Brewing Temperature

acott

Hey all,

I'm completely new to Home Brewing and just started wine making 2 days ago. I'm using a kit I purchased from thehomebrewcompany.ie, its a simple 6 bottle kit. The only problem I have run in to is the temperature, the instructions recommends a constant temp of 20 - 25 degrees!

The only problem is our house is 140 years old and with the current weather it tends to be quite cold! Me and my girlfriend are at work all day so no heating until we get home, from 6 onwards.

I've placed the batch in the warmest possible cupboard in the house but at most its around 16 - 18 degrees throughout the day. Will this hinder the wine from fermenting? I'm going to go down the route of brewing beer soon enough and as far as I know brewing temperature is a major concern.

So with all that in mind does anyone have a few tips on how to battle the cold Irish winter and keep fermenting on track? Any help is much appreciated!

howamidifferent

Wrap a few towels or something around it to keep the temperature constant.

oblivious

16 - 18 degrees is grand, Nottingham and US-05 are dry that can handle lower temps than other yeast

acott

I have a large beach towel and a couple of old tshirts wrapped around it so hopefully they do the trick. It looks like I'm getting a constant 18 degrees, from what I hear fermentation creates heat as well so if it stays at that I'll be happy. I plan on brewing up some WOW and have purchased super yeast for it, hopefully this will cope under low temperatures too?

lang

I use a sleeping bag to keep the fermenter up to temp. Just open it out and wrap it around the fermenter... Bob's your Uncle. Failing that, the suggestions mentioned above will also work.

acott

I was worried when I didn't have much airlock activity (like most beginners) but yesterday when I got home from work the airlock was hopping like it was at a rave, the temperature was fine so I wasn't too bothered, I was mesmerised and spent 10 minutes just watching it.

This morning when I woke up a strange smell caught me like a hook, I went into the spare room where I'm brewing my wine and the stench of rotten egg nearly brought water to my eyes, I busted open a window to let some fresh air in. I took a whiff of the gas coming from the airlock and it stunk! What do I do to stop my wine from smelling like a forgotten lunch? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

BeerNut

acott wrote: »

What do I do to stop my wine from smelling like a forgotten lunch?

It won't.

acott wrote: »

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Leave it alone.

Ratsathome

Yes leave it along.Wine does not ferment the same way as beer.You will get these funny smells from wine kits.

acott

I added some yeast nutrient, someone on another forum had suggested it and that the cause of the smell was stressed yeast...it did the trick, just in case anyone else runs into the same trouble!