I have a batch of Hefe in it's 6th day in primary fermenter. I'm in Baja Ca and it's been really hot here. I keep the fermenter wrapped with a black wet towel and have a fan on it. It's been hanging around 78 degrees during the day the past few days. I live in a solar home so I have no AC. It's suppose to cool down soon but I'm kind of freaking out. If it continues to hang at that high of temperature am I screwed?
Temperature problem
- Thread starter bajarob
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Try and find the coolest spot in your house. I know what you are going through - I'm here in San Diego and pretty much have the same temps you have. From my experience of over 20 years brewing in this weather, I can pretty much say "Don't Worry..." Yes, high temps can affect your outcome, but generally speaking it'll be fine. The wet towel and fan is good. Got a bathtub? Try putting it in there with some water and ice. You're ok my friend.....
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The wet towel and fan will only get you a few degrees. If the ambient air temperature was 78 degrees, your fermentation could have gotten up close to 90. After six days the flavor profile has been established, so moving it now won't help much. It is a wheat beer, so esters, if not over powering, will be alright. Your biggest problem will be the possibility of fusel alcohol’s. Next time do as IPA-Hole said and try a water bath with rotating frozen water bottles.
Thanks guys. I'll let you know how it turns out. The ambient temp has been 80 in the house almost everywhere and a lot hotter outside. I've been reading a thermometer I have sitting under the wet towel like 3 times a day and it has always hung around 79 or so.
Fermenting at optimal temps can be a real challenge for us folks who live in warmer climates. I opted to go the way of the used freezer/fridge controlled by an STC-1000 ($19 on Amazon) and have been very happy. If you shop Craigslist, you can get rigged up for about $100 and never have to worry about it again.
WileECoyote
Well-Known Member
Hello bajarob, I live in Arizona and its over 100 deg here already, we keep the house at 85 during the day, so Im in the same boat as you for controlling fermentation temps.
I have 2 suggestions for you, use #1 if you have a freezer or can get ice.
1=Use a swamp cooler = a tub big enough to put your fermenter in, ($6 rope handle tub at walmart maybe at costco) fill tub with water up to level of brew in fermenter, cover fermenter with t shirt or your towel and let ends hang down into water, run the fan like your doing, to get better cooling add frozen 32oz bottles of water to tub, or ice, I rotate out 5 of these bottles, 1 about every 3 hrs, it works great keeping temps down for me.
2=try brewing a Saison Yeast Beer, if you can get it, 3724 Belgian Saison Yeast ferments from 70 to 95 deg, I brew with this in summer often, I pitch yeast at 75 deg and raise temp 3 to 5 deg each day till its 85 deg or higher, after fermentation starts this yeast needs to have the temp ramped up to ferment out.
Where are you in Baja ? if you don't mind me asking, brewing in Baja must be different to say the least, I have been going down there since I was a kid, we go to a town 1/2 way in-between La Paz and Cabo San Lucas on the gulf side, so I understand you might have restrictions/challenges that in the states we don't have.
Also a FYI, for most yeast, your initial/primary fermentation temps (the first 3 to 5 days), should be kept at the yeast's lower temp range recommendation, after initial fermentation you can let your brew age/condition at warmer temps,
for an example, a yeast that needs 65 deg for initial fermentation, after 3 to 5 days can age/condition at 70 to 75 deg.
I do this often with my brews, makes fermenting temps a lot easy'r to deal with in hot climate's, and the warmer temps will help your brew age/condition faster than at 65 deg.
Hope this helps
Cheers
I have 2 suggestions for you, use #1 if you have a freezer or can get ice.
1=Use a swamp cooler = a tub big enough to put your fermenter in, ($6 rope handle tub at walmart maybe at costco) fill tub with water up to level of brew in fermenter, cover fermenter with t shirt or your towel and let ends hang down into water, run the fan like your doing, to get better cooling add frozen 32oz bottles of water to tub, or ice, I rotate out 5 of these bottles, 1 about every 3 hrs, it works great keeping temps down for me.
2=try brewing a Saison Yeast Beer, if you can get it, 3724 Belgian Saison Yeast ferments from 70 to 95 deg, I brew with this in summer often, I pitch yeast at 75 deg and raise temp 3 to 5 deg each day till its 85 deg or higher, after fermentation starts this yeast needs to have the temp ramped up to ferment out.
Where are you in Baja ? if you don't mind me asking, brewing in Baja must be different to say the least, I have been going down there since I was a kid, we go to a town 1/2 way in-between La Paz and Cabo San Lucas on the gulf side, so I understand you might have restrictions/challenges that in the states we don't have.
Also a FYI, for most yeast, your initial/primary fermentation temps (the first 3 to 5 days), should be kept at the yeast's lower temp range recommendation, after initial fermentation you can let your brew age/condition at warmer temps,
for an example, a yeast that needs 65 deg for initial fermentation, after 3 to 5 days can age/condition at 70 to 75 deg.
I do this often with my brews, makes fermenting temps a lot easy'r to deal with in hot climate's, and the warmer temps will help your brew age/condition faster than at 65 deg.
Hope this helps
Cheers
Wile E,
This is only my 3rd brew. I have brewed Hefe each time. This time I did a full boil. I like the ice bottles and tub suggestion. Being on solar limits my power situation. I have been told to try Belgian. Not sure I have ever tasted a Begian beer. I like Hefe. I grew up drinking Bud and of course Mexican beers. I know I don't like IPA's. Funny thing that it seems to be a huge favorite amongst most brewers. I would really like to try brewing an Orange Wheat beer like from Hagar 24 brewery in Redlands Ca. Love it.
I live about 150 miles south of the border on the Sea of Cortez side almost to Puertocitos.
I'm on the beach in the middle of a stereotypical Mexican desert. The Baja 250 500 and 1000 practically goes through my front yard. A lot of racers fight to stay at my place or park their gear at my house during races. Most people bail in the summer around here because of the heat, me included. I use to hang when I was alive though. Ja ja!
This is only my 3rd brew. I have brewed Hefe each time. This time I did a full boil. I like the ice bottles and tub suggestion. Being on solar limits my power situation. I have been told to try Belgian. Not sure I have ever tasted a Begian beer. I like Hefe. I grew up drinking Bud and of course Mexican beers. I know I don't like IPA's. Funny thing that it seems to be a huge favorite amongst most brewers. I would really like to try brewing an Orange Wheat beer like from Hagar 24 brewery in Redlands Ca. Love it.
I live about 150 miles south of the border on the Sea of Cortez side almost to Puertocitos.
I'm on the beach in the middle of a stereotypical Mexican desert. The Baja 250 500 and 1000 practically goes through my front yard. A lot of racers fight to stay at my place or park their gear at my house during races. Most people bail in the summer around here because of the heat, me included. I use to hang when I was alive though. Ja ja!
WileECoyote
Well-Known Member
Hello bajarob,
I would suggest, looking up different yeast (WYEAST site has great info), for the ones that you can ferment warmer with, I have used California WLP-001 and it works good at 68 to 70 deg it is now one of my house yeast, the ice bottles and tub works great, in-fact i have 2=5.5 gal batches (WLP-001 yeast) in primary fermentation bubbling away (in tubs) as we speak, I have been fermenting this way for over a year now, the main downfall is having to be around to change them out every 3 to 4 hours.
Hefe's are a good choice in your situation, warm temp fermentation esters go well in hefe's, Shock Top is a Orange flavor Belgian White (very easy to get your hands on), I don't like IPA's ether, guess Im not like most brewers lol, most of the time when I use someone else's recipe I lower the hop addition amounts, most of my beers are malty low hop beers, I often make Orange/Wheat beers, I use dry sweet orange peels @ 15 min left in the boil.
When you get a chance, try a saison, Franziskaner Weissbier comes to mind, most people say saison's are kinda funky tasting, I like em when its over 100 deg out, when its 115 to 125 I like my saison on the rocks, most beer lovers will cringe, I dont care lol
I love off road racing, I grew up on dirt bikes, then I raced dirt circle track cars for 20 years, the last 4 years were in a Sprint Car taking a 2nd place and winning the next 2 championships in a row, I always wanted to race one of the open class trucks in any of the Baja races, your a lucky guy to get to be part of the Baja race, yes Im jealous and envious.
Cheers
I would suggest, looking up different yeast (WYEAST site has great info), for the ones that you can ferment warmer with, I have used California WLP-001 and it works good at 68 to 70 deg it is now one of my house yeast, the ice bottles and tub works great, in-fact i have 2=5.5 gal batches (WLP-001 yeast) in primary fermentation bubbling away (in tubs) as we speak, I have been fermenting this way for over a year now, the main downfall is having to be around to change them out every 3 to 4 hours.
Hefe's are a good choice in your situation, warm temp fermentation esters go well in hefe's, Shock Top is a Orange flavor Belgian White (very easy to get your hands on), I don't like IPA's ether, guess Im not like most brewers lol, most of the time when I use someone else's recipe I lower the hop addition amounts, most of my beers are malty low hop beers, I often make Orange/Wheat beers, I use dry sweet orange peels @ 15 min left in the boil.
When you get a chance, try a saison, Franziskaner Weissbier comes to mind, most people say saison's are kinda funky tasting, I like em when its over 100 deg out, when its 115 to 125 I like my saison on the rocks, most beer lovers will cringe, I dont care lol
I love off road racing, I grew up on dirt bikes, then I raced dirt circle track cars for 20 years, the last 4 years were in a Sprint Car taking a 2nd place and winning the next 2 championships in a row, I always wanted to race one of the open class trucks in any of the Baja races, your a lucky guy to get to be part of the Baja race, yes Im jealous and envious.
Cheers
WileECoyote
Well-Known Member
Did you try the swamp cooler? When I was a kid we use to go to Puertocitos, back then it was a 2 day drive from the border on dirt roads, bet its nothing like I remember.
Cheers
Cheers
I'm worrying about temperature for my very first brew as well. This sounds like a great idea. So you get the STC-1000 and rig it up with a refrigeration unit? Just clarifying. Thanks for the great advice.
Great advice on this thread! I'm a very very new beginner - just about to bottle my first batch in a few days. I am cold-crashing at the moment. I am also worried about temperature and ruining my beer... I have an obvious question but can't seem to find an answer anywhere: There is a difference between the room temperature and the temperature on my primary fermenter's thermometer. If the room is 64 degrees, the fermenter shows 74 degrees. When recipes or yeast types indicate a proper brewing temperature, this refers to the temperatures on the fermenter, right?
I'm worries since my first batch is Kölsch using liquid Kölsch yeast. The temperature on the fermenter crept up to 76-68 degrees after staying at around 66-68 degrees. The room temperature was about 62-64 until a few hotter days pushed things up. I know that Kölsch is supposed to be brewed at approx 62 degrees and I assumed that the room temp was fine. So, now I'm worried that the beer is ruined since the fermenter temperature was much higher. Live and learn!
I'm worries since my first batch is Kölsch using liquid Kölsch yeast. The temperature on the fermenter crept up to 76-68 degrees after staying at around 66-68 degrees. The room temperature was about 62-64 until a few hotter days pushed things up. I know that Kölsch is supposed to be brewed at approx 62 degrees and I assumed that the room temp was fine. So, now I'm worried that the beer is ruined since the fermenter temperature was much higher. Live and learn!
Mozart
Well-Known Member
Yes, well, actually, it refers to the temperature of the liquid *in* your fermenter, which might be a little different than the temperature reading from your strip on the fermenter (though it'll certainly be a lot closer to this temp than to the ambient temp of the room).
But don't fret it!
At the end, I still bet you get drinkable beer!
Two days to Puertecitos OMG!
It takes less than 3 hours to get to San Felipe from the Calexico border. It's another hour from there. They are trying to connect that hwy (5) to Hwy (1) on the Pacific side. It's actually a beautiful road once past Puertecitos. It's pretty much paved now all the way to Bahia Gonzaga. From SF it takes about 2 hours to get to Gonzaga. Unbelievable. My first visits were in the 60's. I'll bet yours were before that.
It takes less than 3 hours to get to San Felipe from the Calexico border. It's another hour from there. They are trying to connect that hwy (5) to Hwy (1) on the Pacific side. It's actually a beautiful road once past Puertecitos. It's pretty much paved now all the way to Bahia Gonzaga. From SF it takes about 2 hours to get to Gonzaga. Unbelievable. My first visits were in the 60's. I'll bet yours were before that.
WileECoyote
Well-Known Member
Hi bajarob, lol Im not quite that old yet, my first trips to baja were around 1965, I just remember going down really rough dirt roads for ever with a over night stop on the dirt road, we would stop in Puertecitos and stock up on supplies, I remember it was a all dirt road town, and a fountain in the middle of town, then we would drive out on to this beach and we were the only ones there, when it was low tide the water was a really a long ways away, guessing around 100 yards out, at high tide the water would be at the tires of the camper.
Cheers
WileECoyote
Well-Known Member
Yes the yeast recommended temps are referring to the temp of the liquid in the fermenter, for most yeast you want to ferment at the lower temp for that yeast strain.
The first 3 to 5 days of fermentation are when you really need to be concerned with keeping your temps to the lower end, after that you can let your brew age/condition at warmer temps, the warmer temps will actually help speed up the conditioning process.
For example with your Kolsch yeast, ferment at 62 for the first 3 to 5 days, (this is known as primary fermentation), then you can slowly raise the temp to 68 to 70 and age/condition (this is your secondary fermentation even if your beer is still in the primary fermenter).
Fermenting hot can produce fusel alcohol in your brews.
Try searching fusel alcohol, of fermenting temps, or fermenting hot, you will have lots of information.
Hope this helps
Cheers
