Brew Project(s)

[Sublime8365]

Ok so long story short, next weekend I'll have a lot of time with not much to do and unable to brew. I was planning on brewing but I'm new to the hobby and I'm a stovetop brewer and don't think I'll be able to brew on the glass stovetop where I'll be. I was thinking of trying to do some brewing related projects like building a wort chiller or making a son of fermentation chiller (or both!).

I currently only brew 2.5 gallon batches because I like to experiment and can't consume the product fast enough to warrant 5 gal batches but I'd still like to give a shot at a wort chiller, even though it's not essential for these small batches. So my questions here are, will the cost of doing this be worth it versus buying one online or at my LHBS? Is there a good resource here that outlines all the materials and tools needed?

I definitely want to build a son of fermentation chiller if possible. What will the cost range be for a project like this? Again, are there any good resources on the materials, tools, and process to build this? Also, I'm an apartment dweller for the time being and will only be building one unit that will fit one fermenter. If I'm looking to get my "pipeline" up and running, will only having one prevent me from doing this? Essentially what I'm asking is, could I have my bucket in the chiller for the first week or two when most of fermentation is done and then take it out for the remaining two or so weeks until it's done primary? Is there a period of primary that is more essential to temp control than the other is my question.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions! Also, please no suggestions for a converted fridge or freezer for now. Like I said I'm an apartment dweller and I'm looking to be space and power efficient.

 

[Hockeyhunter99]

you have many questions here. let see.

1) you can boil on glass surface. i do it all the time. no worries. lower boil level but still does the job well.

2) cost of building a wort chiller is reasonable to a store bought one. you are saving a little money but not enough to buy a whole kit.

3) i would move up to 5g batches. even with kits, you can boil 2-2.5 g on you stove top and chill it in the sink. we keep the drain mostly plugged with the water running on cold. works like an external chiller. (called an ice bath in some circles)

4) you can really do what you want with this hobby. we are not in this to save a ton of money (what hobby really saves money???) just tinkering. you get out of this hobby what you put into this hobby.


5) Enjoy the fruit of your labor

 

[chapa]

Build your immersion chiller yourself, it'll cost a bit less, and you'll feel more accomplished Granted the cleanliness of the commercial ones are pretty nice. If you do it yourself, you'll likely want to solder, so if you don't have a soldering gun, that may be an additional expense. I've seen people make them without any solders though. Everything you'll need, can be bought at Lowes/HD.

I second doing 5g, since you can do a partial boil on your glass top, and top off the rest. The need for a chiller for this small amount is really minimal. Once you're doing full boils outside, exposed to the elements, is when you'll really need a chiller.

That fermentation chiller is pretty extreme...I guess its not a bad idea, if you're up for the project. I'd just use "Yoopers swamp cooler". You basically just put your carboy in a cooler with some water at the bottom. Wrap a t-shirt around it and let the water wick up through the shirt. You can also use a fan to blow on the carboy and keep it cool, as well as rotating out frozen water bottles. Once you're through the bulk of the fermentation, you can take it out and let it sit at room temp.

And I'd also say....BREW SOME BEER this weekend, if you have ingredients to do it. If I had enough base malt on hand, I'd definitely brew it up!! Projects are always fun, but will have you dying to get another batch going! Maybe build Saturday and brew Sunday

 

[Legin]

Huckeyhunter pretty much covered everything. You won't save much money on the immersion chiller because the damned fittings cost so much. Though, as mentioned, you will feel good having created it.

I also recommend moving up to five gallons. You can always find people who will want to drink your beer. Though if you plan on experimenting or doing lots of different extract brews, than 2.5 gallon makes sense. All-grain batches would be a different story.

The first three days are usually the most vital for temperature control. After that you can raise the temp to make the yeast more active.

Son of fermentation chiller's are really cheap. Maybe 30 to 60 bucks depending on the stuff you already have. Honestly it's just a styrofoam box with water jugs on the bottom, a cpu fan, and a thermometer. Personally, I thought it was too much work and bought a...

In the end, it all comes down to how passionate you are about the hobby. I've easily spent thousands on brewing equipment. I also live in an apartment and have so much crap that I often find myself cuddling with my carboy at night.

 

[Nova5]

I do 5gal. I can easily pass some off to my GF who loves the same wide variety of beer's i love. One of her favorites is Highland's Oatmeal Porter. I can also foist some off on dead ol' mom who likes good beers as well as my brother and cousin. Plenty of folks to pass some off on.