Quick hello

James24785 · Nov 3, 2011

Hi folks, I'm James, 26, from stoke on Trent. Did a brew quite a few years ago but now I'd thought I'd give it another go, and get properly into it.

Bought a new FV, hydrometer, thermometer, symphony tube, spoon, and sterilisation stuff, along with a geordie lager kit. Lookin to get it on the go tomorrow.

Quick question though....my spare room, where I plan to leave the FV, sits around the 17 degrees mark, and will probably fall lower as the weather cools down (big room with small radiator). Will this be too cold for a decent fermentation?

Thanks for your help, James

Wendy1971 · Nov 4, 2011

Yes that is a bit too cold you want a minimum temp of 18 deg c you could wrap fv in a quilt etc to try and keep temp

PhatFil · Nov 7, 2011

James24785 said:
Bought a new FV, hydrometer, thermometer, symphony tube, spoon, and sterilisation stuff, along with a geordie lager kit. Lookin to get it on the go tomorrow.

brewdays muxt be entertaining... welcome .. u got a hydrometer so just check the gravity before u bottle.. wrapping the bucket up well will help stabilise the temp, but if it falls consitantly below 16 your yeast may hibernate..

if this is likely sit your FV in a bath or tub with water in it, and you can heat this with an aquarium heater, putting the heater into the beer directly is too harsh...

James24785 · Nov 7, 2011

Damn auto correct on the iPad lol!

Cheers for the advise. In the end I decided to ferment in the corner of the kitchen which stays much warmer. Been on since Friday night now and the airlock seems to be bubbling away nicely...lovely smell out the top too :)

shearclass · Nov 7, 2011

symphony tube sounds great!

I've got a beer going nicely at 18 degreees, which I think is about ideal for an ale, so I think 17 would have been fine (but i am no expert).