I have been fortunate with my Saison’s fermentation temperature…but let’s start from the beginning. 

I have gotten a whole lot more patient with chilling my wort.  I think I gained this patience as a product of lager brewing.  I knew I had to get my wort down to 48°F before I pitched my yeast, so I let my kettle sit in a snow bank in addition to the immersion chiller with running water through it for about 30 to 45 minutes.  I wanted to make sure there was no doubt that the wort was chilled enough.

I did the same thing with the Saison.  I let it go for about the same amount of time and it got down to 68°F with no jumping the gun.   I moved it to my basement which had an ambient temperature of 75°F.   Over the next 24 hours, the wort warmed up to 70°F and then 72°F.  At that point, I knew I had to move it.

Thankfully, the front closet in my house is a very hot place.  I put a thermometer in there and it has been 78°F to 80°F every morning and evening.  The temp. strip on the bucket has been registering over 80°F since Tuesday.

If we can keep the hot weather going outside, then I won’t need a heating pad inside.