My first batch of Mead came out great, in the fall. My second batch fell victim to my house's central air that blasted the kitchen table upwards of the 90s in the Winter. I learned something.
Awesome video and brew comparison. Temp control is a game changer. I have a small (5.5 cu ft) converted chest freezer with an inkbird controller and it’s fantastic. Recently I was given a 3.2 cu ft dorm fridge and I converted that into a temp controlled fermentation fridge by adding a 2X6 collar, inkbird controller and a fermwrap. It’s just big enough to accommodate my largest fermenter, a 7.9 gallon bucket with air lock and ball valve included . Works like a dream and I have less than $75 into it. In 21 years of brewing, mead making etc… I’ve rarely done a room temp fermentation after I made a fusel alcohol hot mess of a Belgian golden ale. I’d love to have the Newair, it seems incredible but for now I’ll stick with my cobbled together version.
I love this level of ingenuity and commitment. And man can I agree - I recently did a super hot kveik ferment with a strain that throws out a ton of nastiness and it is a wonderfully gross example of why temperature control can be important, even on kveik.
@@DointheMost Appreciate the response. Could you talk about the Kviek issues? I’m about to start playing with it and I just keep hearing that the upper temp limit is the way to go. Sounds like your experience is somewhat different than that?
@@timothyrichards5823 Depends on the strain - this one was one that is pretty gnarly (tormodgarden) and I was definitely testing fate driving it high. Plenty of kveik strains do well at warmer temps. Voss and Hothead are two great ones to start with. Lutra and Hornindal can handle higher temps but are typically cleaner fermenters. My advice would be to read up on others’ experiences and build your brew around those expectations.
I'm using a water bath, 50w aquarium heater I had laying around, a cooler (just the kind you'd take on a road trip), and a bit of styrofoam for a 2 piece lid. I can fit 2 one gallon carboys at once, and I can ferment in the garage through the winter months without order issues in the house 😁
Living in Florida, temperature control is (IMO) probably the worst part of homebrewing. My third-hand mini fridge and inkbird probe combo has helped immensely. Been wanting to venture into Lagers for a while. Looked into pressure fermentation, but haven't ran any batches yet. Thanks for the video. It was very informative.
I also want to do more lagers, especially now that I have a couple fridges that can make it a worthwhile endeavor. I love the idea of playing with the style across other ferments too - mainly hydromels and ciders.
A thermowell and inkbird or other temp controller hooked to a heating pad or germination pad in a cooler temp space (basement) is great for ales. For a lager setup that works, pretty cheap, and pretty easy is using a thick-walled styrofoam cooler (ex. Larger Omaha steaks shipping container), frozen water bottles tucked around the carboy (freeze enough to swap out AM and PM, and thicker blanket to cover carboy except for airlock and tuck around water bottles to keep cold in. I did an Altbier late August with this setup. I got the wort to 54-56 F and wrapped up in the cooler. I didn’t use the thermowell I just read the temp on the stick-on thermometer on the carboy. I used WL German Ale yeast and was diligent to keep at 56-58 for 4-5 days and then let it rise at its own pace but swapped the bottles only in the morning for a few more days. You could go longer, but it was done. It got to 60-62 and I didn’t stress it. Was it a true lager? No. But it was clean, malty, and tasty. I did lager the beer for 6 weeks in the fridge . You can “lager” on the cheap.
@@DointheMost it works! You can’t stress the temp shift by a couple degrees. Conversely, for ales, I ferm at 66F. if they go rampant out of the gate, I drape a water-soaked t-shirt over the carboy and point a fan at it…modified swamp cooler method. Again, I think everyone has a t-shirt , water, and a spare box fan. I’m just a BIAB brewer who doesn’t have the $$$ to spend on a pricey system. But we can all make pretty good beer with minimal upgrades , good sanitation and a bit of temp control. Then there’s water profile … but … you have some great mead recipes that I want to try! I also like that Skeeter Pee idea. I just found a local bee keeper too.
I use an old 7 CU chest freezer with a WIFI ink bird controller. My primary fermenter is a SS milk can with airlock and I stick the inkbird temp probe directly against the can with a lump of plumber's putty. I also have a tilt hydrometer floating in the batch to double check the temp readings. With the tilt inside the primary, I can tell when it stalls or finishes and can raise the temp a little to see if a stall can fix itself. Also when the batch finishes, I can use the WIFI inkbird controller to drop the temps down to 32 for a week to cold crash, all from the comfort of my couch :D Most of my ferments are done at 65f, and those with D47 are at 60. I'll still occasionally do some gallon batches in the ambient indoor temp of about 73F if there isn't any free space in the fermeezer
Man, you’re living the dream. I love this. Next level stuff! I want to do more with lower temp ferments with K1V and D47 and taking the plunge on an inkbird controller may be in the cards in the future.
Do you think a 5.6 gallon bucket would fit in there? I have a mini fridge/inkbird setup which has been fun to play with. pH and water chemistry is an area I’m starting to play with for mead as well, it has pretty well documented effects on beer.
Great video. French saison yeast is the honey badger dont care yeast. Doesnt care about temp at all and will attenuate all the time. Love the flavor too
Real maple can indeed grow a layer of mold on top if left out a long time - especially if any condensation can form (which dilutes it below safe concentrations).
Loved the experiment and the way you controlled the variables. I’d like to see a few more videos with other brew styles…if you’re so inclined…. Thanks!
I discoved I cannot use D47 at my ambient house temperature or it throws fusel flavors. I decided there are too many yeasts out there to risk using D47 until I can brew cooler. Thanks for the video.
@@DointheMost my house stays at 68 to 72, thought it would be okay. I stick with premiere classique or ec1118. Looking for a little lower abv producing yeast for a semi sweet mead that will end at like 12 to 14%, without the need to BS. I tried to max out the premiere classique, it is sitting at 17% now and is dry again, no off flavors just high abv... so on to the next yeast. Think I will try an ale yeast next I will be paying close attention to temperature ranges.
The one interesting piece of missing information I looked for was what yeast did you use. Did you use a yeast that should produce more fruity flavors or less? Did the yeast live up to the described claims?
Ooooh id like to brew that beer for next winter, only problem is id have to wait for winter to brew it, atm I don't see it getting lower than 20 c for w34/70. I don't have a fermentation fridge but I have my main fridge that when cold crashing a lager I can move some shelves and get a 30lt fermenter in there, heat band for diacetyl run off and yeah, would you say this would be a good beer to age in a carboy with French oak staves/spirals? the dark fruits, dark chocolates and nuttiness makes me think a little oak would be nice, thinking let it sit for a while and bottle it in some nice swing top amber grolsch style bottles. Haha 🤤 lol cheers 👍🍻🥃🥂
![Home Brew Temperature Control [on a BUDGET] 🌡](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/0NYg3W1Hbi8/mqdefault.jpg)
My first batch of Mead came out great, in the fall. My second batch fell victim to my house's central air that blasted the kitchen table upwards of the 90s in the Winter. I learned something.
Awesome video and brew comparison. Temp control is a game changer. I have a small (5.5 cu ft) converted chest freezer with an inkbird controller and it’s fantastic. Recently I was given a 3.2 cu ft dorm fridge and I converted that into a temp controlled fermentation fridge by adding a 2X6 collar, inkbird controller and a fermwrap. It’s just big enough to accommodate my largest fermenter, a 7.9 gallon bucket with air lock and ball valve included . Works like a dream and I have less than $75 into it. In 21 years of brewing, mead making etc… I’ve rarely done a room temp fermentation after I made a fusel alcohol hot mess of a Belgian golden ale. I’d love to have the Newair, it seems incredible but for now I’ll stick with my cobbled together version.
I love this level of ingenuity and commitment. And man can I agree - I recently did a super hot kveik ferment with a strain that throws out a ton of nastiness and it is a wonderfully gross example of why temperature control can be important, even on kveik.
@@DointheMost Appreciate the response. Could you talk about the Kviek issues? I’m about to start playing with it and I just keep hearing that the upper temp limit is the way to go. Sounds like your experience is somewhat different than that?
@@timothyrichards5823 Depends on the strain - this one was one that is pretty gnarly (tormodgarden) and I was definitely testing fate driving it high. Plenty of kveik strains do well at warmer temps. Voss and Hothead are two great ones to start with. Lutra and Hornindal can handle higher temps but are typically cleaner fermenters. My advice would be to read up on others’ experiences and build your brew around those expectations.
@@DointheMost Thanks. I’ll read up and try out the Voss and ultra that I recently bought.
I'm using a water bath, 50w aquarium heater I had laying around, a cooler (just the kind you'd take on a road trip), and a bit of styrofoam for a 2 piece lid. I can fit 2 one gallon carboys at once, and I can ferment in the garage through the winter months without order issues in the house 😁
Living in Florida, temperature control is (IMO) probably the worst part of homebrewing. My third-hand mini fridge and inkbird probe combo has helped immensely.
Been wanting to venture into Lagers for a while. Looked into pressure fermentation, but haven't ran any batches yet.
Thanks for the video. It was very informative.
I also want to do more lagers, especially now that I have a couple fridges that can make it a worthwhile endeavor. I love the idea of playing with the style across other ferments too - mainly hydromels and ciders.
A thermowell and inkbird or other temp controller hooked to a heating pad or germination pad in a cooler temp space (basement) is great for ales. For a lager setup that works, pretty cheap, and pretty easy is using a thick-walled styrofoam cooler (ex. Larger Omaha steaks shipping container), frozen water bottles tucked around the carboy (freeze enough to swap out AM and PM, and thicker blanket to cover carboy except for airlock and tuck around water bottles to keep cold in. I did an Altbier late August with this setup. I got the wort to 54-56 F and wrapped up in the cooler. I didn’t use the thermowell I just read the temp on the stick-on thermometer on the carboy. I used WL German Ale yeast and was diligent to keep at 56-58 for 4-5 days and then let it rise at its own pace but swapped the bottles only in the morning for a few more days. You could go longer, but it was done. It got to 60-62 and I didn’t stress it. Was it a true lager? No. But it was clean, malty, and tasty. I did lager the beer for 6 weeks in the fridge . You can “lager” on the cheap.
I love this setup! Makes me miss my basement. Hard to find a good basement in Oklahoma. But for bulk aging, it’s a dream!
@@DointheMost it works! You can’t stress the temp shift by a couple degrees. Conversely, for ales, I ferm at 66F. if they go rampant out of the gate, I drape a water-soaked t-shirt over the carboy and point a fan at it…modified swamp cooler method. Again, I think everyone has a t-shirt , water, and a spare box fan. I’m just a BIAB brewer who doesn’t have the $$$ to spend on a pricey system. But we can all make pretty good beer with minimal upgrades , good sanitation and a bit of temp control. Then there’s water profile … but … you have some great mead recipes that I want to try! I also like that Skeeter Pee idea. I just found a local bee keeper too.
I use an old 7 CU chest freezer with a WIFI ink bird controller. My primary fermenter is a SS milk can with airlock and I stick the inkbird temp probe directly against the can with a lump of plumber's putty. I also have a tilt hydrometer floating in the batch to double check the temp readings. With the tilt inside the primary, I can tell when it stalls or finishes and can raise the temp a little to see if a stall can fix itself. Also when the batch finishes, I can use the WIFI inkbird controller to drop the temps down to 32 for a week to cold crash, all from the comfort of my couch :D
Most of my ferments are done at 65f, and those with D47 are at 60. I'll still occasionally do some gallon batches in the ambient indoor temp of about 73F if there isn't any free space in the fermeezer
Man, you’re living the dream. I love this. Next level stuff! I want to do more with lower temp ferments with K1V and D47 and taking the plunge on an inkbird controller may be in the cards in the future.
Thanks, tons of great info as always. Keep the vids coming!
Do you think a 5.6 gallon bucket would fit in there? I have a mini fridge/inkbird setup which has been fun to play with.
pH and water chemistry is an area I’m starting to play with for mead as well, it has pretty well documented effects on beer.
I just checked and I can get a brew bucket in there but not enough room for an airlock on top.
Newair makes quality products.
Agreed! I’ve been very happy with them as a sponsor and the fridges and freezer have all been top-tier.
Great video. French saison yeast is the honey badger dont care yeast. Doesnt care about temp at all and will attenuate all the time. Love the flavor too
I want to do more saison brews!
Would of been great to also see a small batch being fermented under pressure.
Great video and all, but why is the maple syrup in the fridge
The Canadians told me to put it there!
Guess the fake american stuff can stay in the pantry lol
Real maple can indeed grow a layer of mold on top if left out a long time - especially if any condensation can form (which dilutes it below safe concentrations).
Loved the experiment and the way you controlled the variables. I’d like to see a few more videos with other brew styles…if you’re so inclined…. Thanks!
Thanks! It was a fun experiment. I had planned to do a mead too, but the video was already running a bit long so I nixed it. :)
I discoved I cannot use D47 at my ambient house temperature or it throws fusel flavors. I decided there are too many yeasts out there to risk using D47 until I can brew cooler. Thanks for the video.
I think K1V is a pretty good substitute that is a bit more tolerant of warmer temperatures. A bit more!
@@DointheMost my house stays at 68 to 72, thought it would be okay. I stick with premiere classique or ec1118. Looking for a little lower abv producing yeast for a semi sweet mead that will end at like 12 to 14%, without the need to BS. I tried to max out the premiere classique, it is sitting at 17% now and is dry again, no off flavors just high abv... so on to the next yeast. Think I will try an ale yeast next I will be paying close attention to temperature ranges.
The one interesting piece of missing information I looked for was what yeast did you use. Did you use a yeast that should produce more fruity flavors or less? Did the yeast live up to the described claims?
This beer used Saflager S-23, the most barebones lager yeast I could find.
I wonder if the cold crash procedure introduced more oxygen in the brew and thus changed the taste profile to nuttiness.
I wish i could summon my drink as quickly as that 😂👌
Ooooh id like to brew that beer for next winter, only problem is id have to wait for winter to brew it, atm I don't see it getting lower than 20 c for w34/70. I don't have a fermentation fridge but I have my main fridge that when cold crashing a lager I can move some shelves and get a 30lt fermenter in there, heat band for diacetyl run off and yeah, would you say this would be a good beer to age in a carboy with French oak staves/spirals? the dark fruits, dark chocolates and nuttiness makes me think a little oak would be nice, thinking let it sit for a while and bottle it in some nice swing top amber grolsch style bottles. Haha 🤤 lol cheers 👍🍻🥃🥂
I can definitely see a little oak benefiting this one a lot! Not too much, but enough to get some vanillins in the mix, for sure.
@@DointheMost yeah!! Cool, i will have to give it a try, cheers!!
November 😂 in Oklahoma either flipflops or snow boots 😂
So far flip flops!
and QA-23 has a good room temp range
True that. The pineapple bomb I did with it turned out soooo tropical and clean.
Living in a "garden" apartment in Chicago, every ferment is a cold ferment.
Sending warm vibes
Thanks, tons of great info as always. Keep the vids coming!
Thanks, will do! Happy weekend!