Very hot weather brewers

[Kevnlis]

28C?

Thats majorly excessive! 20C is fine!

[billybushcook]

Brewing at 24 works well for me, been do'n it for 20yrs now,
I did try some Black Rock dry Lager & had problems with infections due to the yeast not being as agressive as the Coopers strain, even at 28, it was slower to fire up & that gave the bugs a chance to get in before it built up enough pressure to push them out,

As i said, pitching at 28 & drop them back to 24 works well for me, very drinkable, but have taken your comments on board, might turn the thermostat on the heater back a notch & see what happens.

Cheers, Mick.

[Kevnlis]

With kit yeast you are probably fine at 24C, but I reckon you would still notice a difference if you fermented and pitched at 20C...

[warra48]

I don't believe using clingwrap will increase your chances of an infection at all.

I use clingwrap. I chill my wort down to about 25ºC or so, transfer to the fermenter, taking care NOT to aerate it, and chill overnight in my beer fridge until it is 18ºC. It is only then that I aerate my brew with an airstone and pump, and then pitch the yeast. I cover it with a fresh piece of clingwrap, and put it back in the fridge. My TempMate keeps it at a nice 18 to 19ºC temperature all the way.

However, the only downside of clingwrap is that you cannot use a blowoff tube if you need it. I do need to use one for wheats, and darker beers, particularly when using liquid yeasts. If so, I do use the lid after I've pitched the yeast, and wedge the blowoff tube into the airlock hole, but I don't use an airlock.

[Kevnlis]

Cling wrap, even the quality stuff, is more permeable than the other plastics used in the fermentor construction. This allows oxygen to replace some of the CO2 in the head space much sooner than it otherwise would and increases the chances of things like acetobactor growing.

[billybushcook]

This is getting a bit off topic (maybe should start a new thread)
Two major advantages I see (pardon the punn) with using cling wrap are:-

1) You can see at a glance, what stage the fermentation is at, without the need for hydrometer which draws air in as beer goes out & it will not give a false reading as guaging by the airlock will.
2) It allows you to drop a thermastatically controlled fish tank heater in, without having to thread the cable through a grommet & be a pain in the A%$& when it comes time to wash up!

Warra48,
why would you need a blow off tube? If ever mine foam up & cover the cling wrap, I just replace it as long as it is within a day or so & still going hard, I wouldn't dare open it once it has settled down!!

I have tried a heat belt years ago but found I had no control (lack of thermostat) & if you had it halfway up the fermentor, it would only heat the top half.
Thermostatically controlled heat pads may be OK but my thought is that it is not conducting directly into the liquid so hot spots are still a possability.

Cheers, Mick.

[drsmurto]

You heat the wort itself by putting something inside the fermenter

I have never heard of anyone doing that....

[warra48]

This is getting a bit off topic (maybe should start a new thread)

Warra48,
why would you need a blow off tube? If ever mine foam up & cover the cling wrap, I just replace it as long as it is within a day or so & still going hard, I wouldn't dare open it once it has settled down!!

Cheers, Mick.

Why? One less occasion to open the fermenter, and invite the possibility of a problem. I also didn't like the mess a blow over around the gladwrap made of my fridge floor and fermenter, not to mention whatever might possibly breed in there until I clean it up. I also brew AG, and I'm rather keen not to waste 5 or 6 hours of my time, not to mention the cost of a brew, on the possibility of disposing of a batch other than via my personal consumption.

[Bizier]

I can attest that my one perceivable (to me) infection was when I had gladwrap and a vigorous ferment... There were some solid yeast piles the size of mice on the floor of my brewery when I went to check on it.

I am currently using a BMW open head camp drum from Bunnings. I have no hole drilled in the lid, and I have no seals, I am just resting it over the top with seemingly no problems. I should add that it is in my fridge, so there are no crawlies to worry about.

I think I will drill one lid to fit the largest guage vinyl tubing and use that as a blow off for more volatile brews.

[billybushcook]

You heat the wort itself by putting something inside the fermenter

I have never heard of anyone doing that....

Yrs ago that was the only way to do it, you could buy the fermenters with a fish tank heater mounted in the lid with a specially made grommet, the other solution was to cut the three pin plug off the cord, thread it through a small grommet & put a new 3 pin plug back on, but this make it really hard to wash up.

How did we get from VERY HOT WEATHER BREWERS & methods of keeping them cool to methods of heating??????

Mick.

[drsmurto]

Years ago?

I'd suggest at least 2 decades.

I bought my heat pad back in the early 90s when i was following the instructions on the side of the tins and fermenting them at 26C. Was always a struggle to get them that high without the heat pad, sleeping bag etc.

Now i know better and keep them 22C or below and never sit the fermenter on the heat pad.

As for cooling, I have a fermentation fridge which is used to be used but i still have my old fermenting fridge - a dead fridge that i kept <22C with the use of frozen 2L bottles. Depending on the outside temp and what i was brewing i would use 1-2 bottles and swap them over each morning with 2 fresh ones.

But it all depends on the yeast strain and what you want to get out of it.

If you are using recultured CPA yeast i wouldnt be pushing that above 16-18C.

[billybushcook]

Years ago?

I'd suggest at least 2 decades.
.

YeP, that's about right!

i still have my old fermenting fridge - a dead fridge that i kept <22C with the use of frozen 2L bottles. Depending on the outside temp and what i was brewing i would use 1-2 bottles and swap them over each morning with 2 fresh ones.
.

I take it youv'e seen my pics on the first page of this thread, that is the same method I have been using for years.

Great Minds????????

Cheers, Mick.

[chadjaja]

47-48 degrees here in Melb and with the wind 'chill' its 54 degrees!

If I can brew in this weather at a stable 18 degrees and have to take out frozen coke bottles coz it got too cold in my fermenter freezer I can brew in ANY summer weather!

Hope you are all somewhere cool and well hydrated.

[billybushcook]

You heat the wort itself by putting something inside the fermenter

I have never heard of anyone doing that....

Getting back to this,

There is one very good reason for submerging a thermostatically controlled heater in the brew, that is, that it controls (automatically) the temp of the brew itself & not just the atmosphere around it.
as soon as the temp drops it kicks in & keeps it spot on, meaning, my brew temps (actual) will only vary by less than 1deg, as long as I keep the temp in the brew box at or just below my target, the brew is always spot on, along with the carbonating bottles in the box with it!
Perfect in winter, the inside of the box is the same as the brew!!! Brew temp first, box temp second!

Mick.

[Gym_]

Nar its a great idea I’ve done it myself ..

My house is full of tropical fish and i have heaters everywhere so just use one of thous..
Some of these fish are worth over 100 bucks each so anything u put in there tank has to be top of the line and fully sterile.

Tanks need to be kept within 2c if you want them to be happy and breed.

Drop the whole submersible heater in boiling water for a few min then in some sanitizer and then in the brew it goes ..
I’ve got heating pads and belts and I’ve had to keep Turing them off and on all the time trying to get a constant temp.. Pain in he ass ..

But I don’t put the heater inside my brew because I like having the lid on What I do is to put the fermenter inside a bigger bucket or container and then fill it with water and put the heater in that..

I do it that way so I can have the lid on it because the fruit fly’s around here think that my beer is the shiznit !!
Little buggers get in the smallest gap

[billybushcook]

Good compromise Gym, but wouldn't the water bath be a haven for bugs to grow as well?
Do the fruit flies get under the cling wrap past the rubber band even if you wrap the cling wrap around the heater cord??

Cheers, Mick.

[SuperBroo]

Just wrapping a wet towel around my fermeter keeps the temp down to about 24 inside my shed, which gets really hot.
I just wet it ebery morniung before going to work, and it stays quite cool.

Thats the best I can do for now, but would prefer it a bit lower temp...

next year, hope to have enough stock to get thru the hottest times without brewing, and just concentrate on keeping bottles cooler. keeping my eye out for the right fridge.

For now though, might just line the shelves I have my bottles in with foam sheeting, and then just use ice bottles...


cheers to all,
Chris, WA

[Super Craig]

Anyone else have one of these? http://www.brewerschoice.com.au/index.p ... &Itemid=61

I got given one for christmas and it seems to do the job well

[drsmurto]

A fridge thermostat is the best way to control ferment temp but that's an expensive way of doing it.

Here is a much cheaper version - Link

[earle]

I have a fridgemate http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=718 but you have to wire it yourself, I mean get a qualified electrician to wire it. If I purchased another I would get a tempmate http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=2592 as it will control both fridge and heat belt at once rather than just one or the other.