Keeping beer cool.

[otuatail]

I struggle to keep my fermentation below 18c. having seen the effort 31bb3 went to to steam clean his bottles, I was wondering could I get the cooling mechanism out of an old fridge and make a box to keep the ambient temperature down? Has anyone experimented with this? :geek: :hmm:

 

[BigYin]

just use the fridge and stick a controller on the fridge to stop it getting TOO cold :thumb:

 

[otuatail]

The problem with that is the barrel will not fit in a fridge due to it's awkward design of plastic molded shelves. A small wooden crate lined with fiberglass for insulation might do the trick. It would be better if I could get a small fridge suitable though.

 

[31bb3]

Check out wez's blog he built a temp comtroller its quite intreaguing

 

[otuatail]

Forgot to ask what would be a minimum temperature? :hmm:

 

[luckyeddie]

Forgot to ask what would be a minimum temperature? :hmm:

For fermentation?

It very much depends upon the choice of yeast, the style of beer and the characteristics of the beer you are trying to emphasise - and whether we are talking about primary or secondary fermentation.

 

[otuatail]

Hi I need this for the final stage in the pressure barrel. I can't get it to clear and it would also be good to have cool beer. How do I get to

"Check out wez's blog he built a temp controller its quite intriguing"

 

[luckyeddie]

Add finings.

Gelatin, isinglass or even egg white.

Can you put your barrel in the fridge? No problem about keeping or serving beer cool. For lagers, 6 degrees is fine. For ales, 12 degrees is ideal (cellar normal)

 

[otuatail]

Check out wez's blog he built a temp controller its quite intriguing

Yes I found it. Totally over the top for me. I might make a wooden box with the bits attached. I am surprised that Wez didn't go the whole way. He could have put a pipe out and a nice hand pump on the outside, or is that going to be version 2.