Help with BIAB setup in apartment

[mongoose33]

Wow. So you can cold crash in a mini fridge? This is used to clarify your beer, right?

Yes, using in combination with finings (I use gelatin) it helps clear the beer.

May be a dumb question - can you put a temp controller in there without drilling holes? What's the standard way to do this?

Yes--you can pass the cords between the door seal and the fridge body. I could have done that with the cords above, but since I needed to drill a hole for the silicone tubing, I decided I liked the idea of doing a second hole for the cords.

Oh, and would you be able to remove the freezer shelf in order to fit an airlock?

The freezer is actually where the cooling comes from--the lines run through it. Some try to bend it down out of the way, but I was not comfortable doing that. Break a line and the fridge is toast.

The easy solution is what I did, just use some tubing into a jar.

 

[wilserbrewer]

While I agree, fermentation temp control is important, let's not forget it's almost winter!

Do you have a basement or a cooler area to ferment?

OP Graybrew is in NJ same as myself, and it is getting rather chilly here....temp control for fermentation can be easy if you have a place that's cool temp...

 

[GrayBrew]

Unfortunately we don’t have a basement or even balcony. It’s just a one bedroom with electric heating. The entire building is actually electric. No gas.

 

[z-bob]

"Temperature control" can be as simple as just brewing beers and yeasts that like the temperature you have. No refrigeration equipment necessary, it just limits you to seasonal beer styles -- nothing wrong with that.

There's a yeast I want to try called "Hot Head" (I think it's OYL-057) derived from Norwegian farmhouse strains that you can even pitch warm. I'll get a pack next spring.

 

[nicksim86]

I have an 8 gallon Bayou kettle I use for BIAB and there is no way it would fit on my stove with a microwave over it. if you just have a hood it might work but seems overkill to me. A 5 or 6 gallon kettle would be best for you, even if you have to use DME for bigger beers. session beers should be fine in the 5 gallon. A 5 gallon kettle will fit in most sinks to do an ice bath to cool it down.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001TAENXK/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EZS5PEO/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

for a fermentor i just picked up this bucket and did a 3 gallon batch in there no problem.
https://www.morebeer.com/products/plastic-bucket-4-gal-lid-spigot.html

i'm also looking to get one of these Anvil brew buckets
https://www.anvilbrewing.com/product-p/anv-fv-4gal.htm

 

[GrayBrew]

Just want to say that this community is awesome. I’ve learned so much in the past week just from the responses in this thread, not to mention reading other topics and other linked resources. Good ****.