. . .sweater". Early spring cleaning produced several sweaters bound for Community Thrift. Sans arms, these can easily be re-purposed to keep our fermenters warm. So that's what we did.And this is helpful because:
1. If it's too cold, fermentation will get off to a sluggish start. It's best to hit the ground running with lots of hungry yeast and ideal temperatures to spur the chemistry needed for solid attenuation.
2. If it's too warm, estery beers result. Some yeasts like it warm to start, but then the fermentation process itself starts raising the temperature. Once the initial wave of fermentation happens, the temp should not be too high. Too high and you get pungent aromas but without the backbone that maturation provides.
3. Just right and no light is key. In any situation, steady ambient temperature and darkness are the best bet towards consistent and quality results.
There are products on the market to keep carboys at a specific temperature. At the very least, something as lovely as our carboy sweaters will help to keep temperature flux to a minimum. Here in SF, our highs and lows are temporary novelties. But that also means we're not heating or cooling our residences. A little cutting and sewing and Carboy Sweaters for all!
As for the inspiration to the post title, we direct you to the best thing to ever happen to sketch comedy, "Mr. Show". Minute 2:50 if you want the exact reference, enjoy:
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