Winter brewing advice

[leedroy]

I have only brewed kits during the warmer months of the year so the decreased temperature hasn't been a problem for me yet. That said I have a few kits I want to brew but am concerned that the reduced temperature will slow if not stop fermentation.

All will be brewed inside the house in the spare room.

I have seen belt heaters etc but wondered what everyone else does at this time of year and winter.

Many thanks in advance

 

[AlanManley]

I've not brewed in winter yet as only on my fourth. I am however going to invest in and inkbird and tube heater for the spare fridge and have a convertible fermenting fridge.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[Spapro]

A good and cheap solution to setup is a storage container, from Wilkos or Ikea etc, to stand the FV in, add some water to create a water bath and heat that water bath using a 100watt Aquarium heater.

The aquarium heater can be set using the dial to hold a given temp, I have 2 of these setups in my garage and they work really well at heating above ambient (cool) temperature and holding a brew at a constant temp (20°C or whatever) during fermentation.

A few things to point out:
1. You need a FV without a tap - just a bucket type.
2. Make sure you syphon out the water bath before syphoning your beer out of the FV, otherwise as you syphon the beer the FV floats and tips over.
3. You only need around 200mm deep of water in the bath - no need to completely submerge the FV in deep water.

Storage container will be £6 or £8 and about the same for the aquarium heater off Ebay.

Here is my setup in the garage - I have covered the water bath to get a bit better power efficiency but no need to do that really in a spare room (my garage gets very cool in the winter).

 

[nigelnorris]

To date I've occasionaly used a 25W aquarium heater dumped into the FV, but very infrequently since it rarely gets cold enough indoors to stop fermentation.

This winter however I've gained a 308s courtesy of those very nice Inkbird folks so I'll be experimenting with something a bit more extravagant. Like my unheated conservatory might get used as one huge refrigerated room for lagermaking purposes.

 

[leedroy]

Spapro that looks like an excellent idea

 

[Honk]

I was planning on asking a similar question but it fits here so I will ask it here. I'm reluctant to spend more money on kit this side of Christmas so not wanting to buy a heater but wondering about brewing seasonally, I know lager is fermented at lower temperatures is there anything else or a certain type of yeast I could use to brew during the winter? I'm not sure what sort of temperatures I'm looking at for our house over the winter, we tend to have heating on during the evening but not in the day. I believe saison was traditionally brewed during the winter but now seems better suited to brewing during the heat of summer according to the saison yeasts I've seen. A steam beer might be another option using a lager yeast but not done at the higher temperatures usually done for steam beers. Any other suggestions?

 

[Spapro]

I was planning on asking a similar question but it fits here so I will ask it here. I'm reluctant to spend more money on kit this side of Christmas so not wanting to buy a heater but wondering about brewing seasonally, I know lager is fermented at lower temperatures is there anything else or a certain type of yeast I could use to brew during the winter? I'm not sure what sort of temperatures I'm looking at for our house over the winter, we tend to have heating on during the evening but not in the day. I believe saison was traditionally brewed during the winter but now seems better suited to brewing during the heat of summer according to the saison yeasts I've seen. A steam beer might be another option using a lager yeast but not done at the higher temperatures usually done for steam beers. Any other suggestions?

Whichever yeast you use ideally you really need a consistent temperature for decent results. Yes lager yeast operates at colder temps and Ale yeasts at warmer temps but both need consistent temps for best results.

Saison yeasts tend to endure higher temps but again have an optimum range and some consistency/temp control leads to best results.

I can't think of any yeast which will perform well if fermenting in an environment where it drops to say 10°C (or cooler) overnight but then is up to 20-21°C during the day.

Temperature control of some sort is necessary for decent homebrewing results IMHO. You risk stuck brews (not fermenting out fully) if you let the temp fall below the range a yeast prefers).

A brewfridge setup to heat/cool is the optimum solution but there are other ways of seperately heating/cooling a brew and insulating from environmental fluctuations.

 

[IainM]

I was planning on asking a similar question but it fits here so I will ask it here. I'm reluctant to spend more money on kit this side of Christmas so not wanting to buy a heater but wondering about brewing seasonally, I know lager is fermented at lower temperatures is there anything else or a certain type of yeast I could use to brew during the winter? I'm not sure what sort of temperatures I'm looking at for our house over the winter, we tend to have heating on during the evening but not in the day. I believe saison was traditionally brewed during the winter but now seems better suited to brewing during the heat of summer according to the saison yeasts I've seen. A steam beer might be another option using a lager yeast but not done at the higher temperatures usually done for steam beers. Any other suggestions?

It doesn't have to be expensive, my setup cost £10.95, a lot less that a kit you might screw up due to temperature fluctuations. I got the Hidom Aquarium Heater 75w HT-2075 for £6.95 including delivery from Amazon, and a large flexi tub from B&Q for £4. It works a treat.

 

[Bigjas]

I have only brewed kits during the warmer months of the year so the decreased temperature hasn't been a problem for me yet. That said I have a few kits I want to brew but am concerned that the reduced temperature will slow if not stop fermentation.

All will be brewed inside the house in the spare room.

I have seen belt heaters etc but wondered what everyone else does at this time of year and winter.

Many thanks in advance

I realize its not suitable for everyone due to lack of space etc, but my brew fridge has transformed my brewing experience. I no longer worry about my brew, I just put it in the fridge, set the temp and leave it for 2 weeks. I think this is the best solution if you can do it.

 

[Honk]

I'm thinking that although the room temperature might fluctuate between 10 and 18 deg c the fermenter is a big mass of liquid and isn't going to be fluctuating to nearly that extent especially if well wrapped up. That said I am quite liking the idea of a cheap aquarium heater with tub. It strikes me it will be much easier to keep my beer at a constant temperature during the winter with this set up than it was during the summer without the aid of a dedicated brew fridge.

 

[Slayer]

Whichever yeast you use ideally you really need a consistent temperature for decent results. Yes lager yeast operates at colder temps and Ale yeasts at warmer temps but both need consistent temps for best results.

Saison yeasts tend to endure higher temps but again have an optimum range and some consistency/temp control leads to best results.

I can't think of any yeast which will perform well if fermenting in an environment where it drops to say 10°C (or cooler) overnight but then is up to 20-21°C during the day.

Temperature control of some sort is necessary for decent homebrewing results IMHO. You risk stuck brews (not fermenting out fully) if you let the temp fall below the range a yeast prefers).

A brewfridge setup to heat/cool is the optimum solution but there are other ways of seperately heating/cooling a brew and insulating from environmental fluctuations.

That's a worry! I started brewing in the summer and have noticed over the last few days my FV not bubbling in the morning but bubbling when I get home from work!

I thought having my FV in my spare room would perform ok through the winter.:-?

 

[Fil]

US-05 will ferment as low as 15C iirc and bearing in mind that the fermentation is an exothermic procedure producing some heat through activity, a nice insulating wrap to keep the FV warm may be all you need..

 

[Slayer]

US-05 will ferment as low as 15C iirc and bearing in mind that the fermentation is an exothermic procedure producing some heat through activity, a nice insulating wrap to keep the FV warm may be all you need..

What do you suggest? Bubblewrap?

 

[Spapro]

What do you suggest? Bubblewrap?

Layer it up, covering it with anything you have to hand - spare duvet, towels, an old coat etc.etc.

 

[Sandimas]

Why take a chance? Large garden trug from B&Q and fish tank heater off eBay, best fifteen quid I've ever spent. House temps now dropping so will need to get it back into use soon.

 

[Fil]

What do you suggest? Bubblewrap?

If you have bubble wrap go for it bubble wrap and mylar(crunchie wraper/space blanket) make up quite efficient and expensive composite insulators.. ive use a few bin bags and a sleeping bag myself.. :whistle:

 

[Grizzly299]

Brew with the seasons;

Winter- Larger
Spring- Ales
Summer - Belgian Ales
Autumn - Ales

Remember that your fermentation is usually at least 2°C above ambient room temperature(often more).So unless the room temperature fluctuates massively then your brews are unlikely to suffer.

If you have enough space, get a small fridge, an inkbird stat and a small tube heater and turn it into a fermentation chamber.

 

[Joeyriles]

I was thinking of doing a lager this weekend (AG) but worry the house will be too warm for it. Is it better to condemn it to the shed for the foreseeable future and let the slow, cool maturation process take place or do I run the risk of it being unfinished?

 

[Fil]

I was thinking of doing a lager this weekend (AG) but worry the house will be too warm for it. Is it better to condemn it to the shed for the foreseeable future and let the slow, cool maturation process take place or do I run the risk of it being unfinished?

i would bung a max.min thermometer in the shed for a few days to see what the temperature variations are like and what sort of temps can be maintained first. it should indicate the success you could achieve. Also if you have power in the shed its always easier to apply a little heat to a brew than it is to chill.

 

[Joeyriles]

Good idea. My shed is a thin MDF masterpiece so it will be on the cold side. The main reason I always put off doing lagers is the maturation time so I feel I should probably do this in the much colder months and do a different beer this weekend.
A nice, single hop pale ale it is!


Or a stout...