fermentation worries

[sandy115]

ok fellow brewers im about to get the brewferm gold kit under way but my house doesnt have central heating ,how can i keep the temp up to start the process and how do i keep it stable for a week suggestions please regards sandy

[Madbrewer]

Sandy - Have you got a min-max thermometer anywhere? 18c is a great fermenting temperature. I would have thought you can find a room in the house without CH where it would go down to 16c and no higher than 20c this time of year? This will be ideal for an ALE.

[Chris The Fish]

there may be another way......

if you have a perpetually cold house you could perhaps try using Saflager S23, this is essentially a larger yeast which will happily ferment at 10-15c, although it will change the flavour profile of the beer it would suit your temps. it does however, bank on you being able to get hold of said yeast.

i reckon in a breferm gold it would give it a lovely clean taste, just give it a bit longer to work its stuff (S23 is a real duracell when it comes to yeast, it just keeps on going)

[Jim]

I find that a spare continental quilt wrapped round the fermenter keeps the temperature pretty stable, as long as the room temperature stays above about 15C. Once the beer's going, it generates its own heat.

[sandy115]

cheers lads found a home brewshop in partick 20mile round trip and bought a fv belt to go round the bin and heat it via the leccy, but will definately bear in mind the other yeast ,its been hovering around 1 degree above freezing for a week now up here with a drop of minus 4 yesterday, could be good for conditioning the beggar.

[StrangeBrew]

there may be another way......

if you have a perpetually cold house you could perhaps try using Saflager S23, this is essentially a larger yeast which will happily ferment at 10-15c, although it will change the flavour profile of the beer it would suit your temps. it does however, bank on you being able to get hold of said yeast.

i reckon in a breferm gold it would give it a lovely clean taste, just give it a bit longer to work its stuff (S23 is a real duracell when it comes to yeast, it just keeps on going)

Hi Sandy, the yeast supplied with the Brewferm Gold is, I believe, an ale yeast. Although the Gold is a lager it is probably supplied with this yeast as it is easier for the kit brewer to attain good fermentation tempreture in the home. As Chris has advised the Saflager S23 is a very good option for Brewferm Gold! Brewed it myself in the spring and just got another going now at a fermenting temp of 13c both with S23. I liked this kit so much I just had to do it again, needs a few extra weeks to hit its best though. As stated on the packet, S23 ferments ideally at 11-15c but has a tempreture range of 11-24c making it a good choice for the Gold if you have cools temps around your home. This beer is best bottled.

[StrangeBrew]

One thing to add is that on the S23 packet it says to use two sachets at the lower temp of 11-15c in 20 to 30 litres so one sachet will do for the 12 litres of Brewferm Gold.

[sandy115]

thanks strangebrew will bear that info in mind i was going to put it in the corneys and do about a dozen bottles for quality control purposes.