Keeping the brew at the correct temperature

Get advice on making beer from raw ingredients (malt, hops, water and yeast)
Fil
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Re: Keeping the brew at the correct temperature

Post by Fil » Wed Oct 12, 2016 11:53 pm

drunkenscunk wrote:So the youtube video then.
There is a plank of wood or somthing sat inside the bucket handels that looks like it is doing nothing; well it iver must be holding the fermentation bucket up so water can pass under it or it is being held down for some reason.
But the big thing why I do not see this working is because (somehow) he has his heater eliment mounted at the top of the bucket and as heat rises only to top part of the bucket will be heated up
linky??
You can sit the FV on a couple of bricks or similar to allow you to use a higher volume of water for its thermal mass without floating the FV :)

an active fermentation is a turbulent affair, so heat exchange throughout the mass of beer is highly efficient, at the begining and end of the brew the liquor is more still with much less activity and then heat exchange within the body of liquor relies more on brownian motion and is less effective.

the heater is used to heat the water in the trub indirectly heating the brew and therefore not risking scorching and overheating which can happen if the heatuer is sat directly in the beer not forgetting all the sanitation concerns involved with that approach.

And the larger thermal mass of the water resists minor fluctuations in the ambient temp.
ist update for months n months..
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Sadfield
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Re: Keeping the brew at the correct temperature

Post by Sadfield » Thu Oct 13, 2016 12:59 pm

drunkenscunk wrote:So the youtube video then.
There is a plank of wood or somthing sat inside the bucket handels that looks like it is doing nothing; well it iver must be holding the fermentation bucket up so water can pass under it or it is being held down for some reason.
But the big thing why I do not see this working is because (somehow) he has his heater eliment mounted at the top of the bucket and as heat rises only to top part of the bucket will be heated up
The fv has a tendency to float, so the wood is there to act as something for the fv to push against.

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drunkenscunk

Re: Keeping the brew at the correct temperature

Post by drunkenscunk » Thu Oct 13, 2016 10:23 pm

Sadfield wrote: The fv has a tendency to float, so the wood is there to act as something for the fv to push against.
OK I see the point to this now

But as I said I can not see it working because the heater eliment is at the top of the tank

People have said before; what is the situation with the fridge thing?

Haydnexport
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Re: Keeping the brew at the correct temperature

Post by Haydnexport » Mon Oct 17, 2016 10:00 pm

i have used fish tank heaters a lot(easy 50 + tc's) they work really well, just make sure your heater is deep enough down in the water, the wort might be slightly cooler at the bottom but i think its negligible , i use one of the stainless ones direct into the fv , never had a problem with them.

drunkenscunk

Re: Keeping the brew at the correct temperature

Post by drunkenscunk » Wed Oct 26, 2016 7:46 pm

Haydnexport wrote:i have used fish tank heaters a lot(easy 50 + tc's) they work really well, just make sure your heater is deep enough down in the water, the wort might be slightly cooler at the bottom but i think its negligible , i use one of the stainless ones direct into the fv , never had a problem with them.
Well the correct temprature of brewing beer is between 20c-22c https://www.google.co.uk/?gfe_rd=cr&ei= ... ation+beer

I contacted the seller of this item http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190608936361? ... =ext,bu=bu
And asked what temprature this works at and this is there respoce
Hi there,Thank you for your message,
I'm afraid not
These are set to 25-26 degrees
Sorry about this

So what temprature dose yours run at?

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alexlark
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Re: Keeping the brew at the correct temperature

Post by alexlark » Wed Oct 26, 2016 8:02 pm

There are loads of aquarium heaters on ebay that have a thermostat which can be set at circa 20c

Here is one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121702483727

drunkenscunk

Re: Keeping the brew at the correct temperature

Post by drunkenscunk » Thu Oct 27, 2016 11:48 pm

alexlark wrote:There are loads of aquarium heaters on ebay that have a thermostat which can be set at circa 20c

Here is one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121702483727
Yes I remember that brand and I remember contacting that seller and getting no reply
Never the less I am sure there are umteen to a dozen sellers selling that same make on ebay

But the question I asked the seller (I think was how deep can they be submersed into water) for which I have had no reply
Two other seller (including the once I mentioned above) said that there's where fully submersible
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190608936361? ... =ext,bu=bu

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251202775297? ... =ext,bu=bu

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Sadfield
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Re: Keeping the brew at the correct temperature

Post by Sadfield » Fri Oct 28, 2016 6:54 am

The hidom ones MUST to be fully submerged at all times when heating.

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orlando
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Re: Keeping the brew at the correct temperature

Post by orlando » Fri Oct 28, 2016 8:03 am

drunkenscunk wrote: Well the correct temprature of brewing beer is between 20c-22c
Really? I think you may find that the range is a little wider than that and is often much less to achieve so called "cleaner" flavours, particularly in American style pale ales. Often the yeast manufacturer is a better guide to how their particular strain performs over temperature ranges.
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Re: Keeping the brew at the correct temperature

Post by alexlark » Fri Oct 28, 2016 5:51 pm

I used to keep fish and you'll be good for 2 to 3 ft deep no problems with those heaters.

drunkenscunk

Re: Keeping the brew at the correct temperature

Post by drunkenscunk » Fri Oct 28, 2016 11:56 pm

orlando wrote:
drunkenscunk wrote: Well the correct temprature of brewing beer is between 20c-22c
Really? I think you may find that the range is a little wider than that and is often much less to achieve so called "cleaner" flavours, particularly in American style pale ales. Often the yeast manufacturer is a better guide to how their particular strain performs over temperature ranges.
Can I ask what temprature you brew yours at?

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orlando
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Re: Keeping the brew at the correct temperature

Post by orlando » Sat Oct 29, 2016 7:20 am

drunkenscunk wrote:
orlando wrote:
drunkenscunk wrote: Well the correct temprature of brewing beer is between 20c-22c
Really? I think you may find that the range is a little wider than that and is often much less to achieve so called "cleaner" flavours, particularly in American style pale ales. Often the yeast manufacturer is a better guide to how their particular strain performs over temperature ranges.
Can I ask what temprature you brew yours at?

Sure, depends on the yeast but typically between 18 and 20. Usually I start low and allow a rise to 20 over 3 days. Yeast are very sensitive to temperature change it's why you should be very careful that the yeast, particularly wet yeast, is pitched into wort that is very close to your yeast temperature. Heat shock can occur at only a 2 degree difference.
I am "The Little Red Brooster"

Fermenting:
Conditioning:
Drinking: Southwold Again,

Up Next: John Barleycorn (Barley Wine)
Planning: Winter drinking Beer

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Re: Keeping the brew at the correct temperature

Post by drunkenscunk » Sat Oct 29, 2016 9:58 pm

You say you brew between 19-20 which is below the Google link I saw of between 20-22 and is all in all below the recommended fish bowl type temperature brew.

I have one beer brewing kit hear that I wish to use and I would like to use other beer kits too, (3 in one) to brew beer using this idea of the heater.
What temperature is the max you would recommend or how warm have you brewed before?

Thanks

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Sadfield
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Re: Keeping the brew at the correct temperature

Post by Sadfield » Sat Oct 29, 2016 11:34 pm

Drunkenskunk, re-reading your original post about how your brew failed due to the low temperature of fermenting outside, i think you are now over thinking things. There has been some great advice in this thread, from a collection of experienced brewers, which would lead to resolving your problem.

A water bath setup with a 50-75 watt Hidom fishtank heater set to 19-20c will provide a suitable and stable environment for your yeast to ferment correctly. All achievable for between £15 and £20. Money that will be saved by never having a kit fail again.

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orlando
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Re: Keeping the brew at the correct temperature

Post by orlando » Sun Oct 30, 2016 8:01 am

drunkenscunk wrote:You say you brew between 19-20 which is below the Google link I saw of between 20-22 and is all in all below the recommended fish bowl type temperature brew.

I have one beer brewing kit hear that I wish to use and I would like to use other beer kits too, (3 in one) to brew beer using this idea of the heater.
What temperature is the max you would recommend or how warm have you brewed before?

Thanks
The temperature range can be used to produce "effects" from the yeast to suit the style. Lower temperatures have the yeast expressing less ester character (APA's IPA, Lager's etc) whereas at the upper ranges in classic British styles more esters are desired. Actually an ideal temperature for yeast is in the 30s, but that's for yeast, we don't like what that produces (fusel alcohol for one). The real key is control or stability, not wild swings, remember my point about 2 degrees. To answer your specific question, 22 is as high as I would go but there are Ale yeasts that can go higher, particularly towards the end of fermentation when you are trying to get to your predicted FG, at this point the flavour profile will pretty much be established. It then becomes a question of do you like the results, if you do you can cheerfully ignore me, after all I'm not going to be drinking it. :wink:
I am "The Little Red Brooster"

Fermenting:
Conditioning:
Drinking: Southwold Again,

Up Next: John Barleycorn (Barley Wine)
Planning: Winter drinking Beer

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