Want to brew more, but have no room

I live with my parents still, and want to start brewing more and more, but we dont have the room for any major set ups. when i say we dont have any room, i mean i dont know where i could put a mini-fridge keggerator.

right now i the bottling/ lack of kegging ability is slowing me down. I am drinking homebrew almost exclusively and as a result dont have that many new bottles coming in. My uncle is nice enough to save up bottles for me, which come to about fifty new bottles every few months. Still, i have batches waiting to be bottled, and not enough bottles to do the job.

kegging seems like the next step, but whats the point of kegging without a way to keep it cold and pour it. what to do?

avibayer said:

I live with my parents still, and want to start brewing more and more, but we dont have the room for any major set ups. when i say we dont have any room, i mean i dont know where i could put a mini-fridge keggerator.

right now i the bottling/ lack of kegging ability is slowing me down. I am drinking homebrew almost exclusively and as a result dont have that many new bottles coming in. My uncle is nice enough to save up bottles for me, which come to about fifty new bottles every few months. Still, i have batches waiting to be bottled, and not enough bottles to do the job.

kegging seems like the next step, but whats the point of kegging without a way to keep it cold and pour it. what to do?

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I assume even if you live at your parents house, you have a bedroom. Why don't you just convert a mini fridge (not called dorm fridges for nothing) into a two tap kegerator. I really wanted a keezer, but I didn't have room, so I went with the dual tap mini fridge. I could even fit it into my closet if I needed to.

i thought about that. problem would be having my folks constantly coming into my room for beer.

avibayer said:

i thought about that. problem would be having my folks constantly coming into my room for beer.

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Hey hey, I thought the beer was only for you! If everyone's going to be hittin the tapper, then you all can find a place for it in the family room or something. If they also appreciate a good homebrew I doubt they will be complaining about a keggerator in the living room.

thats what you would think, but outlets and space seem sparce.

Hmm. I'm thinking that a power strip and moving a table out of the way will work for you man. Think about it. If you get the right mini fridge, two kegs can fit inside of it and your Co2 tank/regulator and lines. It doesn't take up as much room as you would think. I'd say its about the size of an end table. I have a brewing/family hobby room where my kegerator is, but I know a lot of guys have these in one bedroom apartments.

Like I said, these refrigerators aren't called dorm fridges for nothing.

After buying my fridge from Conns scratch and dent and the tap/kegs/Co2 tank/regulator, I think I spent a little under $400. It's a steep investment at first, but oh so worth it.

Then you don't have to use secondaries anymore because you can just transfer from primary into keg and let it condition that way (which frees up some space.)

Time to get your own place. If you are old enough to drink beer you should not be living with your parents.

Well, if you're drinking beer, you should have plenty of empty bottles. Oh, don't get me wrong- I think kegging and homebrew on tap is better than sliced bread. But I bottled the first hundred or so batches, so it's possible. If you each drink two beers a day, that's 6 bottles a day ready to hold "new" homebrew. If you brew twice a month, that's only 110 bottles each month to bottle, while you have 180 being emptied. It's not fun, but it's possible.

BUT- cases of bottles take up much more room than three kegs and a dorm fridge! If you have room to store all those bottles from your uncle, you should have plenty of room for a small fridge. Something just doesn't add up here.

passedpawn said:

Time to get your own place. If you are old enough to drink beer you should not be living with your parents.

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+1

YooperBrew said:

Well, if you're drinking beer, you should have plenty of empty bottles. Oh, don't get me wrong- I think kegging and homebrew on tap is better than sliced bread. But I bottled the first hundred or so batches, so it's possible. If you each drink two beers a day, that's 6 bottles a day ready to hold "new" homebrew. If you brew twice a month, that's only 110 bottles each month to bottle, while you have 180 being emptied. It's not fun, but it's possible.

BUT- cases of bottles take up much more room than three kegs and a dorm fridge! If you have room to store all those bottles from your uncle, you should have plenty of room for a small fridge. Something just doesn't add up here.

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+1

I have actually more space now that I don't bottle much any more. I have most of my bottles in the attic now and only keep about a case with all of my brewing equipment for keg to bottle bottling.

I more than anyone, thinks having my own place would be great. But, since i can not afford rent yet and am still in school, i am stuck at home for the next year. Living with my parents beats having loans to pay off for the next decade.

bottles can be distributed throughout the various cupboards. storing cases of bottles, while equal to the volume of a mini fridge, have the ability to be moved around more easily. a mini-fridge needs an outlet.

I agree with all of the above posts. I would love to have my own place, with a kegging set up. but that is about a year away from happening.

avibayer said:

I more than anyone, thinks having my own place would be great. But, since i can not afford rent yet and am still in school, i am stuck at home for the next year. Living with my parents beats having loans to pay off for the next decade.

bottles can be distributed throughout the various cupboards. storing cases of bottles, while equal to the volume of a mini fridge, have the ability to be moved around more easily. a mini-fridge needs an outlet.

I agree with all of the above posts. I would love to have my own place, with a kegging set up. but that is about a year away from happening.

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I bottled my beer for years before I got a kegerator. I will never go back to bottling again.