brewing this summer

I was just wondering how people that live in the south brew in the summer. I live in NC and for the most part have been doing it in the basement. I just started this fall and have not had to worry about the heat. I ferment in a large incubator that I once used in raising quail. I dont recall how hot it gets in the summer in my basement, but I would not expect it to ever get over 80F. Is this temp. going to cause a problem with the yeast?

Make some Belgians during the summer.  I try do my triple at 75-80.

Most Belgian yeast like the heat and will give you some yummy funky flavor.

Don

I dont know what the temp will get in my basement this summer. I would think worse case to be 80F. I have an AC that I am going to put in my basement window. Next, since I need some shelves for full and empty bottles I am going to build them in front of the window. I plan to enclose the shelves with plywood and build doors in the front. Should be about 12 feet wide and 2 deep. I should be able to put my fermenters in the cabinet and set the AC to keep it at 68. Also, it will be a good cool place to keep the bottles while they are ageing. The wall is about 4 foot under ground on that end of the house. I plan to insulate the inside of the cabinet with blue board. I think it will work fine. I dont expect to see a big increase in the power bill. This winter I have been setting my fermenters inside large GQF incubators that I used to use to raise quail. They work perfect.
 
I have been reading a lot of Freds and Don’s post. I am not going to buy anymore extract and plan to go with the all grain. Next week my MaltMill and 12.5 Gal SS pot should be here. Cant wait for the following weekend to get started.

Insulated water bath. Carboy in a big styrofoam cooler bottom full of water. Invert another cooler bottom as a lid. Cut a hole in the top for airlock to stick out, if needed. Rotate some 2-liter PET bottles from the freezer to the water bath in the AM and PM.

Check at a pet store for "coolers"... they get bagged tropical fish shipped in them.

Or, brew "characterful" beers like Belgians or fruity IPAs.

I have been reading a lot of Freds and Don’s post. I am not going to buy anymore extract and plan to go with the all grain. Next week my MaltMill and 12.5 Gal SS pot should be here. Cant wait for the following weekend to get started.

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What are you going to use to mash/lauter in? A nice, big pot is a good start, but you'll need some other components as well

I use a 10 gal Rubbermaid cooler for the MLT.  It works great.

I would look into coolers.  I is a good cheap way to get started and you may never look back 8).

Hey CM I just had what is supposed to be Bells Winter Lager.  Is it just me or is it the left over Oberon?

Don

I use a 10 gal Rubbermaid cooler for the MLT.  It works great.

I would look into coolers.  I is a good cheap way to get started and you may never look back 8).

Hey CM I just had what is supposed to be Bells Winter Lager.  Is it just me or is it the left over Oberon?

Don

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I agree. Coolers work really well for about 95% of the brews you'll ever want to brew. There are a few instances where I suppose they can be a bit limiting, especially if you want to do step mashes, but that's what decoctions are for, I guess. Haven't had occasion to try one of those yet, though

I had the Bell's Winter White/Wheat/Whatever about two years ago. That was the last one I had. Normally, I really like Bell's brews, but that one was kind of pathetic. However, during the winter months, Bell's is doing a "wheat experiment" with 5 different wheat brews. They're using different types of wheat and different quantities, along with different yeasts, to create different styles of wheat beer. I haven't had any of them yet, but I'd like to find a couple to pick up before they're all gone. Information on the project is available here.

I step mash in my cooler by using decoctions (especially for my big beers)

Fred

  2-3 summers ago I read an article about hot weather brewing that said WLP008 was able to go pretty high and still stay fairly clean. Some brewery in the far east (I think) used it well over 80 with good results.

I live in louisiana and have no trouble brewing year round. I do all my fermentation in a refrigerator with a temp controler that I keep in my house. ;D