This is the last post I could ever have imagined making, since I'm in Australia.
BUT, the first winter has proved troublesome for fermentation temperature control. Last week, I was fermentating an American Pale Ale, trying for some pretty high temps to get good esters and yeast characters (>20oC / 68oF). Unfortunately, it's winter here and the temp in the brewery was about 10oC during the day - the fermenting beer never made it above 19oC, and over a couple of cold nights, dropped down to 15oC and eventually 9oC. The fermentation started and stopped, and is dribbling on, now nearly at the FG.
By the way, I have jacketed and insulated cylindroconical unitanks, with a side cooling jacket, no cone cooling.
I was suspicious of the glycol solenoid, and ended up isolating it off completely - the temperature did rise a little, back up to 13oC or so, so I think it may have been passing a little.
However, I wanted to ask, is keeping the ferm temperature high enough ever a problem with you N Americans and Europeans? How do you ensure ferm temps are maintained when it's mid-winter? Do you have a warming circuit in parallel with your cooling circuit?
I was always under the impression that fermnation process was endothermic and thus would generate heat, thus only needing cooling control - but it didn't appear to generate enough in my case. I'm pretty sure the beer will be different in character to the last one, which was happy at about 21-22oC.
I'm also surprised that changes in ambient temperature appear to have so much influence on a liquid sitting in an insulated tank! Is it possible that the cold seeps into the tank where the thermowell penetrates the tank wall and where the sample valve pokes out of the manway, creating local cold spots that don't actually represent the bulk temp? But then, the sluggish fermentation still occurred. This is only the second time I have brewed this beer, so I don't have strong records yet to compare the ferm profile against the last one.
Any hints/tips/thoughts welcome!
BUT, the first winter has proved troublesome for fermentation temperature control. Last week, I was fermentating an American Pale Ale, trying for some pretty high temps to get good esters and yeast characters (>20oC / 68oF). Unfortunately, it's winter here and the temp in the brewery was about 10oC during the day - the fermenting beer never made it above 19oC, and over a couple of cold nights, dropped down to 15oC and eventually 9oC. The fermentation started and stopped, and is dribbling on, now nearly at the FG.
By the way, I have jacketed and insulated cylindroconical unitanks, with a side cooling jacket, no cone cooling.
I was suspicious of the glycol solenoid, and ended up isolating it off completely - the temperature did rise a little, back up to 13oC or so, so I think it may have been passing a little.
However, I wanted to ask, is keeping the ferm temperature high enough ever a problem with you N Americans and Europeans? How do you ensure ferm temps are maintained when it's mid-winter? Do you have a warming circuit in parallel with your cooling circuit?
I was always under the impression that fermnation process was endothermic and thus would generate heat, thus only needing cooling control - but it didn't appear to generate enough in my case. I'm pretty sure the beer will be different in character to the last one, which was happy at about 21-22oC.
I'm also surprised that changes in ambient temperature appear to have so much influence on a liquid sitting in an insulated tank! Is it possible that the cold seeps into the tank where the thermowell penetrates the tank wall and where the sample valve pokes out of the manway, creating local cold spots that don't actually represent the bulk temp? But then, the sluggish fermentation still occurred. This is only the second time I have brewed this beer, so I don't have strong records yet to compare the ferm profile against the last one.
Any hints/tips/thoughts welcome!
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