Fermenting in nasty basement

[Jloewe]

Not sure if this is the right place for this post but best shot.

I am moving into a new house this weekend finally a home owner! Finally a new stand up freezer! Finally get my chest freezer as a fermentation chamber!!

Here’s the catch. Really the only place to put the chest freezer is in the basement as it’s rather a decent sized one at 21x37. Basement is dirt floor and dank. Low ceilings and such. If I clean up the cobwebs and put down some rubber mats and such will my beer be ok in that sealed chamber? Or do I need to start begging the wife for a plan B?

 

[Immocles]

They used to ferment and age beers in caves, so I would be pretty okay with fermenting inside a freezer in any kind of environment. Freezer is sealed and the fermenter would be sealed as well.

Congrats on the house.

 

[MHBT]

Not sure if this is the right place for this post but best shot.

I am moving into a new house this weekend finally a home owner! Finally a new stand up freezer! Finally get my chest freezer as a fermentation chamber!!

Here’s the catch. Really the only place to put the chest freezer is in the basement as it’s rather a decent sized one at 21x37. Basement is dirt floor and dank. Low ceilings and such. If I clean up the cobwebs and put down some rubber mats and such will my beer be ok in that sealed chamber? Or do I need to start begging the wife for a plan B?

You’ll be fine, i fermented in a moldy disgusting chest freezer and beer was fine, just sanitize and dont open it until you rack and then sanitize the outside surface of the fermenter so no nasty dust falls in

 

[wsmith1625]

Your airlock or blowoff tube is there to keep out the nasties, no matter where the fermenter is located.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

I bought a house like yours.
I dug the floor out by hand and wheel barrowed it out the side.
but i was putting in a basement addition so knocking out a stone wall made that possible.
but as was said, they made beer in caves in wooden fermenters.

i'm brewing two beers right now with kviek outside on the ground in plastic.
do it most of the summer and it's fine.

 

[crazyjake19]

Look for some cheap raised floor options for the basement: plastic pallets, or some sort of plastic racking. Then rubber mats or out door carpet over that. Paint the walls with white Drylok, and put in some decent, inexpensive lighting. Does wonders to change a dark, damp basement space. Oh, and a dehumidifier.

 

[TheBluePhantom]

Beer shouild be OK, freezer life might be short. You will get a lot of icing on the inside walls of the freezer due to the high humidity if you open it much. Also get condensation on the tubing in the walls and near the compressor. Maybe trade for something smaller....

 

[IslandLizard]

Or do I need to start begging the wife for a plan B?

I'd consider weighing all options, and start laying out plans with the wife about purposing all areas, short term/long term.

Your upright freezer, will that become your serving keezer, taps through the door?
If it's anything like mine, you can put 4 ball locks in there as is, with quite a bit of shelf space above.

5 ball lock kegs will fit after removing the whole door shelving panel, or only the bottom 2/3 of it, where the keg space is, leaving the top 2 door shelves intact.