Primary Fermenting in the Pantry

Hey everyone,

I am getting a double stage 5 gallon kit from my family on Thanksgiving. They are picking it up at the LHBS in Houston before heading up here to celebrate the holiday. My question has to do with the fact that I live in a small apartment and I am limited on where to put my fermenter. I've brewed before, but that was when I was living in a house in Houston and had a spare closet with nothing in it. Now that I am in an apartment, the only feasible place to put my ale pail is in the pantry. Will the odor from fermenting permeate the foods in the pantry? Most things in there are sealed in cans, the only other things we keep in there are pancake mix, bread, and rice. Thanks for the help guys!!

I don't imagine that being a problem.

I don't think it will affect your food. Just make sure your pantry maintains proper temps and stays dark and you'll be good to go.

shouldn't hurt at all.

Just hold your breath when you open the door, even if your used to it, sometimes it can be jolt.
As far as the food goes, I really can not see it impacting it, if it does your most likely love it.
BTW - I wish I had a family so cool that they would feed this addiction.

Lol, thanks guys. Yeah my parents are pretty cool about it. And the funny thing is neither of my parents really like beer, so they aren't buying me the kit so I can stock them with beer lol. I'm glad it wont ruin my food. I'm excited about getting back in to this great obsession!

Hey guys,

If I do ferment in the pantry, should I put a black trashbag or an old shirt on top of the glass carboy to keep the light out?

sure...i use a sweatshirt on mine.

I brew in a small apt, i just keep mine is a corner, so it is out of the way.

honestly, i don't see much of a problem with odor (at least with 5 gal), in my batches, so i don't think you have to worry about that.

Sounds good. I wasn't really worried about the odor, but my g/f is!

In my (very limited) experience... certain beers/yeasts produce more odor than others. My pale ale and brown ale had very very little odor, but the room where I fermented my hefeweizen (different location than the other two) still smells of fruitiness.

My fermenter (or sometimes 2) sit at the end of my kitchen counter,right by the basement door... there's always someplace to fit them if you're resourceful. I'd be concerned with how warm it might get in your pantry though.

Tell gf it's the male equivalent of baking cookies...!

It shouldn't get too warm, we keep the whole house cold, and there is a gap under the door so the pantry isn't well insulated.