay, a tube heater and a temp controller for around £80.

It took me a few hours to build and setup, but I haven't looked back!

If you want to cook a wheat beer at 24C or brew a true lager at 12C, you just set your temp and away you go. I've even recently started using it to crash chill brews in a secondary FV before bottling to drop more yeast out

[t0ph0id]

Keeping the temp down in summer is definitely alot harder than keeping it warm in the winter.

Don't overlook a brewfridge, I picked a cheap fridge on eBay, a tube heater and a temp controller for around £80.

It took me a few hours to build and setup, but I haven't looked back!

If you want to cook a wheat beer at 24C or brew a true lager at 12C, you just set your temp and away you go. I've even recently started using it to crash chill brews in a secondary FV before bottling to drop more yeast out

I really want to build one of these but I'm scared to even mention it to Mrs t0ph0id!

[lovelldr]

I really want to build one of these but I'm scared to even mention it to Mrs t0ph0id!

Yup, know exactly how you feel there matey...

Considering that I've been told many a time that I'm not brewing any more as they all smell horrible when I'm making them up, and then I make too much mess when bottling etc... So there's no way I'd get that past her!

[Ditch]

[fxrs]

..............

Don't overlook a brewfridge, I picked a cheap fridge on eBay, a tube heater and a temp controller for around £80.

It took me a few hours to build and setup, but I haven't looked back!

This sounds intetesting but being about as handy as Captain Hook how is it done? Is there some sort of instructions available?

[Monkeybrew]

..............

Don't overlook a brewfridge, I picked a cheap fridge on eBay, a tube heater and a temp controller for around £80.

It took me a few hours to build and setup, but I haven't looked back!

This sounds intetesting but being about as handy as Captain Hook how is it done? Is there some sort of instructions available?

I would start by searching in the equipment section of this forum, and reading about peoples builds to get a basic idea of what you need.

I bought an under the counter fridge on ebay for £12.50

One of these to control the temperature - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230615343778#ht_5983wt_1396

One of these to heat with - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/45-WATT-1FT-T ... _694wt_905

The basic idea is to have the temperature sensor probe inside your fridge to monitor ambient temps, wire your heater to the heating circuit on the ATC800+ and wire your fridge to the cooling circuit on the ATC800+.

You then set, say 20C (ambient) on the ATC800+, and it will then regulate this temperature by either automatically running your heater or the fridge.

Do some research and see what you think

[Barticus]

Definitely sounds the way to go but I cant really justify spending any more money until I taste a drinkable pint. Hopefully in a few weeks I'll crack one of my brews open and be blown away. At that point it will be party time.

As it happens I have just checked on my Woodfordes Wherry in the FV and while the room temp hasn't changed at 19c, the temp on the FV has now dropped to 20c I guess meaning the first few days of fermentation produced an extra 2 degrees of heat.

[fxrs]

Thanks Monkeybrew.

I have been doing some research and reckon even I could do this!

The bits I need are a larder type fridge, a tube heater and a STC1000 like this http://www.thermofix.co.uk/epages/es139 ... l-STC-1000

Take out all the fridge shelves. Position the heater at the bottom of the fridge. Drill a hole to draw the heater cable out to then plug in to the STC1000. Drill a small hole to put the STC1000 thermo sensor in to the fridge. Plug fridge in to the STC1000.

is the sensor better placed in the middle of the interior or doesnt that matter? I would be inclined to grommet any holes drilled. Is it necessary to ensure once the cables are passed through the relevant hole that the hole is siliconed to seal it?

I'm in a roll now

[Barticus]

Had a quick butchers and theres a cocoa cola one on ebay with 3 hours to go going for £20!!!

Not sure if its the right job or not.

Located in South Tyneside