Brew in a Bucket

[pfullarton]

Gday all,

Making a fresh lager today, and I'm experimenting with a new way to keep the fermenter cool. I have a large bucket that I have the fermenter sitting in, and I have filled the bucket up with water and some ice and plan on keep checking it to keep the temp between 10 and 15 degrees.

Has anyone tried something like this before?

Any thoughts or comments?

Cheers

[rwh]

Yep, I've done this before, and I found that I would get infections after racking. I guessed at the time that it was insects falling into the water and fouling the inside of the tap. If you use this technique, I would suggest that you siphon.

[shimmy]

yeah ive been doing it for my last few brews, havent had any dramas. yet.. i keep mine in the laundry so i dont get too many insects in there

[Kevnlis]

I suggest you siphon the beer out as well. If not I would give the tap a good squirt (inside and out) with your no-rinse and discard the first bit out of the fermentor.

[Ed]

I fermented the same way before using a fridge. Use some sanitiser in the the chilling water, I used the pink stuff and then kept recycling it by taking out ice cream buckets full and freezing those.

Cheers, Ed

[Chris]

Good old laundry sink for me. Worked well. Still do it occasionally if the fridge is full.

[pfullarton]

ok, i put mine on last night at about 10pm, brew was at about 10 degrees (recipie said brew between 10 and 15). Nothing has happened yet, temp is at about 15.

This is only my second brew, my first one fermented right out of the airlock. I didnt see any action then got home from work and found an empty airlock and foam eveywhere. So i want to make sure I get this one right!

Thoughts?

[Chris]

It's just a bit of lag on the part of your yeast. Nothing to worry about.

[Kevnlis]

Pick a temperature and try to keep the beer as close to that temperature as you can over the next week or so. If the yeast suggested 10C-15C you should probably pick a temperature closer to 10C than 15C. The lower the temp, and the more constant the temp, the better the final product will be.

[pfullarton]

well its been 4 days now, and the beer hasn't started fermenting yet. There are no bubbles coming out of the air lock. Something is happening because when i push down lon the lid some gas comes through, but thats it!! It has been at 14 degrees constantly.

Thoughts?

[KEG]

any condensation? any bubbles on the surface? any layer of yeast visible sitting on the bottom of the fermenter? take a hydrometer reading - has it changed?

[Chris]

Remember that it is a lager- it's bottom-fermenting, so there won't be krausen going everywhere.

I agree with KEG, take a hydro reading. I've had beers that I thought weren't doing anything, but 4 days later they had fermented out fully.

[pfullarton]

ok. There is condensation, and it bubbled once before. Being only my third brew (the first two having had stuff go everywhere) I was expecting to see the "constant bubbling" that all the instructions talk about. Didn't realise it wasnt so with lagers.

[Kevnlis]

Most likely the lid is not sealed properly.

At those low temps the yeast does not take off as rapidly, nor does it ferment as quickly. Be patient, give it another week or so then bottle.

The best way to know what is going on is to put the airlock in the bin and use your hydrometer.

[Chris]

The best way to know what is going on is to put the airlock in the bin and use your hydrometer.

Damn right!