Suggestions for brewing in a cold shed (on a budget)

[LesTom]

So last night my aquarium heater failed when I was at my work and this morning I checked the water bath and there was an inch of ice on top of it . I've transferred the beer into another fermenter and wrapped it in a towel and put it beside the kitchen radiator to hopefully perform some CPR!

Thinking of the future, I've had it with the aquarium heater and water bath approach. Would a heat pad work? Bearing in mind it was -8C last night :shock:
A brew fridge is too much of a faff TBH, so I'm looking for a cheap and cheerful solution or should I just wait and brew in more ambient temperatures?

 

[rats_eyes]

I'm in NE Scotland as well (Aberdeen City) and have used winter ambient temperatures to ferment lagers before with some success. If you want to ferment at ale temperature you'll probably need to make a fermentation chamber of some sort, otherwise you'l lose too much heat. I use a modified fridge with a heating element in the communal hallway of a tenement block. It's a cold hallway, but the element is strong enought to keep temperature unles it gets really cold.

 

[Clint]

I use a heater pad in the shed and wrap the fv in towels. It's controlled with an inkbird and while at the moment the pad seems to be constantly on it seems OK. ..

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
A non-working fridge makes an excellent winter fermentation chamber.

 

[Dutto]

I suggest that you knock up a "contraption" (SWMBO's description) like this one. It was knocked up out of a bit of spare shelving, a few lumps of 4x2, an old cover from a gas BBQ and a very old duvet cover. It took me about two hours!

It was originally powered by a couple of bulbs but I lashed out a few quid and bought a 40W Tube Heater like this ...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00PIV7NJC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

The thermostat on the end of the heater worked "okay" but the temperature did fluctuate quite a bit so after four or five brews I lashed out more money and got one of these ...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B013Y2EXMQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Finally I moved on to a Brew Fridge. It makes life easier but the "Contraption" was actually bigger than the fridge and cold manage a 23 litre FV and the required number of 500ml bottles for carbonation.

 

[ACBEV]

I've made up a fermenting cupboard with insulation board affixed to the inside on all sides. To keep the temp. inside constant and even I have a small oil filled radiator attached to a digital thermostat and a small fan to even out the temp. inside the cupboard. I have a constant 17-18c temp. all year round.

 

[Leon103]

Fridges are easy to do.
I bought a fridge for £5. Added an inkbird which are on offer at the moment and a tube heater. Cost wise it's that much. All I did was remove bung at the back of the fridge to get inkbird sensor in and a gang socket. Put gang socket on top shelve. Screw the heater to a piece of wood that sits at the bottom and plugged into the gang. Couple of pieces if wood for a sturdy shelve

 

[sdt7618]

Yup, very simple to do and can also keep your brew cold in summer.........if it get hot

 

[Dutto]

Here's one. A freebie from a local Caravan Site! Obtained a couple of weeks ago, fitted with a 40w Heater, it's in service already. :thumb1:

 

[LesTom]

Thanks for all the ideas folks. I'll take a bit of time to decide on what solution to go forward with.

 

[OlsBean]

I'm 35 Miles North of Aberdeen and have had great success at maintaining temperature in an Outside Granite Building with no heating, just using a Youngs Brew Belt, an Inkbird Controller and an Old Jacket, total cost was around £48 on Amazon for the belt and controller. I'm am going to look though at putting some sort of cabinet together, mainly so I can Lager during the Summer, but for Fermentation I will probably stick with the current set up for now as it appears to have worked so well so far.

 

[BREWERS DROOP]

get yourself a second hand fridge off gumtree and a 40w tube heater plus an inkbird,you will never look back trust me,your beer will be much better than trying to faff about with ice etc and carting the bucket about to the warmest room

 

[Druncan]

OlsBean is 120*C and 220* C not just a tad warm for fermentation,,,:unsure:
I got an old chest freezer under conversion. Fitting with a trace heating cable attached to the aluminium walls and inkbird. will report back!

 

[JFB]

If you get a inkbird and heat pad now you can easily transfer it to a fridge at a latter date/summer.
I brew in a fridge normally, but doing a sour this month and didn’t want the wild stuff in my brew fridge.
Heat pad, inkbird and blanket. Fermented at 28c for three weeks in my lean to with no heating:

 

[BREWERS DROOP]

OlsBean is 120*C and 220* C not just a tad warm for fermentation,,,:unsure:
I got an old chest freezer under conversion. Fitting with a trace heating cable attached to the aluminium walls and inkbird. will report back!

i think you will find ones 22.0 and 12.0 unless its moonshine lol

 

[Zephyr259]

I had a similar issue last year before I got my fridge, house sits at around 16c which wasn't making ale yeast very happy, I tried using Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale yeast which is apparently good down to 13c. Worked a treat, started quickly and never missed a beat, takes a bit longer to ferment than an ale yeast at 20c but that's the trade off.

Also, @rats_eyes and @OlsBean are you two new here? I didn't know I had company this far up north.

 

[OlsBean]

OlsBean is 120*C and 220* C not just a tad warm for fermentation,,,:unsure:
I got an old chest freezer under conversion. Fitting with a trace heating cable attached to the aluminium walls and inkbird. will report back!

Just a little :laugh2:

I had a similar issue last year before I got my fridge, house sits at around 16c which wasn't making ale yeast very happy, I tried using Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale yeast which is apparently good down to 13c. Worked a treat, started quickly and never missed a beat, takes a bit longer to ferment than an ale yeast at 20c but that's the trade off.

Also, @rats_eyes and @OlsBean are you two new here? I didn't know I had company this far up north.

I'm new, joined after I started brewing in October, although I've lurked on the sidelines for a little bit longer.

 

[rats_eyes]

I had a similar issue last year before I got my fridge, house sits at around 16c which wasn't making ale yeast very happy, I tried using Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale yeast which is apparently good down to 13c. Worked a treat, started quickly and never missed a beat, takes a bit longer to ferment than an ale yeast at 20c but that's the trade off.

Also, @rats_eyes and @OlsBean are you two new here? I didn't know I had company this far up north.

Hi Zephyr259. I've been registered here for a few years, but have been hanging around on other forums for the most part. It's good to (digitally) meet a few more locals. I've gotten to know quite a few home brewers around Aberdeen, mostly thanks to the monthly meet ups at the gallowgate brewdog bar. A few folk head in from bits of the 'shire too.

The scotish ale yeast sounds like a good shout for cooler temps. Before I got my fridge set up, I tried an 80 shilling with the white labs WLP028 Edinburgh Ale and it was one of the best brews I've made. The malt flavours really sang, great stuff, clean but not lacking flavour at all. I'll have to get some more of that yeast!

 

[Zephyr259]

Ah, I knew brewdog used to do a monthly meet-up but their website info was a year old so I figured it had died off. When are they held? I'll probably try and come along sometime. Googling comes up with an advert saying last sunday of the month but is from august 2015.

The Wyeast and White Labs Scottish strains are both meant to be the same, although Wyeast has a lower temp range. Glad you've had good experience with it, I used it in a hoppy pale ale as that was my next brew and I wanted to see how the yeast coped in the cold. Was very tasty, doesn't mute hop flavours and a decent bit of malt character to balance it out. It also attenuates like a beast, I hit around 86% apparent attenuation and it's good for 12%.

 

[rats_eyes]

Ah, I knew brewdog used to do a monthly meet-up but their website info was a year old so I figured it had died off. When are they held? I'll probably try and come along sometime. Googling comes up with an advert saying last sunday of the month but is from august 2015.

The Wyeast and White Labs Scottish strains are both meant to be the same, although Wyeast has a lower temp range. Glad you've had good experience with it, I used it in a hoppy pale ale as that was my next brew and I wanted to see how the yeast coped in the cold. Was very tasty, doesn't mute hop flavours and a decent bit of malt character to balance it out. It also attenuates like a beast, I hit around 86% apparent attenuation and it's good for 12%.

The club at brewdog is still the last sunday of the month, from 3pm. I think they stopped promoting it as we usually fill the table they set aside for us anyhow, there's a decent crowd of regulars and quite a few occasional visitors. The bar are pretty good to us, they let us drink our own brew in the pub as long as we buy a few pints. It's a great way to share ideas and to get feedback on your beers, sa well as being a good laugh. I'll be there this weekend, so be sure to say hello if you make it along.

Paul