Brewing in warm weather - Alternatives to fridge

[TempTest]

Hello!

I don't have the space for a fermentation fridge. My garage is not connected to the house and does not have an electric supply. There are no other rooms in the house that are suitable (or have space) for a fermentation fridge. What alternatives exist, short of avoiding brewing this time of the year?

I did consider the water bucket approach but ideally I (a) do not want to directly put the FV in the water because I use a fermenter with a tap and while I'm sure it'd be fine I'd rather not risk any sort of infection when it comes to removing the fermenter and opening the tap and (b) it could get messy! Is it possible to fill a builders trug with iced water and put the FV in this *within* another container, so that the fermenter does not actually touch the water? Or is the heat exchange in this setup going to be too poor?

Any other ideas? Any cooling jackets, etc, on the market?

Thank you!

[sbond10]

Sadly I asked this question last year when it was cooler and the options I got was ether bucket within bucket or fan with wet towel on it. There are some that use a maxi chiller and a coil but no there's sadly few practical solution s other a fridge

[TempTest]

Sadly I asked this question last year when it was cooler and the options I got was ether bucket within bucket or fan with wet towel on it. There are some that use a maxi chiller and a coil but no there's sadly few practical solution s other a fridge

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

Just to check, you mention 'bucket within bucket'. Are you suggesting it will still be just as efficient for me to put my FV in a bucket (no water) and then this bucket within another bucket (with water)? Or would the air gap between the inner bucket and FV cause problems with heat transfer? I'd *prefer* not to have the FV directly in water however if the 'bucket in a bucket' works that would suit me well... I currently sit the FV in a 75L tubtrug anyway (to save the carpet incase of blow offs) and assuming the FV would actually fit in a 42L I could then put that (with the FV) inside the 75L with ice packs... Reckon it'd work? Or do I really need to put the FV directly into the water?

Thank you!!

[sbond10]

I reckon that it will only work in direct contact but I'm no expert I've given up brewing in summer until someone can produce a none technically challenging solution for less than 30 quid

[Fil]

i read about a US brewer in a hot state who built a insulation board box in his brewshed without power, to cool it he exchanged frozen water bottles daily and ran a dc voltage fan off a battery to circulate the cold.

dont worry too much about a gunky tap if u do drop the FV in water, you could sanitise the waterbath, every few days (bleach ,sodium met, videne, starsan?), or to sanitise a tap after submersion, you can use a squeezy bottle with hot/warm cleaning solution and squirt it up into the tap, and rinse out followed by a sanitation. i use a tattoo wash bottle, its also useful to clean out the tap after drawing off a sample for a gravity check..

a fridge mod If you have the room and power to run one is the easiest solution..

[paulg]

or forget the tap and siphon the beer out of the fermenter

[mojonojo]

Google "mother of fermentation chamber" for a insulated fermentation box chilled with icepacks and a fan - its quite a cool concept.

[TempTest]

Thanks for the replies. The fridge is definitely the best option, if only I had the space/suitable location. If the FV needs to be in direct contact with the water/ice pack then that's out of the window too - Sure I could syphon but I'd read not. The Mother of Fermentation Chamber looks ace but not sure these can be purchased?

I don't mind, within reason, the cost but I don't have the time at the moment to build anything!

It looks as though my sensible option is to brew more in the cooler months and less during the warmer months... Until I've got a place where I can put a spare fridge!

[mojonojo]

or brew with yeast that can tollerate a higher temp range over the summer months -

mauribrew ale 514 will tollerate warm fermentations relatively cleanly
Belgians will produce belgian style beers at warmer temps
Saisons quite like the warm too.

[Rick_UK]

or brew with yeast that can tollerate a higher temp range over the summer months -

mauribrew ale 514 will tollerate warm fermentations relatively cleanly
Belgians will produce belgian style beers at warmer temps
Saisons quite like the warm too.

This is what I do brew beers which suit higher fermentation temps or yeasts which can cope with warmer temps.

Also if you find a cool spot it will likely get down to at least 18 during the night so if you insulate the FV in the morning when the wort is at its coolest you may keep it in the low 20s during the day and remove the insulation again in the eve once it gets cooler. After 48 - 72hrs Primary fermentation should be complete, after which a few days at warmer temps shouldn't be an issue. Especially if the yeast is not too fussy.

Rick