Hi, I'm new and have a question

[ChrisG]

Hi everyone,

Been lurking for a few weeks and I have decided to take the plunge and try out this amazing hobby.

I'm going to buy one of the home brewing kits for Ale, but I have a problem....

Taking temperature reading around the house has proved that its too cold.

I was wanting to have a set up in my loft but it goes down to 8 degrees C at night (used a max & min)

In a spare room its 16.6666 degrees constant.

So what can I do? Are there any alternatives to this, seems too cold.

Any ways thanks for listening.

[steve_flack]

There was a discussion a while back and the general feeling was that brewing in lofts is a bad idea. If you have a spillage it would get very expensive.

You can get heaters for fermenters - there's the immersion type, brewbelts and hot mats you can put the fermenter on. With one of those in the spare room you should be sorted.

[daveyk]

As a relative new home brewer... I was keen to keep the cost of equipment down until I'm a) happy with the result and b) confident i'll keep brewing my own beers.

That said I seem to buy a new piece of 'stuff' for every brew I do this is better as it helps spread the cost. My latest addition was an immersion heater which although designed for a fish aquarium has made a big difference for my brews. It keep the brew at a constant temp and is just one less thing to worry about. For about £8 from ebay, I regard this as a good bargain.

What I'm trying to say in a VERY round about way is that it might seems like an unnecessary expense but it has been a worth while investment improving the reliability of the ferment.

Dave.

[Madbrewer]

Chris you may be getting hung up too much on ideal temperatures, I did at first. I found my fermenting bin heater (think aqarium heater) to be unnecessarily after using it just twice! I now aim for 18c and the room gets colder at times and warmer at times. 16c will work but fermentation 'may' take a day or two longer. Start with the minimum kit you can get away with and see how you get on. Seriously though I have never used my heater in years, probably wont ever use it again, and brewed loads of lager this winter in my garage, which ideally wants 12c and it probably averaged just 5c for days on end.

The beer may taste cleaner for being brewed cooler & Nottingham yeast should work fine.

[CyberPaddy66]

Try putting your bucket next to a radiator (if you have one) with a blanket wrapped round it, the rad will keep it nice and warm and the blanket will hold it in during the night



Works for me

[Jrevillug]

I suspect that wrapping the bucket in a sleeping bag would work- the heat from fermentation might well keep it a bit above ambient anyway.

James

[ChrisG]

Thanks everyone for the detailed replies.

I bought the set today and a really helpful shop owner took me through how things should be done.

I thought the brew bin was going to be a lot bigger, so I can use my airing cupboard which has the heating boiler in it so it'll be perfect.

My first kit is going to be - Brewmaker - Scottish Heavy. Seems quite easy and I'll get started on this at the weekend.

---

One wee quick question........I take it I seal the fermentation bin once all the ingredients are mixed in? Wife worried I'm gonna stink the house out with brews!

Cheers

[MightyMouth]

I just thought i would chime in and say too hot is probably worse than too cold. Make sure its not too hot in the airing cupboard, otherwise you might get undesirable flavours in the beer.

[ChrisG]

I just thought i would chime in and say too hot is probably worse than too cold. Make sure its not too hot in the airing cupboard, otherwise you might get undesirable flavours in the beer.

Testing that as we speak.

[BodgerBill]

Hi!

I'm a relative newcomer to brewing. However, I have been down the route you are taking and found the airing cupboard way too unreliable and caused me no end of trouble with stuck ferments. I invested in a couple of heat mats which my local HBS was selling off as old stock for £5 each. They work on 30W so are very cheap to run and the temperature range they work on is something like ambient + 9 degrees C so would work a treat for you. Since I started using them I have never had any trouble with stuck ferments. I also use them to proof bread because I could never find a place warm enough before. I read loads of stuff on the pros and cons of immersion heaters and heat mats mainly because I'm tight! Daab is quite right to point out immersion types do have thermostatic control but some of them are not very controllable. I have also read there is a risk of caramelisation of the wort.

If you don't want to go to the expense of a heat mat or immersion heater you can always line a cardboard (or other material) box with insulation. Put your fementer in the box. Then feed a light bulb through the roof and use different wattages of bulb to fine tune the temperature.

I hope this helps

BB

[ChrisG]

Thanks BB, some good ideas there.

I'll see how i get on with the airing cupboard, then probably think about a heating mat.

[ChrisG]

Thanks BB, some good ideas there.

I'll see how i get on with the airing cupboard, then probably think about a heating mat.

[Coppertone]

Hi Chris,

As a relative newcomer myself (2 brews done and waiting to kick off the 3rd), I have to agree with Bill that the airing cupboard is not a good place. The temperature flucuates too quickly which I understand can add strange flavours. My first brew, before I found this site, was put in the airing cupboard and after tasting it for months the taste never came good and I ended up dumping it.

On the positive side, it should not be too long now before our weather gets better and the temp starts to rise.

Good luck Chris and I hope your first brew goes well.

[macleanb]

Hi

I definately wouldnt seal the lid entirely - I made this mistake, and came back to find the lid had popped of. Seal the lid, then crack the seal open in one place to allow the CO2 out - its got to come out somewhere! (Or are you building a beer bomb?)

cheers & ttfn benm

[CyberPaddy66]

You could always drill a hole in your bucket lid and fit a bung and airlock to it that way you'll be able to see the CO2 escaping and know when the fermentation has died down to a near stop.