Leaving Brewhouse with Fermenting Ales

[MischiefBrewery]

so im a college student and i'm going home for winter break.
i live in Boone, NC and it gets pretty damn cold, i expect it to be below freezing about every night.
i brewed a ten gal. of pale ale today. US-05 ale yeast
the beer will have until next saturday with a heated house with ambient temps of 60 to complete most of its primary fermentation.
after this we will winterize the house and shut off the heat til the tenth of january.
i'd like to leave my beer here.. should i worry about freezing? i can deal with a slow fermentation

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

so im a college student and i'm going home for winter break.
i live in Boone, NC and it gets pretty damn cold, i expect it to be below freezing about every night.
i brewed a ten gal. of pale ale today. US-05 ale yeast
the beer will have until next saturday with a heated house with ambient temps of 60 to complete most of its primary fermentation.
after this we will winterize the house and shut off the heat til the tenth of january.
i'd like to leave my beer here.. should i worry about freezing? i can deal with a slow fermentation

I would say yes, it will freeze if it gets below freezing for a period of time... can you put just a small space heater in a closet with the beer ( take all necessary safety precautions obviously) or is the electric being shut off also? you can ferment it, then let it set above freezing and it will be fine. but if it sets below freezing I think it will freeze.

 

[MischiefBrewery]

thanks for the quick response, i'll see if i can move it somewhere or keep it warm somehow

 

[pantsmachine]

Wrap the FV in blankets and leave it close to the centre of the house. Highly unlikely that the inside temp of a house will get down low enough and stay there to freeze a 10 gallon batch. I brew in my garage and minus 12 outside will be approx 4 degrees inside the garage.

 

[smokinghole]

If your beer risks freezing then you have bigger problems with the pipes freezing. You should be fine.

 

[Brewskii]

Depending on the alc concentration, beer freezes around 28 deg F. Therefore it might freeze. I would say that if you pitched the correct amount of yeast and it's not barley wine( 1.070 or better), given 5-7 days at warmer temps, it should be ok if you attenuate before it drops much below 60.
If your process usually has primary's for longer that the time you have I would find a closet and hang a drop light w/a 60 watt incandescent bulb. Cover your carboy to keep the light out and make sure it's not the closet you use to store
Your illegal fireworks Collection and you should be good. If you are shutting down the power...'hope for the best. Either way I think you'll be OK.

 

[robtotten]

This. Have you left the house without heat like this before? I would try to leave the thermostat set to 45 or something rather than risk your pipes freezing.

If your beer risks freezing then you have bigger problems with the pipes freezing. You should be fine.

 

[afr0byte]

I would assume if they're winterizing the house that they're draining the pipes.

 

[Polboy]

i would put it in small cabinet with light bulb on timer, you can get black heat bulb from pet store if you havre it in a carboy

 

[weirdboy]

Appalachian State I presume?

While I don't think it will really freeze, If it were me I'd buy a heating pad and plug it in, with the fermenter sitting on top while I was gone.

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

Appalachian State I presume?

While I don't think it will really freeze, If it were me I'd buy a heating pad and plug it in, with the fermenter sitting on top while I was gone.

good idea

 

[smokinghole]

I would assume if they're winterizing the house that they're draining the pipes.

I missed the winterizing part.

 

[Brewskii]

If it were me I'd buy a heating pad and plug it in, with the fermenter sitting on top while I was gone.

Most new heating pads have timed auto shut offs... You need to be careful to not get one of those

 

[weirdboy]

Oh good point. They also make heating pads for incubating plants that would work fine, and don't have auto shut-offs.

 

[crackhead7]

If you driving just take it with you. Strap it in with seatbelts and your good to go. I've done this several times

 

[starman]

What about a cheap submersible aquarium heater in a surrounding vessel of some sort? Rubbermaid tub/garbage can big enough to hold a carboy in a nice tepid bath. Just keep the heater off the very bottom of the plastic bathtub in a ceramic dish or something. If your bathwater dries out, it could cause problems.

 

[Airborneguy]

The post above mine is the safest, and easiest way to keep it at a set temperature.

 

[crackhead7]

I would caution about leaving home with anything pluged in, things happen and the last thing you want is to go back to school to a burnt out pit in the ground.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

I'd second the aquarium heater. Works like a charm and pretty safe. I never shut my aquariums down when I go out of town and as long as the heater is submersed, there's little risk. I'm sure the same would apply to an aquarium heater used to warm water surrounding beer.

 

[crackhead7]

I wouldn't doubt it's safe I was just throwin in my 2 cents, Me personally i'm just paranoid about these type of things.

 

[Goliath86]

I vote Aquarium Heater...
If you are worried about evaporation, I would just wrap over it with plastic wrap and tape the sides down... That should keep most, if not all of the water in there for the 4 or so weeks you'll be gone.

 

[crackhead7]

looks like the OP might have already gone home, since he hasn't post in a while