Need some advice on temperature control.

IMHO, thermowells are unnecessary, however, that is not to say that they don't work as advertised. In your situation you'll be fine if you just tape the probe to the carboy, and isolate it from ambient. This is as simple as taping a bit of foam insulation or bubble wrap over the probe.

If you really want a thermowell, someone else may be able to chime in with that information.

 

Yes, you wouldn't really want the heating pad over the probe. There are other heating pad designs that just slip under the carboy.

 

I believe you can get a lid with two ports for a Big Mouth, would that solve your problem? You could put the thermowell in one stopper and the airlock in another.

 

Also agree that thermowell isn't necessary. I recently did two batches of saison with Wyeast 3711 which is a similar strain. I ferment in a temperature controlled fridge using a Johnson Controls A419 and (when I need a heat source) a FermWrap which I leave sitting on the top rack rather than actually wrapping it around the Better Bottle. My setup is like this:

• Fermenter in fridge
• Temperature control probe taped to the side of the carboy and insulated with bubble wrap
• FermWrap at the top of the fridge to increase ambient temperature per setting on my A419

With this setup, I started my fermentation at about 63 degrees and then ramped up to 68-70 after about a week. Worked well with 3711 and should work just the same with your strain.

 

If you use an adequate pitch of healthy 3724, oxygenate the wort, and add appropriate nutrients, there's IMO no reason to go above 80F. I start 3724 low and ramp up to 80F over about a week.

 

As others have mentioned, I would also recommend covering the probe with some type of insulation after it has been taped to the side of the carboy. I use a big piece of aluminum foil crumpled up, re-flattened, then folded over a bunch of times into a ~3"x3" square.

 

I normally use a thermowell with my carboys, but on rare occasions when I'm fermenting something in a bucket, I cover the probe with multiple layers of (small bubble) bubble wrap.

 

Hey Justin - you should be fine in those ranges with this yeast. A good rule of thumb for Saison yeast or really any Belgian strain is that the higher the fermentation temp, the more ester production you're going to get out of it. It's a good practice to start your fermentation in the lower end of that spectrum in order to prevent unwanted off flavors caused from stressing the yeast too much during the first few days. 72 should be okay for this strain on that. Then, ramp it up gradually over a week or 14 days. Let us know how it turns out!

 

I prefer a thermowell to taping probe on outside- it is more accurate. No clue the type or brand I use, I bought a bunch on sale somewhere and have never had an issue.

Sounds like you're having trouble drilling the soft rubber stopper? I use a trick I learned while working at a machine shop and having to drill soft rubber.

Get some dry ice and harden the stopper; have drill ready and drill it quickly after hardened. Works well.

 

Oh and wear gloves if you use the dry ice trick! Don't want burned fingers!

You can also get a leather punch and punch it out. It works well also.

Or you could get a piece of SS or copper tubing and sharpen one end and use as a punch.

Use some soapy water with the punch method to help lubricate and cut and also mount it into a vice if you don't have another set of hands to help. Gloves!

If you have a drill press you could mount the tube to the chuck and use as a punch/drill. A hand drill would work as well.

 

Sometimes you want to stress the yeast and get those "off flavors" and they can be beneficial to the final beer in certain styles. I under pitch my yeast on most of my Belgian beers for this very reason. You get a lot of phenols and esters that can be great in certain beers.

I do agree with starting on the low end of the temperature spectrum and then ramping up; sometimes going up and down in temperature is good also. I do this with some of my brews.

 

Lots of comments later...i don't bother with heating in my Ferm freezer when using 3724, i have a swamp cooler setup with a small aquarium heater and save my freezer for ales that need to stay in the 60's. Also my best saison with 3724 was ramped up from 68° to 92°, it is one of my best beers to date.

 

When I brew my Saisons using 3724 I start lower (e.g., low 70s) and over a week get it up to the mid-80's (and sometimes higher). That yeast strain makes some great flavors when fermented hot.

Cheers!

 

My experience is the opposite... great flavors @ 80F and hot alcohol/too many esters around 90F.

OP: Your mileage may vary.

 

I did something similar with a trash can and an aquarium heater. Here's a pic of my setup for a saison with 3724. Very easy to control the temp.

 

What was your specific fermentation temperature profile? How did the resulting Saison taste?

Cheers!