Brisbane brewing

[ImBatman]

Hi

Just wondering what roughly the latest time in the year it is viable for a good brew in Brisbane. As you know Brisbane is neither in the south of Victoria, nor Tasmania. The days here are already starting to peak at 26 or 27, so how much time is it going to be worth bothering without going into ridiculously intricate methods to keep the brew cool?

I realise that I am brewing in a cool area under the house so the temp would never get that high under there anyway, but when I got up at 5 this morning I went down to find the airlock bubbling away and the temp gauge already hovering between 21 and 22.

Any Brisbanites with any idea of how much longer we will have?


BTW a really cool way to airate your brew is to use a stick blender with a whisk attachment - really churns that water up.

[da_damage_done]

get yourself a brew fridge

with an adloheat thermostat

cheers

[chum]

I just put two brews on a couple of days ago, I don't think I'll be putting another one on anytime soon. My house is rather cool but its getting too hot now for beer. Its fine in the morning/evening but during the day it gets bloody hot in Brissy.

You can tell its getting hotter and hotter by the week - the fact that we havent had much cloud cover for a couple of weeks doesn't help either.

[Noodles]

get yourself a brew fridge

with an adloheat thermostat

cheers

Can someone please explain this a bit more. What exactly is a brew fridge? I'm assuming it's a normal fridge that is adjusted to heat to 18c or something like that?

I've been thinking how i'm going to brew in summer too. Should I just be looking for an old fridge? Does it have to be in working order? Where is this adloheat thermostat available to purchase? Is it easy to fit or do I need a sparky?

[Krusty]

A brew fridge is a working refrigerator that is able to accomodate your fermenter (or ideally your fermenter and the last brew you bottled)
where the temperature is maintained at your desired fermenting temperature. There are a couple of options for temp control, one of the most popular being the adloheat thermostat mentioned. The cheapest would be one of those plug in timers so the fridge only runs some of the time. A bit rough, but I have heard of them being used.
-Krusty

[da_damage_done]

get yourself a brew fridge

with an adloheat thermostat

cheers

Can someone please explain this a bit more. What exactly is a brew fridge? I'm assuming it's a normal fridge that is adjusted to heat to 18c or something like that?

I've been thinking how i'm going to brew in summer too. Should I just be looking for an old fridge? Does it have to be in working order? Where is this adloheat thermostat available to purchase? Is it easy to fit or do I need a sparky?

Here are some pics of my setup about 1/2 way down

http://hyperfox.info/webalbum01/index.html

thermostat available here http://adloheat.com.au/climate.htm

you r after this one $103 + postage
Fan Control Model THF 0-40oC 10 Amp (fan/brew/fridge use)

other option is http://www.mashmaster.com.au/store/products_mm.php

FridgeMate Digital Temperature Controller Kit - this involves some wiring

cheers

[lethaldog]

Ive got an old fridge in the shed ( nothing flash but works better than the one inside ) and i have a fridgemate hooked up to it that i recently aquired, works a treat and you can brew anything you want all year round, usually i wouldnt have bothered with lagers in summer unless i used an ale yeast but now i can brew lagers in summer in the fridge with a good lager yeast then when it comes time to cold condition just turn down the setting and your back to normal fridge operation

[Earl Hickey]

Hi Guys, Great site. I have a related question.

What do you do to protect your beer (the stuff you've already bottled) during the warmer months? I do my brewing down the back shed, which is made from Western Red Cedar. Great in winter but it resembles a sauna during the summer months. I could move the bottles up to the garage, which is double brick, but still fairly warm during the day.

Should I be concerned about how hot my bottled beer gets?

Cheers

[Noodles]

Hi Guys, Great site. I have a related question.
Should I be concerned about how hot my bottled beer gets?

Cheers

That's a very good question. I wouldn't have a clue what the answer is but i'd love to know.

[lethaldog]

When i used to live in brissie i used to brew all year round, mind you then i was a coopers kit and kilo man but i never had any problems with the bottles being to hot, infact id go as far as to say that the conditions up there are perfect for conditioning ( no this is not a riddle ) I wouldnt be to concerned, providing its not over like 40*C, then they will be fine, you will probably find that your bottles carbonate a bit quicker though

[WSC]

The old sit the fermenter in a baby's bath, wrap a wet towel around it and add a ice cream container of ice before you go to work and when you get home works to keep most lagers to 15 degrees up to about 32 degrees.

Just a wet towel works for ales, just don't ice it.

This is way cheaper than a fridge and thermostat set up. Can't cold condition though.

[Krusty]

Should I be concerned about how hot my bottled beer gets?

I read an opinion from one of the head honchos at CUB and they said beer getting hot or cold once it's bottled doesn't affect taste, but direct sunlight is the killer.
Then again, he was talking about commercial beer so I don't know whether bottle conditioned beer is any more or less at risk of "heat stress".
-Krusty

[Earl Hickey]

Thanks for the opinions. After hearing your comments I don't think I'll do anything other than employ the HB&B mantra;

"Don't worry. It'll be OK. Have another beer"

[ImBatman]

Thanks for everyone's input.

I think I will try the old "towel" method and give the lagers a miss 'till next winter. It was about as sophistocated as I wanted to go. I only wanted to go for maybe 3 or 4 moe weeks anyway. That'll last me 'til next winter.

Much appreciated.