brewing temperature

[mulhollandm]

folks

I'm hoping to start a home brewing for the first time in the next month or so with a youngs american amber ale

my intention is to put all the kit in my basement

I've checked the temperature with a digital thermometer and it reads 14 degrees at 7pm so I assume it drops significantly over night

I'm wondering is it feasible to brew in these conditions

I'm thinking of putting the batch into an insulated box to help the yeast ferment or is that silly

apologies for the stupid questions but this is new to me and I hope to avoid a complete failure on my first attempt

 

[mike77]

14 is a bit cool for typical ale yeast especially if it is cooler at night. You may need to buy an alternative yeast to what comes with the kit.

If so you need to be careful to pick a yeast that works at that temperature. Nottingham ale yeast supposedly works down at 12c. Your other option might be to use a lager yeast as they work at cooler temperatures.

 

[TheRedDarren]

It may not drop significantly over night, basements are known for their stable temperatures. I'd check to be sure.
If it does drop you have the perfect excuse for a fermentation chamber made from an old fridge ;-)

 

[terrym]

Consider a setting up a water bath
http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=66407

 

[Graz]

It's too cool for ale yeasts, I keep mine at a steady 20c. Whilst I'm sure it's possible I'm not sure I'd brew it with a lager yeast either, the yeast does play a part in the end flavour of the beer.

But all is not lost, either a heated water bath as above or if you're keen on getting into this lark then a brew fridge is a great investment. I brew out in my garage that could easily go below freezing if we had a proper winter again but the brew fridges keep everything at a toasty 20 degrees.

 

[Alan_H]

Yeah, invest in a brew fridge and something like ITC-1000 from Inkbird which allows you to connect it to the fridge and to a heating source as well.

 

[marlon]

Yeah, invest in a brew fridge and something like ITC-1000 from Inkbird which allows you to connect it to the fridge and to a heating source as well.

Yep..! +1. Exactly what I did.:thumb:

 

[Fil]

a brewfridge is the best option, but as fermentation is an exothermic reaction, you may find that your insulated box idea will work sufficiently to keep the temp up. if not simply dropping in a couple of hot water bottles every day or 2 could do the trick too.. and come summer swap over to frozen bottles of water if you do find adding hot or cold sources are necessary then a small fan to move the air ( medium of heat exchange) within the box could help too??