Help with BIAB setup in apartment

[mongoose33]

Thanks. Any thoughts on the BrewDemon since I'll be doing 2.5 gallon batches?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N3DZFJW/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I105XCDZD1O3T0&colid=OKL0U53BOA1R

Looks interesting.

My biggest concern would be controlling fermentation temp with something like this. I think you could set it in a pan and use the swamp-cooler method of reducing overheating.

If you haven't budgeted yet for a fermentation chamber, given you're looking at this pretty seriously, I'd put that on your list.

Given the size of this unit, it looks like it should easily fit in a 4.4-cu.ft. dorm-style refrigerator. If you're patient--and if you're waiting until getting these things as Christmas presents, you can be--you might find one on Craigslist or similar for in the $60-70 range. Add an Inkbird temp controller ($35 unless you use the current code which drops it to $30), a reptile heat mat ($16 or so), and you'd have ferm temp control that would also accommodate a larger 5-gallon fermenter.

This is what I'm referring to:

View attachment 420010

BTW, here's the kind of thing I'm talking about on Craigslist:

https://quadcities.craigslist.org/app/d/mini-fridge/6341842175.html

 

[McKnuckle]

I tried the BrewDemon for a bit. It's a cool little thing but ultimately, a leak developed on the seam where the spigot is installed. That rendered it instantly unacceptable because I refuse to deal with flaws like that. Supposedly they have improved this and newer versions may be different. But I've moved on.

A 5 gallon Better Bottle works well for a 2.5 gal batch fermenter. So does a 5 gallon corny keg. A 3 gallon carboy is a bit tight, but can easily be used with a blow-off tube just in case. Here's a cool one with a spigot:

http://eckraus.com/plastic-3-gallon-carboy-with-barbed-faucet/

Actually, I just bought a couple of 4 gallon stainless steel pails that I'm going to try. I found some cool lids for them on Amazon. But that's a bit more DIY, maybe something for you down the road.

 

[GrayBrew]

Looks interesting.

My biggest concern would be controlling fermentation temp with something like this. I think you could set it in a pan and use the swamp-cooler method of reducing overheating.

If you haven't budgeted yet for a fermentation chamber, given you're looking at this pretty seriously, I'd put that on your list.

Given the size of this unit, it looks like it should easily fit in a 4.4-cu.ft. dorm-style refrigerator. If you're patient--and if you're waiting until getting these things as Christmas presents, you can be--you might find one on Craigslist or similar for in the $60-70 range. Add an Inkbird temp controller ($35 unless you use the current code which drops it to $30), a reptile heat mat ($16 or so), and you'd have ferm temp control that would also accommodate a larger 5-gallon fermenter.

I think this is the new plan. I'm going to scrap the Megapot and get a cheaper kettle, then put that money towards a Craigslist minifridge and a temp controller. I already have a reptile heating pad from my now deceased bearded dragon (R.I.P. Foster). I did a quick search on Craigslist and found several around $50-$80 within an hour drive of me.

This is what I'm referring to:
View attachment 419998

This attachment isn't working FYI.

 

[GrayBrew]

I tried the BrewDemon for a bit. It's a cool little thing but ultimately, a leak developed on the seam where the spigot is installed. That rendered it instantly unacceptable because I refuse to deal with flaws like that. Supposedly they have improved this and newer versions may be different. But I've moved on.

A 5 gallon Better Bottle works well for a 2.5 gal batch fermenter. So does a 5 gallon corny keg. A 3 gallon carboy is a bit tight, but can easily be used with a blow-off tube just in case. Here's a cool one with a spigot:

http://eckraus.com/plastic-3-gallon-carboy-with-barbed-faucet/

Actually, I just bought a couple of 4 gallon stainless steel pails that I'm going to try. I found some cool lids for them on Amazon. But that's a bit more DIY, maybe something for you down the road.

So many options. Think I might just start with a 6.5 gallon ale pail unless there is a specific reason not to.

Edit: just realized that an ale pail may not fit in a mini fridge. Yea one of those PET carboys could definitely work.

 

[McKnuckle]

So many options is true! It's a good reason to start with basics, and spend more money when you really understand your preferences a bit better.

And trust me and many others here - lots of new brewers focus too much attention on the hot side of brewing equipment (kettles, mash tuns, stainless gadgets, and flames) and leave fermentation as an afterthought. That's actually a$$-backwards most of the time. Mashing and boiling are more forgiving processes. But once your wort cools below 140F, you had better know how to handle it, and the yeast, and the ensuing baby beer, properly.

 

[mongoose33]

I think this is the new plan. I'm going to scrap the Megapot and get a cheaper kettle, then put that money towards a Craigslist minifridge and a temp controller. I already have a reptile heating pad from my now deceased bearded dragon (R.I.P. Foster). I did a quick search on Craigslist and found several around $50-$80 within an hour drive of me.



This attachment isn't working FYI.

I fixed it above. Not sure why it didn't work, and now it won't display it inline. But if you click it it'll display.

 

[GrayBrew]

I fixed it above. Not sure why it didn't work, and now it won't display it inline. But if you click it it'll display.

Whoa what are all the tubes going into jars doing? Blowoff? That’s not needed for beginner stuff right?

 

[z-bob]

I'm doing 4 gallon batches with an 8 gallon kettle, and it gets pretty full sometimes. I can do a 5 gallon batch if I sparge in a plastic bucket. What are you planning to use for a heat source? I have a gas stove with a large high-output burner on one side (and a tiny "simmer" burner, and 2 normal ones) and the high-output burner just barely can boil a 5 gallon kettle and it doesn't quite handle the 8 gallon, even if it's only half full. So I had to add an electric heat stick.

3 gallon batches, 5 gallon kettle, white plastic bucket for primary, and a 3 gallon carboy secondary sounds like a splendid place to start. Nothing will go to waste if/when you move up. If you start too large, you won't be able to boil it.

You can buy 4 gallons of bottled water in a thin plastic disposable carboy for about $5 or $6 (around here, anyway, and I've seen them at Sam's Club in Houston) It's about the same size as a 3 gallon glass carboy, is a lot lighter, and unbreakable. I use them for fermenters all the time.

 

[mongoose33]

Whoa what are all the tubes going into jars doing? Blowoff? That’s not needed for beginner stuff right?

No, it's not. Just having a small fridge and temp control will provide you a great leap forward in the quality of your beer.

****************

I dump CO2 into those jars; what I discovered is that if I keep them in the fridge, they'll freeze when I cold-crash the beer.

There isn't enough room for an airlock in the small fridge, so I move the CO2 out of the fridge using 5/16" silicone tubing. I drilled a small hole in the front of the fridge to allow that tubing to pass out of the fridge, then put it into the blowoff jars. I use two of them so when I cold crash and the headspace in the fermenter contracts, it'll pull back the CO2 into the fermenter.

Here's a couple of pics showing it; the second grommeted hole is to pass the Inkbird temp controller probe, and the power line for the heat mat into the fridge w/o having to close the door on those lines.

You can see the 5/16" silicone line coming up from below; it goes into the first jar, up and out through the connecting tube to the second jar, and then to the bottom of the Star-San solution in the second jar where it bubbles up. When I cold crash, the contracting headspace pulls the CO2 in the first jar back into the fermenter, and the liquid in the second jar is pulled into the first to replace it.

The stuff on the right going into the camoflage refrig isn't related to what I'm doing in the minifridge.

 

[GrayBrew]

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

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

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

 

[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 ****.