Hey guys! I am a long time all grain brewer who brews about 30 batches a year and long time lurker of this site. I recently brewed an early season saison up here in the northeast (philly area), before summer temperatures made it possible to warm the primary up to ferm temps (wyeast 3724) of about 90F. In addition I was planning on doing a sour mash per the protocol I located in a Byo article. That protocol calls for the sour mash to be at ~120F. I struggled to figure out how to keep both the sour mash, and primary fermentation at the requisite temperatures. I devised a very successful solution and wanted to write it up and add it to the knowledge base on HBT.
For my sour mash, i mashed about #1.5 of grist and cooled to 100F. I pitched a handful of unmashed grist and poured the mash into a sanitized pot. I covered the top with multiple layers of saran wrap and then "purged" the air space with co2 to try to block aerobes from taking hold to the best of my ability. I remembered my sister had an "easy bake oven" as a child, which employed a 60W lightbulb as a heating element. I purchased a small lightbulb fixture and inserted it into my stove. Through trial and error I discovered that the 60W bulb and the internal stove light produced a temperature of about 118F, perfect for my sour mash. After a 3 day sour mash, I had a pH of about 2.8 and a very nice sour aroma and taste. I am sure everyones' milage may vary with this, but I am sure experimenting with various lightbulb wattages would work great for anyone looking to try this.
To keep the carboy at 90 degrees, I purchased a 150W aquarium heater ($25) with integrated thermostat. I filled a large tupperware bin with water and inserted the heater. The heater is fully submersible so I didnt need to worry about mounting it. Over about 24h (and multiple thermostat adjustments) I was able to get the water to 85F. After brewing and pitching, I submerged the carboy as deep as possible in the water and waited for fermentation to begin. Used the basin as the blowoff airlock. I submerge thermometer probes in all my brews so I can get a real central temperature. Throughout primary fermentation, I was easily able to maintain 88-90F with this method. 3724 is notorious for stalling at around 1.030, but I just checked a refracto reading and it is down to 1.010 and tastes great. Going to wait another few weeks before kegging but I cant detect fusel alcohols at all. Nice and spicy and flavorful.
Anyways, Hope this helps someone out there looking to brew a saison without the means to naturally keep the carboy at proper temperature! Feel free to PM with questions!
For my sour mash, i mashed about #1.5 of grist and cooled to 100F. I pitched a handful of unmashed grist and poured the mash into a sanitized pot. I covered the top with multiple layers of saran wrap and then "purged" the air space with co2 to try to block aerobes from taking hold to the best of my ability. I remembered my sister had an "easy bake oven" as a child, which employed a 60W lightbulb as a heating element. I purchased a small lightbulb fixture and inserted it into my stove. Through trial and error I discovered that the 60W bulb and the internal stove light produced a temperature of about 118F, perfect for my sour mash. After a 3 day sour mash, I had a pH of about 2.8 and a very nice sour aroma and taste. I am sure everyones' milage may vary with this, but I am sure experimenting with various lightbulb wattages would work great for anyone looking to try this.
To keep the carboy at 90 degrees, I purchased a 150W aquarium heater ($25) with integrated thermostat. I filled a large tupperware bin with water and inserted the heater. The heater is fully submersible so I didnt need to worry about mounting it. Over about 24h (and multiple thermostat adjustments) I was able to get the water to 85F. After brewing and pitching, I submerged the carboy as deep as possible in the water and waited for fermentation to begin. Used the basin as the blowoff airlock. I submerge thermometer probes in all my brews so I can get a real central temperature. Throughout primary fermentation, I was easily able to maintain 88-90F with this method. 3724 is notorious for stalling at around 1.030, but I just checked a refracto reading and it is down to 1.010 and tastes great. Going to wait another few weeks before kegging but I cant detect fusel alcohols at all. Nice and spicy and flavorful.
Anyways, Hope this helps someone out there looking to brew a saison without the means to naturally keep the carboy at proper temperature! Feel free to PM with questions!
