Advice for Brewing in a Sub Zero Winter, Ambient room temperature advise for brewing in the winter months.

[chris-s]

The most important thing is the insulation.

Sleeping bag, bubble wrap, brew fridge, or anything else.

At this time of year, I almost always have 2 fermenters on the go wrapped with a single size sleeping bag zipped up. Perfect for size.

I also have them monitored with five temp probes. Why? Just for interest!

And with a room temp between 15C and 16C at this time of year, except in the evening when the central heating is on and it rises to about 18C, and a tiny bit of local heat overnight, the temperature of the liquid varies very little.

The highest, probably 21.5C might be when the fermentation is at it's most vigorous, creating it's own heat. The lowest maybe 18.5C after a very cold night and a finished fermentation.

If that is good enough for you any (small/tiny) heat source will do.

And you don't need an electronic second by second or minute by minute controller as long as you can do an hour by hour manual adjustment ...unless you want to, just for fun or interest or whatever.

It takes a decent bit of heat x time to move the temp of 2 x 23 litres.

Simply put, with an insulated fermenter and a small temperature difference, it is something you can do manually in the home. Cheap and easy.

 

[GhostShip]

The inkbird I've got looks like something you'd stick into a joint of meat to see if it's cooked enough. If yours has a probe like that then It's good for liquids, too.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inkbird-Th...hermometer+rechargeable&qid=1610222137&sr=8-9
But the Inkbird temperature controller is a different kettle of fish altogether.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inkbird-Te...231&sprefix=inkbird+temperatur,aps,192&sr=8-5

Mine is the controller. It still has a probe, but I tape that to the side of the FV to monitor the fermentation temp.

 

[tonyasken]

If you really want to improve the quality of your beer and you have the space, look at a brew fridge. I got my fridge for £12 off eBay. The tube heater cost a few quid from Amazon and though the Inkbird was a bit more (around £30 from memory), it’s a really great piece of kit. I then just knocked up a platform from wood that I had lying around in the shed, drilled some holes to allow the warmth from the tube heater to rise up to the FV above, and that was about it.

To be able to maintain the correct temperature consistently, is a major factor in producing good beer in my opinion, and honestly, it’s so easy to achieve.

Hi, I havent started brewing yet because of the weather here in Scotland. I had a spare fridge and ordered an inkbird. O have a brew belt and I am ready to start this weekend. Will this be enough to keep a constant temp with outside being so cold. What are your inkibird settings for +/- and compressor delay? Thanks