My first batch just (Finally!) started to ferment. Good bubbles through the airlock and nice head starting to form on the wort. The temp on the fermometer went from mid 60s to around 70. Ambient is 70ish. Everything I read says keep Nottingham dry yeast in the lower to mid 60s for fermentation. Can I put a fan on it to try and lower and stabilize the temp or is the water/ice bath the best way to go?
Water/ice bath is the way to go if you can. If not, you can drop a few degrees from ambient with a wet t-shirt and a fan blowing on it.
I have gotten a 6° wort temperature drop with a water bath, wet t-shirt, and a fan. The water bath was 7" deep, (resturant table bussing tray). Ambient room temperature was 66°.
Decided to put it in a cube cooler with about 6-7 inches of 60* water and put a frozen water bottle in one corner on a wire hanger. Fermometer reading 64 in room temp of 70. Constant bubbling in the airlock now so it seems to be happily on the way to becoming beer.
