I brewed my first brew Saturday September 20th. It was very fun and quite a learning process from how I thought it would be. Nothing like reading the recipe 5 times before adding something. I was nervous. After doing the first I'm going to order a 4 pack of 1 gallon fermintors to start a weekend rotation. There were a few little things about brewing in my tiny apartment that made it difficult. What are some tips or tricks you guys use to brew in small space?
Apartment brewing tips and tricks
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bobeer
Fermentation Specalist
A lot of folks who want to do all grain brewing opt for the brew in a bag method (biab) that way you don't need a mash tun or a hot liquor tank. You do the whole brew, full boil, in 1 pot on your stove. It's a good way to make great all grain beer in a small space.
What issues did you have specifically?
Also, If you feel like you're going to get into the hobby I'd buy bigger fermentors so you don't have to rebuy equipment. You can put 1 gallon beers in a 5 gallon fermentor no problem and it'll leave you room to upgrade to bigger batches when you can.
What issues did you have specifically?
Also, If you feel like you're going to get into the hobby I'd buy bigger fermentors so you don't have to rebuy equipment. You can put 1 gallon beers in a 5 gallon fermentor no problem and it'll leave you room to upgrade to bigger batches when you can.
Buckets stack. In the long run I believe it takes up less space as your fermentors can all fit in your bottling bucket.
When we lived in an apartment when I first fell deep into this hobby our bedroom was taken over with brewing stuff. It was just something we had to live around as I didn't want to share cooking utensils and pots. We devoted a section for all of my stuff.
When we lived in an apartment when I first fell deep into this hobby our bedroom was taken over with brewing stuff. It was just something we had to live around as I didn't want to share cooking utensils and pots. We devoted a section for all of my stuff.
treacheroustexan
Well-Known Member
I have an attic in my apartment where all my brewing equipment stays, and my full fermenters stay in my closet. My stove can only boil 3 gallons at a time so I just do extracts right now but am making the switch to BIAB soon.
Well I live at home still so it is sort of similar in the regard with little room, but the only issue I've found so far is in regards to temperature control during fermentation. Many brewers on these forums have beautiful custom fridges that keep their worts as a perfect, stable temperature, but for those of us with limited space, another appliance isn't really feasible.
A good tip is to look into something called a water bath to help keep fermentation temperatures low. This is essentially a bucket in a bucket of ice water, which you can store away in the corner somewhere.
Other than that, a little bit of counter space and a place to put your bucket seems like more than enough space to work with. The feeling of panic and rereading your instructions 10x over before doing anything goes away fast too. I was exactly like that as well.
Have a no-rinse sanitizer in a bottle handy. I have a bad habit of putting spoons, measuring devices, etc. down without thinking much about it and then realize its been contaminated 1 minute too late. If this happens, all you have to do is hit it with the bottle, wait a minute, and continue.
mikescooling
Well-Known Member
I moved from a house to an apartment and took my 3 pot 25 gallons system with me. What about brewing in an apartment is your question?
neilpcraven
Well-Known Member
Ventilation! You make a lot of steam when brewing and you don't want mould on the ceiling or your wallpaper peeling off so make sure you can vent the steam easily.
Our apartment is small, but we are lucky the kitchen is decent sized. There is also a landing leading up the stairs where we can keep stuff. I offered to put my desk in storage to make room for a keezer.
I got into small batch brewing when our place became overwhelmed with beer. I've been doing a lot of 1-2 gallon BIAB batches. If I want to do a 5 gallon batch I'll usually do a partial mash with a late extract addition.
In the UK, where I imagine more brewers have to brew in apartments they have gear like this designed to brew full 5 gallon batches while still being able to fit under a kitchen sink. http://www.brewuk.co.uk/equipment/ag-equipment/all-grain-starter-set.html
I emailed Northern Brewer to see if they could look into carrying these items made by BruPaks or something similar.
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I got into small batch brewing when our place became overwhelmed with beer. I've been doing a lot of 1-2 gallon BIAB batches. If I want to do a 5 gallon batch I'll usually do a partial mash with a late extract addition.
In the UK, where I imagine more brewers have to brew in apartments they have gear like this designed to brew full 5 gallon batches while still being able to fit under a kitchen sink. http://www.brewuk.co.uk/equipment/ag-equipment/all-grain-starter-set.html
I emailed Northern Brewer to see if they could look into carrying these items made by BruPaks or something similar.
Sent from my iPad using Home Brew
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