NYC Apartment Brewing Challenges

[Nokitchen]

Weird. Vlad can be brusque (he's from the Bronx, after all ) but I've never known him to be rude. I have no reason to doubt your account so all I can say is a) perhaps you caught him at a bad moment (putting together that competition is a huge undertaking) and/or b) maybe Vlad sucks at email.

Again, I'd encourage you to stop by a meeting. You may or may not have fun and may or may not find it's for you but I can at least guarantee that if you meet Vlad in person you won't describe him as offensive.

 

[cbauer210]

I was thinking about checking out the Guild meetings next month. Anyway.....back on topic. I decided to step up my game and stumbled across a good sized wine fridge for $150 at Home Depot. I then ran off to Brooklyn Homebrew for a Ranco ETC. I now have an American Wheat happily bubbling away at a comfortable 65 deg. Pics!

 

[electrichead]

About time you stepped it up slacker. Great solution. I like that you can monitor it without opening the door and letting the heat in.

 

[Kunkemonster]

Are you sure about that? Mine only extends a few inches from the radius of the carboy.

As a NYC small-apartment homebrewer (note my username ), one of the best non-standard purchases I ever made was a 40-quart aluminum pot at one of those restaurant supply places in Chinatown. I use it both as a brewpot and as a swamp cooler for the fermentation. As a brewpot it extends over all four burners on my tiny oven, vastly increasing the quality of the boil (it does require full-volume boils; evaporation is of course higher given the higher surface area relative to more conventional brewpots). After the wort is in the carboy I clean the pot and put the carboy into it, then fill the pot most of the way with water. I regulate temperature with ice packs I made from old bottled-water bottles. Be sure to throw some iodopher in the cooling water or nasty things will grow during your fermentation.

There are some special care instructions before you use aluminum as a brewpot so you'll want to pay attention to those if you go that route. But even if you don't I'd be surprised that you don't have even a couple inches on each side to fit one of these pots for cooling.

Yup, that's what I do. I live in a 250 square foot apartment in Seoul, South Korea. It can be done.

 

[maida7]

Happiness is a controlled fermenter.

 

[italarican]

Are you sure about that? Mine only extends a few inches from the radius of the carboy.

As a NYC small-apartment homebrewer (note my username ), one of the best non-standard purchases I ever made was a 40-quart aluminum pot at one of those restaurant supply places in Chinatown. I use it both as a brewpot and as a swamp cooler for the fermentation. As a brewpot it extends over all four burners on my tiny oven, vastly increasing the quality of the boil (it does require full-volume boils; evaporation is of course higher given the higher surface area relative to more conventional brewpots). After the wort is in the carboy I clean the pot and put the carboy into it, then fill the pot most of the way with water. I regulate temperature with ice packs I made from old bottled-water bottles. Be sure to throw some iodopher in the cooling water or nasty things will grow during your fermentation.

There are some special care instructions before you use aluminum as a brewpot so you'll want to pay attention to those if you go that route. But even if you don't I'd be surprised that you don't have even a couple inches on each side to fit one of these pots for cooling.

I think you just saved me! My apartment is already getting too warm for the milk stout I brewed today, and I was surprised to see my 40 quart turkey fryer could fit my fermenting bucket with just enough space for some water and a few ice packs. I plan to swap out ice packs each day and just leave the bucket in my pot. Thanks!

 

[mforsman]

I've already done two saisons due to the heat. I wish there was another more tolerant yeast. Any ideas outside of water baths / another fridge?

 

[mforsman]

My new 10 gal kettle just showed up. At least with two burners I can finally get a REAL rolling boil.