Summer Brewing

So last summer I basically closed shop for the warm weather months and decided not to even toy with the higher temps and slow cooling condo. Yet I've come to learn that there are several yeasts that can handle the higher temps and in a few cases, are recommended to ferment at 80 degrees or higher. Saison yeasts are good examples and I will be brewing two different types in the next few weeks.

But the wee heavy I brewed last weekend needed to stay near 70 degrees during primary fermentation. By late Sunday morning it was pushing 80 degrees, so I covered it with a wet towel, made an ice bath and tried to keep my pantry cool by covering the windows. It worked well and was just a tad below 70 degrees for several days.