It’s time again for yet another review. This time it’s on iBrew’s Fermenter Cooling Box! No idea what it is? Well, I am pretty sure by now that you guys know that I am really into beer brewing, right? However, I am living in Singapore and in Singapore, the weather is warm whole year round! I kid you not. From January to December, we get sunny days throughout. It’s just amazing to live near the equator isn’t it? The problem with people like me brewing beer in Singapore is of course the weather. Brewing beer requires fermentation of the sugars in the wort (which is actually malted barley or/and sugars as well as hops) by the brewing yeast into alcohol and for the yeast to do it’s work well, it has to be a certain temperature. If it is too high, then it may create fusal alcohol which can taste pretty bad. Hence, we brewers need to maintain a good cool temperature to make good beer. For those who would like to brew lagers, then the temperature needed for proper fermentation are even lower.

So unless you have a room purposely built for keeping a cold enough temperature (like an air-conditioned room running continously) or you have a fridge, then you will be in trouble when you are doing brewing. Well have no fear, potential brewers, iBrew comes to your rescue. They have created a Cool Box for your fermenter! Hmmm…..well, actually it’s just a foam box with hole in the center for your fermenter. And it’s build for the Cooper’s Fermenter and may not work for other fermenters if they are of a different size and shape. However, it does it’s job very well. I have achieved temperatures of 13 °C before with minimum effort.

The Fermenter Cooling Box built by iBrew! Simple and effective. The hole in the middle fits exactly the fermenter. Of course, you must align the fermenter in the correct position first before it can fit. It may take a few tries but in the end, I am sure it will go in. There is also a temperature sensor, located at the bottom of the cooling box where you place you fermenter. Not very sure how accurate is it since the bottom of the Cooper’s fermenter is pretty thick, but it should be pretty close.

The temperature display conveniently placed outside of the fermenter so you don’t have to open the fermenter to check the temperature. Smart guys these iBrew people. If only I was smart enough not to drop water on the digital display and let it rust. All you need to do is to press one of the buttons on the display and it will tell you two things, the temperature and the time. The two other buttons you use to play Tertis.

See the temperature displayed? If you have this temperature, it is still too high. Depending on the type of yeast you are using, it should be around 16-21°C for ales and 8-15°C for lagers. You can’t get those kind of temperatures naturally in Singapore unless you somehow angered your wife/girlfriend/mummy. They are known to be frosty ice queens.

You can see the temperature sensor which is covered up by tape. I think a better alternative is to change the insulation tape to a metallic one, which would conduct “heat” better.

Yes, it comes with 4 Coleman Brite Ice packs, large ones. No, it’s not Linux, the Open Source Operating System. Anyway, these are good solid stuff these ice packs I must say. But the problem with them is that they are big and if your freezer isn’t large enough (like mine), then it could be a major problem. Not all of us have large freezers, thus it is going to be difficult to put 8 of these ice packs into your freezer! I prefer my small juice bottles with water. Smaller and more flexible to store. Remember, you need the bottles to be thicker than the soda pop bottles, so it’s better to look for juice bottles. Thin bottles lost their coldness too fast for them to be effective.

Anyways, for you to figure out how many ice packs you need, you will need to experiment. For me, to get a temperature of 22°C, I have 2 Coleman Ice Packs which I change every morning and evening when I get back from work.

And note that these stuff are about two months old and I am have been them often to do my brewing, so they could be slightly worn from my rough use. They will look nice and sparkly when you purchase them.

Yes, it comes with a cover without a hole as well. You can keep your bottles in the cooling box after you are done with them or when you are conditioning them. From the shots above, the hole looks a bit like a shit hole doesn’t it?

That’s my fermenter (nope, not infection but it’s the Malto-Dextrin that is causing the weird looking things floating on my beer) and two ice packs. If you need a colder temperature, then add more ice packs! You can see the wire (covered by insulation tape) from the temperature sensor to the digital display outside the fermenter.

If you are not doing any fermenting, then use it to store beer like what you see in the above photo. Or you can always sleep inside the box if your wife is pissed with you for spending more time brewing beer than with her. More comfortable than the floor I guess. And you can always hug a Frozen Coleman Ice Pack to ward off Singapore’s oppressive heat.

Seriously, if you are brewing in Singapore, this piece of equipment you should not be missing. It’s just as important as getting a proper fermenter. I find it simple, effective and it just does what it is supposed to do. No maintenance required, no difficult instructions to follow, no cleanup or sanitizing needed and no expensive electricity bill to worry about. It’s just a foam box anyway. Best of all, it helps you maintain a fairly constant temperature which is another important aspect for good tasting beer. The insulation foam box protects your wort from rapid changes in ambient temperatures during the day and the night. Of course, you do need to change the ice packs every 24 hours, but that takes all but 5 minutes of your time per day. I think this is a very worthwhile investment.

And if you would like to build the foam box yourself, you should. Just get a foam box which can fit your fermenter and you are done. Cut a hole in the cover for your fermenter cover and go purchase some ice packs. But if you don’t want to spend hours building this or you just ain’t good with tools, then iBrew’s cooling box is what you need without the hassle or the cutters. It’s not that expensive either. I bought it for S$80 (with the 4 Coleman Ice Packs) with free delivery by iBrew!