HerbieHowells
Well-Known Member
When I started brewing four months ago, I identified my basement as the best place for my carboy. It was out of the way, and the coolest spot of the house. But at 68 degrees ambient, it just wasn't cutting it. My beers were turning out drinkable, but you could just tell that there was too much fruit coming from the yeast.
So I made a brew year's resolution to get my temperature issues taken care of. Flash forward to this weekend, when I finally got my Belgian Pale Ale (brewed on New Years Eve) in bottles, and got started on a robust porter. I decided that the easiest first attempt at temperature control would be to fill up the guest bathroom bathtub with cold water, and put the carboy in the bathtub.
Three days later, I am still sitting pretty at 62 degrees. The wort is bubbling away, but at a slower rate than I was used to. All I have to do is go down to the basement every night and top off the water to the three gallon line.
Six weeks ago, I was wondering if I was ever going to brew anything other than a Belgian well. Yesterday, I started planning two projects which I never thought I would embark on without a dedicated fermentation refrigerator: harvesting Pacman yeast to be the house ale strain, and brewing a California common. What a difference eight inches of cold water makes.
The message to the new guys: temperature control is not as hard as it sounds. A tub full of cold water can do wonders. So play around, convince SWMBO that that old tub that no one ever uses can be put to good use, and open up some new brewing possibilities for yourself.
So I made a brew year's resolution to get my temperature issues taken care of. Flash forward to this weekend, when I finally got my Belgian Pale Ale (brewed on New Years Eve) in bottles, and got started on a robust porter. I decided that the easiest first attempt at temperature control would be to fill up the guest bathroom bathtub with cold water, and put the carboy in the bathtub.
Three days later, I am still sitting pretty at 62 degrees. The wort is bubbling away, but at a slower rate than I was used to. All I have to do is go down to the basement every night and top off the water to the three gallon line.
Six weeks ago, I was wondering if I was ever going to brew anything other than a Belgian well. Yesterday, I started planning two projects which I never thought I would embark on without a dedicated fermentation refrigerator: harvesting Pacman yeast to be the house ale strain, and brewing a California common. What a difference eight inches of cold water makes.
The message to the new guys: temperature control is not as hard as it sounds. A tub full of cold water can do wonders. So play around, convince SWMBO that that old tub that no one ever uses can be put to good use, and open up some new brewing possibilities for yourself.
