81 degrees ambient

"....drive home from work in an old truck with no A/C and only one window that works." I think there is a Country & Western song in there!?! Maybe just add something like my dog is howling as well?

Cheers!

 

If my house is 81 I am running the air regardless. So, save the beer and stay cool at the same time. Win, win to me.

 

swamp cooler or bust.

the first thing I bought when I moved to a warm climate was a freezer/controller. I always mention fermentation temperature control because it's that important.

 

The past week has been over 100f 3 of 4 days, today, it rains and got "cool" and it is still upper 80's.

Build a fermentation chamber, I made one using an old cooler, I raised the top like a freezer mod for kegs. Then cut a hole in the top for the airlock to stick out. add water and Ice and your good to go.

 

The other option is to build a Son of Fermentation Chiller: http://home.roadrunner.com/~brewbeer/chiller/chiller.PDF

Cheers!

 

I just can't see, other than space, why someone who's "really into" the hobby, wouldn't have a reliable way to control temps. Eventually, I would imagine a brewer would branch out and want to lager, and even for certain ales, need precise control to obviously get better at making beer. Not just beer, but great beers. Small investment, big returns. Lay off brewing for a couple weeks and you'll have money to get a set up.

But, it does take up some space, and that I can understand. I used to have condos in the city and it probably wouldn't have been an option at one of them, maybe the other. I'm lucky enough to have a big place and a 500 sq ft garage, so I've gone over board, and have 3 freezers out there at the moment!

The keg tub with water and ice is what I used for the longest time, and it works, but takes much more work and babysitting. The cooler idea is pretty good, I've seen that before, as well as it being a portable kegerator!

 

Yeah, space can indeed be an issue. If you are living in a small apartment (or condo) there really isn’t much room for a chest freezer.

Another potential issue is something called a “wife”. I do not live in an apartment but it took some time for me to negotiate building a Son of Fermentation Chiller. It occupies about 6 square feet on my utility room (where the washer/dryer is). In the beginning I would hear comments like “look at that monstrosity taking up so much space”. Over the years she got ‘tired’ and I no longer hear comments but I have noticed some dirty looks from time to time.

To get back to a theme: fermentation temperature is indeed important. Another way to address this is via careful brewing scheduling. Do most of your ale brewing in the Spring/Fall when ambient temperatures are in the 60s. I have a batch of Saison (with Wyeast 3724) going right now; Saison yeast strains like summertime temperatures.

Cheers!

 

I forgot the wife part.. Luckily my wife doesn't question any of my hobbies, or nag about what I do. Brewing is by far the cheapest, regardless.

Infact, my wife wants me to bring the keezer into the second living room so it's easier for people to pull a pint, rather than then walking another 30 steps around the corner to the garage and pulling a pint.

Point is, you can make them as big, or as small, and carefree, or needing babysitting, but if you want to brew better beer, take care of your yeast.

 

Is your wife of Irish descent!?!

“…if you want to brew better beer, take care of your yeast.” I 100% agree with that!

Cheers!

 

No, no Irish, just English... I lucked out, but I can understand that others have it worse in some cases!!

 

As with everything in life there are pluses and minuses (take the good with the bad, etc.).

Enjoying a beer with the misses: PRICELESS!

Cheers!