Last week we took a look at an easy upgrade to the “hot side” of brewing (converting a keg into a keggle), so this week, I wanted to conquer the “cool side.”  One of the biggest struggles homebrewers face is controlling their fermentation temperature.  Sure, it may be a perfect 68-degrees in your house, and ale yeast typically does great at 68 degrees, however, when those yeasties start going, they’re not just producing alcohol and CO2, they’re also creating a lot of heat.  So your fermentation temperature could roar up into the mid-70s!

Unlike professional breweries, the homebrewer doesn’t usually have a glycol system that wraps his fermentor in coolant.  Instead, we need to be a little creative.  There are a few ways to maintain proper fermentation temperature, even in the hot summer months.  Some require a little more monitoring while others can be more automatic but may be more expensive.
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