Fermentation temperature can have a huge impact on your
beer. You want a nice healthy yeast that's working at its
preferred temperature rage. This will be on the packet of
the yeast and will vary quite a lot. It's really important
that your beer ferments in this working range. If you can,
ferment at the lower end of this range. This will give you
a cleaner beer. If your yeast is working at too high a
temperature, it'll produce a lot of flavors that are not
particularly peasant. If your fermentation temperature is
too cold, your beer simply won't ferment. The yeast
won't be able to work. This can lead to trouble down the
track through over carbonation and explosions, which you
definitely don't want. So, you've got a few options to help
control your wort's fermenting temperature.
The first option is to brew with the season this means
brewing at the time of year where the ambient
temperature is within your yeast working range. You
don't need to do anything. The room temperature is going to be fine.
The other thing you can do is choose a yeast that suits the
ambient temperature. So, in winter for example, you
might use a lager yeast. In the warmer months, you can
use a yeast that works at a higher temperature. There's
some suggestions with the eBook that goes with this
course on yeasts that work at different temperature
ranges. You can also invest in a heating pad or heating
belt. The option I use is a fermentation fridge.
So, I've got an old fridge which has an external thermostat
fitted. This means I can dial the temperature I want. In the
cooler months, I have a heat blanket inside which will
maintain a temperature that suits the beer I'm trying to
make. I really like this option because I can brew any time
of year to make any style of beer. It also means that I can
clean and sanitize inside the fridge and maintain a clean
environment for the beer to ferment.
If you're trying to cool your beer down by a few degrees,
there's a couple of hacks you can use. One of these is
getting an old t-shirt and covering your fermenter and
sitting it in a water bath. The water will soak up the t-shirt
and as it evaporates, it will cool the beer down. You can
also use ice bottles sitting on top of your fermenter. You
might have parts of your house that are cooler in summer
and warmer in winter that will lend themselves to
brewing. Whatever option you look at, make sure you
monitor both the ambient temperature and the beer
working temperature as well. Fermentation produces
its own heat, so it can be up to 40 degrees Fahrenheit, four
degrees Celsius warmer than the ambient. It's important
to keep an eye on it and make sure it's within the correct working range.
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