Brew fridge questions

Ian A · Feb 16, 2019

Hi everyone, I’m new to this and on to my second brew (first one was a disaster and ended with 40 pints of Wherry down the sink)! Current brew is going a lot better so far (festival IPA) and have set up a brew fridge with a heating tube at the bottom but I have a few questions for you please.
1. What is the point of wrapping the thermometer in bubble wrap? I have mine hanging off the back of the shelf at the top of the fridge. Is this ok?
2. I am currently conditioning the beer in bottles at 19.5 degrees and then I need to store in a “cool dark place for 3 weeks”. I plan just to keep the bottles in the fridge and turn the temp down, but what do you recommend I turn it down to?

I would be grateful for any advise on this please, thanks in advance.

Clint · Feb 16, 2019

Wrapping the thermometer takes a more stable reading of the wort temp.
This time of year leave your bottles in the garage..

Bigcol49 · Feb 16, 2019

Hi @Ian A
Welcome to the forum.
When you say thermometer, do you use a temperature sensor and an electronic controller?
If so, the sensor is fastened to the FV, under bubble wrap (or similar), to monitor the temperature of the brew, rather than the air temperature.

Ian A · Feb 16, 2019

Bigcol49 said:
Hi @Ian A
Welcome to the forum.
When you say thermometer, do you use a temperature sensor and an electronic controller?
If so, the sensor is fastened to the FV, under bubble wrap (or similar), to monitor the temperature of the brew, rather than the air temperature.

Hi, thanks for the response. I’m using an Inkbird ITC 308. So should I attach the thermometer to a bottle and cover with bubble wrap?

Ian A · Feb 16, 2019

Clint said:
Wrapping the thermometer takes a more stable reading of the wort temp.
This time of year leave your bottles in the garage..

Thanks, and then if I was brewing in the summer, what temp do you think?

Clint · Feb 16, 2019

For fermentation whatever your yeast requires
For storage "cool",if you have a fridge spare then I suppose it depends on how cold you like your beer...they will stay quite cool in a garage floor though. I keep mine in the shed..then move a few indoors to the fridge.

Zephyr259 · Feb 16, 2019

During fermentation I'll tape my probe to the FV and cover it with a folded cloth to insulate it, once I'm on to bottle conditioning I just leave it free in the air space of the fridge somewhere between the bottles.

I generally bottle condition around 20c then condition in a cool cupboard which sits about 8 - 10c this time of year and maybe reaches 18c in summer. Ideal temp would be around 13c I believe which is a historical cellar temperature, as long as they don't freeze or get roasted at 30c by a summer heatwave they'll be fine.

Bigcol49 · Feb 16, 2019

Ian A said:
Hi, thanks for the response. I’m using an Inkbird ITC 308. So should I attach the thermometer to a bottle and cover with bubble wrap?

Hi!
I hold the sensor against the outside of the fermentation vessel (FV) using a kitchen sponge scourer and a bungee cord.
For bottle conditioning I leve the sensor hanging in the fridge.

Brew fridge questions

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