Noob_Brewer
Well-Known Member
Im a new brewer having only brewed a total of 4 beers to date: 2 are currently kegged and 2 are in fermentation chambers. Having read, read, read about different fermentation setups/equipment ranging from the sexy SS conicals to standard glass carboys, this is what I went with. Really, nothing here is brand new as Ive learned from lots here on HBT about their processes and equipment. But if posting my build can help any other noob, then great! Just trying to give back to the community with this.
My goals in building a fermentation system were simple: 1) temperature control, 2) minimize oxygen. Thats it! Ive read here on HBT MANY times where lack of temp control and allowing oxygen to infiltrate the beer were probably the two biggest issues plaguing home brewers.
Attached is my build and parts list. Essentially, I wanted to have two independently controlled fermentation systems to allow me to have two beers fermenting at a time. I have the 7+gallon fermonster as my fermenter and modified a solid cover with ball lock connections using the fermentassaurus pressure kit.
With the current setup I can:
1) cold crash while feeding CO2 directly into the fermenter to avoid a vacuum/suck back,
2) feed CO2 in through the liquid floating dip tube while I unscrew the cap to dry hop
3) perform completely closed transfers
4) purge a future serving vessel (keg) full of star san with the CO2 produced from active fermentation.
When putting together this fermentation center, I intentionally made the decision to buy everything new. The table attached shows what I actually paid for each item. For those of you who are wanting to save extra $$$, Im sure you could easily save ~$100 for each mini fridge if you are patient and find something on craigslist. Personally, since the fermentation environment needs to be clean and as sanitary as I can get it, I went with all new equipment. Another benefit for me with using mini fridges to cool the fermonsters is that the enclosure of the fridge keeps debris away from the fermenters (my garage is notorious for collecting leaves all year round).
So there ya have it, starting out from scratch, you can have dual fermentation systems capable of performing many of the functions you want to produce great beer for under $700 for dual systems. I imagine that if you were frugal and got some things used, the grand total could easily be under $500 for both systems or around $250 for each.
Of special note: not included in the list are the spunding valve you see in the pics (maybe not necessary but I like monitoring the actual pressure in the fermonsters because they aren't rated for pressure) and the costs associated with the CO2 tank, tap rite regulator, and expenses for the wooden stand.
Big Shout outs to: @Dgallo @mongoose33 @flintoid @Loud Brewing for helping me out in various aspects of putting this system together and/or giving inspiration/ideas for the build that I learned from you here on HBT!
Hopefully, some noob will find this useful.
My goals in building a fermentation system were simple: 1) temperature control, 2) minimize oxygen. Thats it! Ive read here on HBT MANY times where lack of temp control and allowing oxygen to infiltrate the beer were probably the two biggest issues plaguing home brewers.
Attached is my build and parts list. Essentially, I wanted to have two independently controlled fermentation systems to allow me to have two beers fermenting at a time. I have the 7+gallon fermonster as my fermenter and modified a solid cover with ball lock connections using the fermentassaurus pressure kit.
With the current setup I can:
1) cold crash while feeding CO2 directly into the fermenter to avoid a vacuum/suck back,
2) feed CO2 in through the liquid floating dip tube while I unscrew the cap to dry hop
3) perform completely closed transfers
4) purge a future serving vessel (keg) full of star san with the CO2 produced from active fermentation.
When putting together this fermentation center, I intentionally made the decision to buy everything new. The table attached shows what I actually paid for each item. For those of you who are wanting to save extra $$$, Im sure you could easily save ~$100 for each mini fridge if you are patient and find something on craigslist. Personally, since the fermentation environment needs to be clean and as sanitary as I can get it, I went with all new equipment. Another benefit for me with using mini fridges to cool the fermonsters is that the enclosure of the fridge keeps debris away from the fermenters (my garage is notorious for collecting leaves all year round).
So there ya have it, starting out from scratch, you can have dual fermentation systems capable of performing many of the functions you want to produce great beer for under $700 for dual systems. I imagine that if you were frugal and got some things used, the grand total could easily be under $500 for both systems or around $250 for each.
Of special note: not included in the list are the spunding valve you see in the pics (maybe not necessary but I like monitoring the actual pressure in the fermonsters because they aren't rated for pressure) and the costs associated with the CO2 tank, tap rite regulator, and expenses for the wooden stand.
Big Shout outs to: @Dgallo @mongoose33 @flintoid @Loud Brewing for helping me out in various aspects of putting this system together and/or giving inspiration/ideas for the build that I learned from you here on HBT!
Hopefully, some noob will find this useful.
