Hey folks,
I'll start off by saying I am basically brand new to the game. I have only a few extract kits under my belt but I am absolutely hooked on this whole thing. I can't remember being this into something in quite a long time, I am sure a few of you can relate to that feeling haha. Anyway, my wife talked me into ordering an Kolsch kit with Wyeast 2565 so she would have something a little bit more her style than the darker ales I have made. I have had decent luck fermenting my previous brews upstairs in the corner of the living room, but the temperature swings from about 65F during the day, and drops to around 54F during the night when we adjust the furnace. I have explicit orders that I am not to run the furnace all night only to keep my beer warm, which I think is a complete crock, but the hammer has landed so to speak. I'm worried that this particular beer won't enjoy that much temperature swing. My other real option is to ferment in the basement, which stays between 52-57 pretty religiously, unless it gets subzero outside. Is this too cold?
I guess long story short, what is my best option? What would you folks do in these circumstances? I don't have the spare cash lying around to invest in anything right now, and I work long hours so Id be unable to constantly monitor and micromanage it. I know how to follow the directions on the kit, and have read up a bit on the yeast itself. It appears that it does enjoy things on the colder side, but my worry is that the basement is too constantly cold, and that the 10-12degree swing upstairs will be detrimental. I am looking at brewing this weekend. My plan as of now is to leave it upstairs a week and wrap a beach towel around it at night and roll the dice on the temp swing not being too major on the finished product, then move the fermentor to the basement for an additional 2-3 weeks before bottling. Am I on the right track?
Also, sorry for the long post. Woof.
Thanks!
I'll start off by saying I am basically brand new to the game. I have only a few extract kits under my belt but I am absolutely hooked on this whole thing. I can't remember being this into something in quite a long time, I am sure a few of you can relate to that feeling haha. Anyway, my wife talked me into ordering an Kolsch kit with Wyeast 2565 so she would have something a little bit more her style than the darker ales I have made. I have had decent luck fermenting my previous brews upstairs in the corner of the living room, but the temperature swings from about 65F during the day, and drops to around 54F during the night when we adjust the furnace. I have explicit orders that I am not to run the furnace all night only to keep my beer warm, which I think is a complete crock, but the hammer has landed so to speak. I'm worried that this particular beer won't enjoy that much temperature swing. My other real option is to ferment in the basement, which stays between 52-57 pretty religiously, unless it gets subzero outside. Is this too cold?
I guess long story short, what is my best option? What would you folks do in these circumstances? I don't have the spare cash lying around to invest in anything right now, and I work long hours so Id be unable to constantly monitor and micromanage it. I know how to follow the directions on the kit, and have read up a bit on the yeast itself. It appears that it does enjoy things on the colder side, but my worry is that the basement is too constantly cold, and that the 10-12degree swing upstairs will be detrimental. I am looking at brewing this weekend. My plan as of now is to leave it upstairs a week and wrap a beach towel around it at night and roll the dice on the temp swing not being too major on the finished product, then move the fermentor to the basement for an additional 2-3 weeks before bottling. Am I on the right track?
Also, sorry for the long post. Woof.
Thanks!