Fermentation Temp

[Andman&Robin]

Good Day All,

I am preparing to brew my first batch of beer, I live around Vancouver BC, and the temperature in my garage while brewing and fermenting is going to be about 10C or 50F in the day, dipping down to around 5C or 40F at night.

I will be fermenting into an SS Brewtech Unitank with the FTS heater, but no cooler. Should I worry about keeping it cool or will the ambient temperature moderate the high end of the fermentation temperature?

I can buy a glycol chiller, but am hoping to put off the purchase for a couple months. What do you think?

Cheers,

Andy

 

[JamesonFan]

What kind of beer are you brewing?

 

[Andman&Robin]

An American IPA All Grain kit- Double Batch of this 5 Gallon Kit:

https://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/grainkit - obk american ipa.pdf

 

[JamesonFan]

I'm not familiar with the Unitank. You say it has the FTS heater, does that mean that if you're keeping it in the garage, it will heat the unit to maintain your fermentation temperature, and adjust when there is any fluctuation in the ambient temperature?

If that is the case, you should be fine. I apologize if I am misunderstanding you though.

 

[Andman&Robin]

No, thats correct, what I am wondering is, will the low ambient temperature keep the fermentation temp from climbing? I can keep the Fermenter warm, but I cant cool it off if it spikes.

 

[JamesonFan]

I think you should be fine. You want to ferment an IPA relatively warm, and given this time of year and your location, I don't think it getting too warm should be an issue. I looked up the Unitank and it looks like a pretty sweet piece of equipment. It looks like it has a temperature controller on it, so I think the heater will shut off when it gets to the temperature you set it at, and then heat if it drops a certain amount. Either way, I think you're going to have a solid beer.

 

[Andman&Robin]

Awesome. Thanks! Yeah, I think I will get a chiller once spring time rolls around, I just dont want the temp to climb too high and end up with funky flavours.

 

[JamesonFan]

Right on. Happy brewing.

 

[Morrey]

I have a 14G uni tank and two 7 G brew buckets w/ FTSs heat and glycol chiller systems on all. I live in SC so the temp swings are more pronounced than maybe yours sound to be. I see you are using US-05 which is a yeast I am happy with for many ales I brew. I think you will be perfectly ok to set your FTSs heat pad temp around 65F. I don't see the heat side of my system overshooting very much at all, so I predict you'll be fine. Sooner or later you'll benefit from a glycol chiller, but in my opinion, I think you can get by a few months with heat only in your area.

US-05 has a very wide range of accepted fermentation temps. This is one of the more forgiving yeasts I am aware of making this a good choice for your particular situation. I like to ferment mine 65-68 which is on the low end of the range since I get more neutral results from it at low temps. Once it gets up into the 70+F range, it will throw more fruity esters...but this is sometimes a good thing depending on your goals.

The current ambient temps of your garage should be sufficient cooling to moderate the high end.

 

[Andman&Robin]

Great! Thanks!