So I'm gonna be getting a Johnson temp controller for a dedicated beer fridge in my garage. Right now that fridge is used for cold conditioning bottles after natural carbing them as we'll as a general craft beer storage unit. My first potential problem is that this fridge is in a pretty poor/uninsulated garage so I'm worried the fridge may struggle to run this winter here in PA (it's my first winter with the fridge in the garage). Am I gonna be able to do ale fermentations in this fridge without hurting my commercial/homebrew (60-70f temps)? I plan on doing primary in the fridge for a few days or as long as it takes to get to terminal gravity then ill pull it back into the house for a diacityl rest if need be. I'm gonna try some cold fermentations also which shouldn't hurt my beer storage. Any thoughts or suggestions on using a fridge for fermentation temp control and beer storage?
Not really.. Not unless while you are fermenting that you hate the idea that your beer will be low to mid 60's when you pull one to drink.. The temp change isn't that big of a deal really for your beer.
What temp does your garage get in the winter? If it gets below 60F you will need a heater inside your fridge set to the Johnson controller to get to fermentation temps.
