It can be hard to brew in the Florida heat. A question that keeps popping up is, how do we keep our fermentation temperatures low enough to ferment? There are a couple of ways to do that. Every batch is different but here are a few ideas:
1) Ice Bath - Exactly how it sounds. Surround your fermenter with large amounts of ice in a bathtub. There's no way to tell for sure how much ice is needed and controlling the temperature is next to impossible (nobody said it'd be easy).
2) Refrigerator/Chest Freezer - If you have the space, place your fermenter in some type of cooling unit (such as a refrigerator or chest freezer). If you're looking to keep a consistent temperature, look into purchasing a digital temperature controller. With a digital temperature controller, you can set the desired temperature without any hassle.
3) Wet Towel - Damp a towel and wrap it around your fermenter. With a portable fan, blow air onto the now wrapped unit. Do this for a couple of hours a day.
4) Cardboard and Styrofoam - Put styrofoam into a cardboard box (enough to cover all the cardboard). Place your fermenter into the box (with the styrofoam) and surround your fermenter with frozen water bottles. Close the box and replace the bottles at least twice a day.
These are just some ideas to help you when it comes to cooling your fermenting unit. Happy Thursday!