Temp?

[mctoon]

After reading many posts,

The question is, Does the summer temp really affect the brewing process, I brew my kits in the utility room which is around 23C, and then its off into the garage.

No sun here at the minute, the joys of living in north Northumberland,,

Cheers Mal

[steve_flack]

In a word yes. The higher the temperatures go, the more by-products the yeast makes. These compounds often add flavour in small amounts but in large amounts they're headache material.

Some yeasts are better than others though at keeping clean at higher temps.

[Richy]

how do you guys measure the heat?

Is a room thermometer good enough or do i need something a little more specialised? i.e. something you test the beer/lager with?

[steve_flack]

I have stick on plastic thermometers on my fermenters - about £2 each. The temperature of a fermenting beer can often be 5C above that of the room.

[fivetide]

Likewise I find that the temperature of my conditioning beer can be up to five degrees LOWER than the ambient temperature of my shed...

[CrownCap]

I've found so far that insulating the FV can help to even out the extremes of temperature quite well. I've cut up a camping mat to fit smuggly around the FV, cover the lid and bottom. Seems to help buffer the beer from high daytime and low night time temperatures.

Of course that only helps if the average temperature is around the 20C mark. If the average is higher/lower the beer will still tend towards ambient.

Oh, and thumbs up for those stick on thermometer strips too

[Richy]

where do I get these stick on thermometers guys, they sound great.

I use an old electric blanket to take the chill off but im not sure i get the temp correct.

I hear its bad to get the beer to warm and it wont ferment at cool temperatures. At the min I couldnt tell ya what the temperature is.

[roger the dog]

where do I get these stick on thermometers guys, they sound great.

You could buy them here

Item 11

[Horden Hillbilly]

where do I get these stick on thermometers guys, they sound great.

You could also try a local pet shop, I have seen then on the side of fish tanks.

[steve_flack]

Or at the hop shop

Link

[moco]

Horden,

I'm not convinced the set-up shown will give you a good reading of the beer temperature, instead of the room temperature. The thermometer needs to be tight against the FV, not hanging loose.

[Richy]

Thanks roger the dog, horden hillbilly and steve_flack all very useful indeed.

Im wondering now tho after moco saying he not convinced thats the best way to get a redaing on hordon hillbilly's set up where I stick these thermometers (be polite, I know what ya thinking!!).

Many thanks again lads.