BeerBorg

Brian N- wrote:Keep my fermenting and conditioning down in the basement. Fall through Spring the temperature ranges from 62-68. Summer temperatures are above 70 because I need to run a dehumidifier, so brewing has to wait until the heat and humidity break.

If you don't get to high into 70s you might be able to brew in summer. My brother picked up a yeast called Mauribrew that is good in higher temps.

You might post on the yeast section if you want to brew in the summer where you are.

BrewBirds.... as you know, we are a resourseful bunch.... this can be done in any size area...

I happen to enjoy woodworking as well. I made a rolling work bench, so I have mobility. Since I only used the bottom to store things that could be stored elsewhere, I cleared it out, and enclosed it with wood, mainly an old door. I cut a hole to fit a window a/c unit. When set to energy saver, it circulates the air to sample the temp, but rarely has to "condition" due to the small area. An old closet can work, the possibilities are limited by your imagination... and sometimes wallet. I feel the electrical cost to be minimum, a fan takes little power. I can set to any temp the a/c is capable of. I ferment and condition in there. Right now, you can see the pail, but there is also a 5 gal corny, and about 2 cases with room to spare.

That's cool. As far as the cost to run it or anything else, check with your library. Ours loans out a bunch of things including three different measuring devices for electric usage. You can get one for free and check everything in your house and learn the real cost to operate over a period of time.

mtsoxfan wrote:BrewBirds.... as you know, we are a resourseful bunch.... this can be done in any size area...

I happen to enjoy woodworking as well. I made a rolling work bench, so I have mobility. Since I only used the bottom to store things that could be stored elsewhere, I cleared it out, and enclosed it with wood, mainly an old door. I cut a hole to fit a window a/c unit. When set to energy saver, it circulates the air to sample the temp, but rarely has to "condition" due to the small area. An old closet can work, the possibilities are limited by your imagination... and sometimes wallet. I feel the electrical cost to be minimum, a fan takes little power. I can set to any temp the a/c is capable of. I ferment and condition in there. Right now, you can see the pail, but there is also a 5 gal corny, and about 2 cases with room to spare.

Thanks for the pic. While I don't consider myself a DIY type I've got an old rear projection TV that is impossible to get rid of so I was thinking I might be able to gut it, put in some shelves, line it insulation foam panels and use an RV fridge compressor or AC unit to cool it. Not having a clue about refrigeration or electrical stuff it is still just another beer gear dream at the moment.

Like the repurposing... and it would be kinda cool. A moving blanket on outside would be easy too, although not as easy on the eyes...

This is priceless.

Question - where do you ferment?

Answer - I put them wherever I can find a spot that doesn't make my wife mad.

Joe is the only honest one in the entire forum!

Since my new house has a wine chiller but its upstairs on the main floor.....I am now using the Omaha Steaks cooler method. I found with 2 regular sized frozen water bottles, I can keep the temp at 65 F if I keep the lid cracked a quarter inch. I stuck an instant read thermometer thru the thick Styrofoam for an ambient read.

Wings_Fan_In_KC wrote: .....I am now using the Omaha Steaks cooler method.

Those Omaha Steaks coolers are really something! We've got a few deliveries as gifts. They were small ones, but they were amazingly heavy duty

I do my smaller 3 gallon batches in a mini fridge that sits in the garage with a temperature controller. Every once in a while if I dont' have kegs I need to keep cold in the regular beer fridge I'll set up a bigger batch or two in there with the temp controller. That's what I do over the summer. I brew more over the winter when life isn't as busy and I got more free time and what I do then is ferment out in the garage inside a wood armoir that I insulated a little with foil bubble wrap on the inside. I let mother nature keep things naturally cool over the colder months and hook up the temperature controller to run heat from a tiny space heater once in a while to keep temps where I want them. This works out nice and I'll do this with the armoir or the mini fridge depending on the batch size or sometimes double batches at one time.

Ah, the age-old question.

For me, it's in a cooler in the corner. We live in a townhouse/condo, and space is at a premium. So I managed to get my loving wife to graciously allow me to have a small corner of our living room for my supplies. We have central heat and air, and typically keep the thermostat around 65. So, temperature control isn't really that big of a deal for me. And when I do need to use ice bottles, it doesn't end up being that much of a hassle. I manage to work it out to where I change the bottles when I come home in the morning (I work graveyard, get off at 5 a.m.), and before I leave for work in the evening. On my time off, it ends up being about the same rotation, because our fuzzy four-legged children (read: cats) begin wanting to be fed around the same times.

And it's worked pretty well for me over the last few years since I've been brewing. If space and finances allowed, I'd love to get even just a mini-fridge. But for the time being, I can settle for my current setup.

My wife would tell you I ferment wherever I happen to be sitting. The beer has options, depending on ambient temperature. Sometimes in a fridge with controller if there's room. Sometimes in a tub with water to keep it cool and stable. Sometimes in the office. One that was stuck lived near the fireplace wearing a plaid flannel shirt for a few weeks. I try to be flexible, and she's very patient with me. No basement, alas. Our water table is about 3 feet below ground.

Brewbirds wrote:

Brian N- wrote:Keep my fermenting and conditioning down in the basement. Fall through Spring the temperature ranges from 62-68. Summer temperatures are above 70 because I need to run a dehumidifier, so brewing has to wait until the heat and humidity break.

If you don't get to high into 70s you might be able to brew in summer. My brother picked up a yeast called Mauribrew that is good in higher temps.

You might post on the yeast section if you want to brew in the summer where you are.

Use a Belgian yeast like 3787, or a Saison yeast. You can brew into the 80s with 3787, 90s with a Saison yeast.

Yeast selection is one thing that you can use to cope if your available space has limitations. In addition to Belgian and Saison yeasts as mentioned, I have had acceptable results with Coopers ale yeast (in 7-gram gold packets, not the Fromunda or Downunda yeasts) with temperatures up to about 80. S-23 can get you through months that are less than ideal for regular ale yeasts.

When I started last summer, I fermented in the pantry off our kitchen, sliding it under the bottom shelf. The house was air conditioned to 75 degrees, so the floor was cooler than that. In the winter I actually ran a small space heater to keep the temp in there at least 70 (before I knew that mid 60s was even better).

As it warmed up last spring, I moved my LBKs to the basement, which was around 62 and never got much above mid 60s - until the summer. Now, I plan to do all my fermenting down there. I haven't brewed since June 2nd, but am starting to chart out my next 4 batches (2 at a time) so I can pickup ingredients perhaps this weekend. Basement is still 70 or so, but the weather outlook is for evenings in the 40s and daytime barely cresting 70 so I think we're almost there.