Re: Homebrew & Mold

About cold rooms: Air circulation (not humidity level) is the most important factor to avoid any mold problems. Are your vents just holes in the walls? Normally, You should have a pipe going down near floor level from one of the vents and another pipe at a higher level. This will insure good air circulation and take care of any mold problem. Air flow should be maintained all year round. You can put an air flow regulator on your pipes to manage excessive cold air. Blocking the vents should be the last resort since this will help put in place conditions of mold formation.

With that being said, is your cold room at a temperature that will be adequate for fermentation? Is ask because mine isn't.

Stefan Mazur

Thanks for your reply! I have a grill type of vent about 1x1 feet, I also heard about your suggestion with the pipes, I wonder if I should add the piples into the existing vent (much easier then drilling new holes thru the cement wall). I'm thinking I'll run one pipe down to floor level, with the existing grill vent at a higher level. For winter I will build some type of door to close the top vent, while leaving the pipe in tact and build a new pipe into the closure that will sit at the higher level, both with air flow regulators. Any suggestions feedbacks would be appreciated.

I have a number of heating belts, they mantain a steady 23C temperature and auto shut off. I've used them in my garage with freezing temperatures and my batches turned out just fine. They're a bit pricey, $25CAN but worth it, even in ideal conditions they mantain a steady temperature so your batches tend to finish at a good rate.

Don't drill new holes. As long as air circulate, you won't have any mold problems.

Oh, then it isn't really a "cold room" ;)

This sounds perfect to me. Happy brewing.

Stefan Mazur