Is a mini-fridge my best bet for cool fermenting and cold-stabilization?

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TimTheWiner

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I am not 100% satisfied with the outcome of my Riesling and I tend to think this may be partly due to the fact that it fermented around 77F, and after reading a few books I have found that most whites should be fermented around 55-65F to retain fruitiness and complexity. I figure a mini-fridge with some kind of thermostat control may aid in this and hopefully could use to cold stabilize as well. Does this sound like a good plan? I unfortunately don't have room for a full size fridge or deep freezer in my basement. I think a glycol system would be pretty costly as well. So can I use a small- medium size fridge with some kind of numerical thermostat control to both cool ferment and cold stabilize??
 
If you can swing it, your best bet would be a chest freezer with an external thermostat. Depending on how much wine you make or plan to make would determine the size to buy.
 
The biggest problem is getting something that size in the basement since the stairwell is steep and I have two 90 degrees bends to contend with. I typically only make a batch every few months. I would want to be able to control a temp range of about 30-60F. Doesn't one of the major home few sites sell the thermostat, and does it work with both fringes and freezers?
 
I use one on my freezer and keep it at 28*. I think you could attain the temperatures your looking for or colder with the freezer. Check your measurements, you may not fit a carboy in a small refriderator plus the weight would be an issue in it. You could probably buy the smallest chest freezer for the same price and fit a carboy in it with an air lock even though I use a solid bung in the freezer.
 
I agree a chest freezer would hold a carboy (or two) more easily than a fridge, although a hinged door is nice I suppose. Just curious, why would I want to go 28F or below? Is cold stabilization normally 30ish to 40? I am more interested in keeping the temp at 45-55 for my whites to ferment, more than cold stabilizing though. My basement itself usually is around 67-69 in the winter and 76-80 in the summer (I have a boiler for my hot water, so the furnace runs year round)
 
Cold stabilization is normally done at about 28* for two weeks. I like to go a bit colder. You can usually go down as low as 20* os so without worry. It may get a little slussy but the alcohol should prevent it from totally freezing at that temperature.I like to ferment and age my whites in the mid 60* area.
Keep in mind I am only talking about what I prefer and others do things at other temperatures with no problem.
 
I use a kegerator to cold stabilize and bulk age my whites in. I find keeping them in cold temperatures gives them a nice crisp profile with a fruity aroma. They only come out for rackings and a few weeks before bottling. Mine can accommodate two 5 gallon carboys and a few one gallon bottles stacked in the crevices.
 
Where can I find the thermostat to control the temp and how precise is it?

This is the exact one I use; Johnson Controls A419ABC-1C Electronic Temp Controller. As obsessive as I am, it is more then accurate for this application.

RR
 
tingo said:
I use a kegerator to cold stabilize and bulk age my whites in. I find keeping them in cold temperatures gives them a nice crisp profile with a fruity aroma. They only come out for rackings and a few weeks before bottling. Mine can accommodate two 5 gallon carboys and a few one gallon bottles stacked in the crevices.

Any pics? What do you use for temp control?
 
I have a chest freezer that is only large enough fro two 6 gallon carboys that I have for just the same thing. Check wally world they are pretty cheap and dont weigh hardly anything
 
I tend to wonder if I only need something large enough for one carboy. I am normally only making a 6 gallon batch of any given wine at a time, so I can't imagine needing space for too. I can only see in 3-5 years when I have my own grapes from my vineyard and will be fermenting multiply white batches at a time if I would want something larger, but I might be able to look into a glycol setup by then. I found a decent chest freezer on CL for $50
 

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