Thanks for the tips dude, very helpful. I’ve just bought an inkbird. Which is a lot like the one you showed here. Have already got a beer fridge so was a relatively cheap fix. Had a heat wave here in the UK up to 26C and that’s no good. Luckily the blood orange Berliner Weisse has finished fermenting and was fermented at 24C anyway. Got a NEIPA to do next and that needs 19-20c 🤟🏻 stay awesome
I use my keezer for my fermentation chamber. It cost me the total of a small chest freezer, a heatpad, an inkbird and some wood to make a collar around the chest freezer. I will set my inkbird to whatever temp is ideal for the yeast and that’s it. The heat pad turns on when it gets to cold and the freezer turns on if it gets too hot. It’s a great balance and does really well. Plus, when I’m done, I just crank the temp down to 34 degrees and my keezer is ready for serving :)
GREAT vidya. When I began, like most brewers I used the Igloo mashtun, but mine was a 10 gallon. While fermenting I would put my carboy in the mashtun while fermenting to keep it cooler than ambient. All great information. Cheers.
I've done the swamp cooler before. Definitely is work checking the ice level and temp a few times a day. Used those reusable ice packs instead of ice though.
Great video and tons of good info. What gas do you pump in to make the pressure fermentation? to my knowledge CO2 will slow down the fermentation process..??
This is a brilliant guide! Using Kveik yeast was the biggest game changer for me in regards to temperature control thanks to it being more forgiving in warmer places.
Nice one Trent! I am currently fermenting a lager outside but using a temp controller and heat wrap to maintain within 1-2 degrees c. I don't have much space, or so my girlfriend says, for a ferm fridge/kegerator. Seasonal brewing and kveik are my way for the time being.
Fridge temp control works great. However you should tape the temp sensor to the fermenter and insulate it. you're interested in the temperature of the beer not the temperature of the fridge.
Swamp cooler: if you have an un glazed clay pot - plug the drain hole, place your fermentor inside the pot fill with water. the evaporation through the sides of the pot will drop the temp. significantly. this is used in Africa to keep milk cool.
My "fermentation chamber" is the shower in the downstairs bathroom. Being partially underground, it stays on the cool side of ale temps basically all year around. If a fermentation starts to get to hot, I can spray it down with the shower head or fill the shower basin with cold water to cool it down. When I want to ferment something hot, I throw a heat lamp on it (the kind used for hatching chicks). I haven't figured out a good way to lager yet.
Good video Trent! Forgive for coming to the table late. I have a spunding valve and a pressure fermentation vessel. I live in an area where temperature control is difficult. Will pressure fermentation solve this dilemma? Thanks Bud.
I'm rocking with the craigslist mini fridge/inkbird combo, but at some point that fridge will become a kegerator and I'll move on to pressure fermenting until sometime that I get another cold chamber. Great list of tips!
Great topic Trent, thanks ! I'm still figuring out how to automate temp control in my basement without water or electricity (or to go crazy and put a fermentation fridge in my living room :D)
Ah yeah that’s a tough one. Swamp cooler is pretty low tech. But also if you can get the parts for pressure fermenting then you don’t really need to worry about temps
Hi mate, I saw that you have a Wine cooler you use as a kegerator or a fermentation chamber, I was wondering, is that a 36 bottle wine cooler? If so, a ball lock keg would fit in it??
I definitely go for the Pressure Ferment x Heat Wrap method myself! It's done me well so far! Would love to have a Fermentation Fridge or Glycol setup though
Yes and no, once fermentation is done there is less concern about off flavors that come from stressed yeast. But for best practice and long term storage better to keep the beer cool. And thank you!
I have been toying with an idea of bying a small fridge for this. Mainly because the ambient temps in my apartment ranges quite widely, and keep it at a min setting or if possible have it at a stable temp regardles of my apartments ambient temp.
I'm on my second brew now and looking into this, think I'll be going with a fridge and a temp control with hot and cold as I have the space for it. And can normally find a second hand fridge for cheap
OK, I've been seeing the swamp cooler suggestion for ages now but what I don't understand is how you are supposed to use to that to keep any kind of consistent temperature? How can those huge swings from near freezing to however warm it got before you added more ice any better?
Swamp cooler is definitely the lowest tech option, you are more trying to keep the temp generally in check. And hopefully it creates enough of a buffer that the temp doesn't swing too warm before you realize you need to add more ice.
Fermentation temp is difficult for me. I don't have the fridge yet and getting Temps below 70 are tough (one of the challenges of living in the south) I am just getting by for now since we are moving soon and the equipment I will need will change.
I feel you, until I was able to get things under control I was making a lot of ales and Belgians since they can handle a bit more heat. Hopefully your new setup will work better
An alternative to the traditional swamp cooler is the Cool Brewing brew bag. Its like a giant lunchbox you can swap bottles of ice out of and it can fit two fermenters at a time. Used it for a while before moving to a refrigerator. Wait... Cool Brewing... And it sells for 69 dollars.... Are The Cool Guys behind this again?
I used to ferment by using fronzen water bottles and a cool brew bag. It was tiresome and I couldn't maintain the temperature. Now I use an Inkbird temp. controller and a chest freezer. Now, after making so many brews, I can only say this one thing: you can't make beer any other way. This is the only way.
Nice vid Trent! I've seen people utilizing aquarium heaters in larger containers of water much like the ice bath method. Although not a way to cool/heat, building an insulated box with rigid foam can help regulate temperature.
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