Controling the Temp.

You don't day what the ambiant temp is where you would be fermenting, but anything between 60 and 75F will work. If your environment is lower than that you can purchase a brew belt which will wrap aroud the outside of the container. If you use a heating device watch the fermentation temperature closely as yeast will generate heat while working and you don't want to cook your wine. Larry

Not knowing what the temp is where you'll ferment, or what temp you want to achieve in your must, the easiest things are to wrap a blanket or two around the fermentor, or you could also use an electric blanket if you have one. Just be sure to monitor the temp of your must as it ferments to not get it too hot. If you're making a white wine, you might not want to warm it at all.

Ed

Better aquarium heaters are regulated by a built-in thermostat, so if you set one to 75F and the temperature hits the mark, it will just turn off. Good for "fire and forget" heating. A good heater is kind of expensive, though.

- Matt

One word of warning. If you use a heat pad or electric blanket, put it around the outside of the carboy, do NOT put it under the carboy. A carboy of wine is heavy and can cut the wires causing a fire hazard. You do not want to smoke your wine. Whites can be fermented down into the 50's and supposedly cold fermenting improves whites. That is just not an option for me in Houston Texas.

Ray

I wrap my buckets and carboys in an electric blanket set at a very low setting. I place a mercury thermometer on the outside of the vessel to monitor the temp. That's in the winter.....I haven't seen a spring/ summer in this location as I am new to the area. What temperature do you expect your wine to be exposed to?

-- KB

Okay, I've got the opposite problem, with my fermentation area in the house. Since my wife won't tolerate 60 degree temps inside (I don't know why), the room temps are around 75 and the must can reach 80 during active fermentation. All the "room chillers" I've seen are expensive and need to run a hose out of a window. Any other suggestions on how to cool down the must?

Matthew Givens wrote: Any other suggestions on how to cool down the

Matthew,

A simple fix, which might or might not be accetpable in your case, is to set your bucket/carboy in a shallow, water filled tray and wrap a towel or sweatshirt around it. Then position a small fan to blow on it. The evaporation will chill the container considerably if your ambient humidity isn't too high. The downside is that you add some humidity to the room.

The solution I use is very simple - keep plastic milk jugs, filled 3/4 with water to allow for expansion, frozen in the freezer. Put however many you'll think you need into the must (it really doesn't take many) and sanitize the outside of the jug before you put it in.

Ed

That's quite clever. Giant ice-cubes that don't dilute the must. Tell me, how much does one 1-gallon milk jug reduce the must temperature in a

I really can't tell you because I make larger batches than that. The jug will probably partially defrost over a 24 hour period and you can replace it with another one if you still need more cooling (and throw the original jug back in the freezer). You're analogy is right on about the non-diluting ice cube.

Ed

I've used the jugs on the outside touching a carboy for some heat reduction. I'm not sure about the non-dilution, when the ice melts, I get some water on the floor, so I think the jugs leak a bit because the freezing loosens the seams on the jug somewhat (even when it's filled to allow for this expansion). It might not be that much but you'll get some water in the must.