A 100W bulb in a lamp, placed in a large cardboard box may help get your ferment temp into range.   You’d need to monitor the temp and maybe poke a vent hole or two to “customize” the fermentation chamber.

Also, get the fermentation bucket up off the floor a couple of inches at least, if you have not done this already.  I’ve used a piece of high density Styrofoam to support my glass fermenters back in the happy days of brewing regularly.

Liabilities of a low ferment are:  incomplete fermentation, resulting in a beer that is not “done”…..  then during bottling, if you bottle condition…risk of “grenades” due to too much residual fermentable carbohydrates if the yeast decides to take off due to the added agitation/aeration of the bottling process…. This happened to me once with a Scotch Ale….what a mess!!

Otherwise, for this type of beer, fermenting at a mid 60’s to about 68F range is nice….but you are quite a bit lower than that.   Nice to have a cool basement during the initial high krausen phase, but not so much to finish the ferment completely.

Just a few thoughts from your local Microbiology and Ale geek.

Cheers,

Steve Weiland

From: mba-bounces@thebarn.com [mailto:mba-bounces@thebarn.com] On Behalf Of Dipak J. Shah
Sent: Friday, January 04, 2013 10:20 AM
To: mba@thebarn.com
Subject: [mba] Fermenter Heater

Hi,

Any suggestions for a cheap heater for bucket fermentation??

Also ~ What are the consequences of brewing a batch of beer at a temperature below the range specified for the yeast?  I am brewing a batch of White House Honey Ale using Wyeast #1332 Northwest Ale yeast.  The specified temperature range for the yeast is 65-75 F and the fermenter is in the basement with a nearly constant temperature around 53-55 F.

I have brewed several batches of high gravity beers in the same basement at 53-55 F, including a few batches of Belgian beers.  I am now realizing that the most likely reason my Belgian have been lacking the classic aroma and taste may be because of the lower fermentation temperature.  Your thoughts and suggestions???

--
Regards,
Dipak
Tel: 612.562.8569
http://www.linkedin.com/in/djshah
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