worried about temperature...

[leigh1919]

guys -

got my inagural brewday nest saturday, andjust now i decided to take an initial temp readign of the kitchen, where the beer (Milestone Lion's Pride) will be doing it's fermentation -and the reading is 15-17 c.

according to the instructions, the wort needs to be at 17 minimum for fermentation.

now this reading is without the heating on, in which case i would imagine it will get up to 20ish...but the house wont have the heating on all the time - half the time it looks like it'll be struggling to get to 17.

is there anything i can do - or will i have to get a heating belt?
there is nowhere else in the house i can really put it...
HELP!

[anomalous_result]

Personally I think it will be fine. Fermentation produces a bit of heat on its own which is enough to lift the temp a degree or few above ambient. It may take a little longer to ferment and you might need to gently rouse the yeast bed towards the end to help it finish. Use the trusty hydrometer to help there (to work out when fermentation's finished not for stirring yeast up obviously ).

You could wrap it in a blanket/towel/sleeping bag/duvet to help it keep hold of the heat it produces if you're very worried about it though.

[Buzz]

I agree, don't panic. It might just take a bit longer but should get there.

[marky66]

Ive made up the Crusader around 2 weeks ago, dont know if it was related but I used a heating belt for the first time and the ferment went very smoothly and only took 4 days , went right down to 1008 no problem.
I have to say the Milestone kit is the best Ive made by miles , no pun intended

[sparky Paul]

Yes, wrap a blanket or a couple of thick towels around it if you are worried. If you can't maintain the temperature, a heater is handy, but I wouldn't worry about a couple of degrees.

[Chris The Fish]

the temp in my dedicated winter brewing room (ok, so its the spare bedroom) fluctuates between 17-21dec C. its a small room with only a small rad which is permanantly off, ive had most types of dried yeast used in this room with no problem at all.

It may put your mind at rest to know that the fermentation range of S04 is 15-24 dec C, and for Nottingham Yeast the info sheet states....

• Best when used at traditional ale temperatures after rehydration in the recommended manner (above 17 deg C)
• Lager-style beer has been brewed with Nottingham, however low fermentation temperature requiresadaptation of the pitching rate to ensure proper attenuation.

so if its going to get a bit cold you could always pitch a little more yeast into the wort.

Hope this helps

CtF

[leigh1919]

it certainly does guys - thanks a million. All that advice is great, and i'll plough ahead.

i guess we'll have to see and im sure i'll find a way around. the milestone kits seem robust. I'll keep you posted anyway -

god knows what homebrewing was like before this forum!!!

[Grahame]

I don't know what the others think about this, but I purchased a small 50W aquarium heater for about £6 and I set that to 21C. My current fermenter is sitting at a constant 21C and my kitchen it is in is around 17C so it seems to be doing the job welll. Costs a lot less than keeping the heating on! I am using only the yeast supplied with my kits though and the yeasts the other guys have mentioned are probably a lot better.

G.

[J_P]

Hi Leigh just spotted your post, I can't really add much more to what the chaps have already said.

I'd Agree with Ano and wrap it up from the start to keep the initial heat (from dissolving the malt) and the heat of fermentation in the fermenter.

All that will happen from fermenting a little cooler is it may take longer to ferment and it should ferment cleaner with a less yeasty taste so you've got nothing to fear. If all else fails you could get an aquarium heater and use that, just make sure it's rated for the volume of beer you're wanting to heat.

(perhaps next time I'll take my own advice! )

[leigh1919]

Hi john -

love the hat!

yep, after reading this im going to try pitching a tiny bit more yeast, and also wrap it well - at least for the first few days -

also, I have carefully negotiated use of an upstairs room - my 'office' - instead of the kitchen. This took a serious negotiation with 'the boss' but she relented in the end! she's a good un!

this will give me slightly warmer conditions as this room holds the heat a little better than the kitchen!

I'll keep you posted!

[fivetide]

It will ferment out just fine at that temperature. It's getting warmer over the next few days anyway. Very soon you'll be trying to cool the room down.