Choose: Bigger Fermentation Chamber or Bigger Kegerator?

[noggins]

If you had to choose....

1. Full Size kegerator with room for 4 kegs, and small ferm chamber with room for 1 bucket or..
2. Full Size ferm chamber with room for 4 buckets, and mini-fridge kegerator with room for 2 kegs

I live in hell, and everything has to be temp controlled. I only have a tiny bit of real estate allowed for homebrewing for now so I have to choose one to get more room than the other. I always thought a bigger kegerator would be best to have lots of variety on tap, but I'm starting to lean towards bigger ferm chamber to have lots of babies growing. It seems like I'd be good with 2 different styles on tap, and that would allow me(force me?) to age my brews longer. But I could also see benefits to the other. Basically I have a deep freezer and a mini-fridge to use as I wish, and don't wanna codger together any kind of homemade chamber thing other than just using temp controller with unmodified hardware, as I've had terrible luck with that in the past.

Thoughts?

 

[normonster]

Option 2. The bottle neck is always fermenter space. If you need serving space you always have growlers and the beergun to open it up.

 

[noggins]

Option 2. The bottle neck is always fermenter space. If you need serving space you always have growlers and the beergun to open it up.

OOoooooo....I DO have growlers and a case of grolsch bottles and could totally get a beergun in a pinch! Good Point!:rockin:

 

[djonesax]

1. Bigger kegerator for me.

My ferm chamber holds one 15'ish gallon fermenter. I could do a 10 gallon batch every two weeks and then move to the kegerator for cold conditioning or serving. I dont want to bottle beer so I'd rather have the space in the kegerator.

David

 

[ram5ey]

I have a smaller ferm chamber than my kegerator. I wish my kegerator had even more space.

 

[Natdavis777]

Id go with bigger ferm chamber. Like stated, you can always bottle off a beer gun if need be.

 

[noggins]

hmmmm....2 against 2, me thinks this needs more research...since I haven't bought the mini fridge yet maybe I'll just get a second chest freezer and call it a day, go big or GO HOME!! SWMBO BE DAMNED!!!! or maybe I'll leave it up to the craigslist gods when purchase time comes in 3 weeks....

 

[Hello]

I would get a bigger fermenter if I knew I would be brewing enough. I just picked up a chest freezer that will hold two carboys/buckets etc. My thought is that even if I brew every 2 weeks, i can keep a pretty steady pipeline going. I could have gone bigger with the ferm chamber, but I am starting there. I do have 5 taps, one being for soda, but there are 5 taps nonetheless.
With that variety, which I do want, I would have to have space for at least 2 carboys fermenting. That is based on how quickly I drink things.

 

[NervousDad]

Bigger fermentation chamber especially since you are in Texas.

In the north I can get away with fermenting in my chamber for 72hrs then ramp them temp to 70 and use a fermwrap to hold temp in my basement (~68 ambient). That leaves me space for the following weeks brew. In Texas in the summer you really don't have the ability.

 

[djonesax]

Lots of questions... What styles of beer do you make or plan to make? Say you can fit more than one fermenter in your chamber. Will they all like the same temps? Will you be raising temps towards the end of primary to finish up and how will your other brews like those temps? Will you cold crash in the fermentation chamber?

I prefer to cold crash in the chamber so I don't have to lift 10 gallons into the keezer, but I have the option if I need the chamber space because I have room in the keezer.

It seems I personally wouldn't benefit from of having a larger fermentation chamber unless brewing similar styles and on the same schedule.

David

 

[hunter_le five]

+1 to bigger ferm chamber.

My kegerator holds 3 kegs. My ferm chamber only holds 1 fermenter. It is a constant problem, because apparently I can drink faster than the yeast can.

I did not think that through when I set all that up....

 

[wilserbrewer]

I live in hell, and everything has to be temp controlled.

As I understand it, temperature control is important during the early stages of fermentation, up to high kreusen, so 3-4 days. No need to leave in the ferm chamber for weeks IMO.

 

[noggins]

As I understand it, temperature control is important during the early stages of fermentation, up to high kreusen, so 3-4 days. No need to leave in the ferm chamber for weeks IMO.

My brews aren't allowed in the house unless they're in a glass, so my 65° chest freezer ferm chamber is in my 100° garage. I have bulk aged bottles of beer out there, would 1-3 week old wort and bottle conditioning kegs survive in 80-100°+ environment? If so I'll go with my original idea of changing ferm chamber to keezer and using fermwrap on primary inside 40° keezer, then rack onto priming sugar in keg and let sit in 100° garage for a few weeks before sticking it back in keezer and enjoying.

 

[normonster]

Hell no. Don't leave your beer in 100 degree anything.

 

[noggins]

Hell no. Don't leave your beer in 100 degree anything.

To be fair it's typically the mid 80's. Last week was one of the hottest weeks of the year and it was right around 91°. I've bulk aged bottles in there without anything bad happening. I know yeast acts funny outside it's preferred temp range, but would it be noticeable if it's just for the bottle(keg) conditioning? How much flavor can really be imparted from the tiny fermentation that takes place during that time?

It'd be something like 2 weeks in primary at 65°, then 3 weeks priming in keg at 80°, then 40° for the rest of it's life.

 

[noggins]

It'd be something like 2 weeks in primary at 65°, then 3 weeks priming in keg at 80°, then 40° for the rest of it's life.

Nevermind, I don't even wanna go down that road. Old habits die hard I guess.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Sorry, thought I could help....but you actually are in hell as far as temps are concerned.

 

[ram5ey]

Yeah my situation is one where I can keep up with my 3 taps with a fermentation freezer that one handles one brew at a time. Has never been an issue before, but I also work entirely indoors in a moderately cool environment. If I had to ferment outside in Texas I might have different needs. Good luck with the decision! And I do agree, go big or go home.

 

[noggins]

There's this booming thought that keeps floating around in the back of my mind every time I think about sticking another chest freezer in our already cramped garage: the swmbo factor. Really it's up to her so I'll just ask her tonight "dearest wife who I love and cherish more every single second I'm lucky enough to share this wondrous life with you, how would you feel about another freezer in the garage to keep all your delicious IPA's I'll be brewing for you nice and cold..." and go from there. If she blows a gasket I'll just stick with my plan of fermwrap heating a carboy inside my keezer for a while until we move in a year or two. I already know I'll be doing two chest freezers when I have the room, I just gotta work with the one I have for a bit until I've got more room.

 

[Gavin C]

I brew every two weeks if I can.

My fermentation chamber holds two FV's. I'm finding that by the time the next brewday comes around the last one is done, dropped clear and I've got it in the keg for cold conditioning/lagering (choose your poison) in the kegerator which holds 3 kegs and a 10lb CO2.

Doing a few lagers and getting them into kegs for lagering within two weeks is very doable in many cases. Ales into the keg in 2 weeks is no problemo.

Appropriate pitch rate I think is the key to effectively lowering the time to keg.

Letting the beers sit cold and carbonating in the keg for however long it takes is nice.

I got greedy.
Two tap kegerator (DIY)
Ferment chamber (chest freezer 7.1 cuft)
Lagering chamber/keezer (picnic taps for samples)

 

[douglasbarbin]

Depends on if you brew faster than you drink or vice-versa.

 

[ChelisHubby]

A question to answer is how fast you go thru a keg of beer, if you empty a keg every 2 weeks you need more fermentation room. If it takes a month then I would want more taps.

 

[TeamAshBrewing]

There's this booming thought that keeps floating around in the back of my mind every time I think about sticking another chest freezer in our already cramped garage: the swmbo factor. Really it's up to her so I'll just ask her tonight "dearest wife who I love and cherish more every single second I'm lucky enough to share this wondrous life with you, how would you feel about another freezer in the garage to keep all your delicious IPA's I'll be brewing for you nice and cold..." and go from there. If she blows a gasket I'll just stick with my plan of fermwrap heating a carboy inside my keezer for a while until we move in a year or two. I already know I'll be doing two chest freezers when I have the room, I just gotta work with the one I have for a bit until I've got more room.

If you ask her, you give her the opportunity to say no. If you just buy it, you can always apologize later. Just keep in mind that a $200 freezer will probably cost you another $400 in shoes, purses, etc. Plus that one thing that is better than beer.

 

[hopbrad]

bigger kegerator.
Brew up a warm weather beer(saison) when you don't have space.
And Fermentation is generally over in 5-7 days so you can let your beer sit in room temp after that time to clean-up/finish/dry hop etc while putting a fresh batch in the cooler.
I'll pull out most belgian styles after 2-3 days and let go.

 

[hopbrad]

oops just read the 2nd page. 100 might be a stretch. 80 is fine. my house is 78-85 range. no ill effects.

 

[noggins]

If you ask her, you give her the opportunity to say no. If you just buy it, you can always apologize later. Just keep in mind that a $200 freezer will probably cost you another $400 in shoes, purses, etc. Plus that one thing that is better than beer.

My current freezer was $75 on CL, I won't buy another one unless it's $75 or less. I actually see a damn good one there now for $40, but I can't buy anything until 8/29.

 

[noggins]

oops just read the 2nd page. 100 might be a stretch. 80 is fine. my house is 78-85 range. no ill effects.

yeh it's rarely 100 but it does get there around this time of year. it gets down to 60 in dec-jan, and it's 70-85 the rest of the year. I'll def be looking into brewing up a saison soon if I can just leave it sitting out at 80. I only recall ever tasting one saison and liking it

 

[normonster]

yeh it's rarely 100 but it does get there around this time of year. it gets down to 60 in dec-jan, and it's 70-85 the rest of the year. I'll def be looking into brewing up a saison soon if I can just leave it sitting out at 80. I only recall ever tasting one saison and liking it

IMO Saison isn't a great beer. Only had a couple but not the best style for my pallet.

 

[oujens]

I would go option 1, which is a similar situation I am currently in except my chest freezer holds 3 kegs without a collar. For me, I am the only one usually drinking off a keg. I only make 5 gallon batches so one beer is fermenting at a time. I most likely would not ever do a brew day in back-to-back weeks with my family and work schedule. What I plan to do is have 2-3 kegs serving (for options) and 1-2 kegs waiting in the pipeline that are ready to go when one of my kegs blow. If I have all 4 kegs filled, I would have 3 in my chest freezer (no collar and picnic taps), and 1 in my mini fridge (fermentation chamber). Seems perfect for my situation. I would wait for a keg to empty before I fill it up after that. My thinking is once fermentation is done, my keg will be moved to my 40F chest freezer where it will carb/age/lager. That keeps my fermentation fridge free to ferment whatever I want. It would be nice to put that fourth keg in the chest freezer and have a beer fermented and ready to go in my mini fridge once a keg is empty. I think this is the best way to manage the pipeline. I would need a larger fermentation chamber if I started brewing larger batches.

 

[noggins]

Somehow this is the first time I've seen a ferm chamber under workbench:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=133970

I've got tons of wasted space under my workbench so I have a strong feeling I'll be doing this very soon. I already have most of the supplies needed to make it laying around, just need a (tiny) mini fridge for like $30.

 

[noggins]

yep...tons of the 1-2 cubic ft mini fridges on CL for $15-30. They're so tiny! But perfect for this!

already sizing things up....looks like I'll be able to get 3 bucket/carboys in there. I've got a spare roll of plexiglass insulation in my attic, plywood, some great-stuf, pc fan, all I need is mini fridge, temp controller, and some foam board and I'm home free! :rockin::rockin:

poodle approves this build

 

[Helloworld]

Bigger fermentation chamber. Right now my kegs are empty but I don't have room to brew another batch. I'll be serving again in a couple weeks, but even then I'll have empty kegs.

 

[noggins]

I asked SWMBO if I could stick another chest freezer in the garage and she totally went for it. Boom. Problem solved.