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Staying Warm in the Winter
Car Boy wrote:
I also used to keep my fermenters near hot lamps that were used in the winter time for seasonal disorders. The lamps kept the area warm enough for the yeast to be happy. However, I did wrap the fermenters in a blanket for insulation (especially underneath) and this kept the light out of the carboy itself.
I never had any problems with off flavors using this method.
I did have a beer take on a skunk flavor because it got too hot in the summer. Not from light, as it was in a completely dark storage area. It just got too hot.
So, while I would recommend keeping the fermenters warm in the winter, make sure not to artificially heat them too much.
And then, store them somewhere cool until you are ready to enjoy!
Heat doesn't cause skunk flavors. Those are entirely from sunlight hitting the beer. You might have had bad yeast or some other contamination. Also, if the fermentation temperature was well out of range, this can cause some strange effects what yeast does. This has happened to me before.
Yeast typically isn't designed to go above 74 degrees, but if it ferments in 90 degree heat, then the yeast is well out of range and can give some really nasty flavors.
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