Keezer/Fermentation Chamber Combo??

[NarrowsBrewCo]

Hey fellow brewers,

So I recently got a chest freezer as a birthday gift and due to the South Texas heat I have to use it as a fermentation chamber to make my homebrew about 80% of the year.

The more I bottle beer, the more I want to start kegging, however I really don't want to have to buy another fridge or freezer to ferment in, and then use the freezer as my kegerator.

Is it possible the freezer can serve as dual purpose? I've figured I could brew 2 batches as I usually do. Bottle one batch, keg the other, and then when the keg beer runs out I'd at least have a backup bottle supply of brews to drink while I had to use the chamber to ferment more...however it still seems a bit tedious.

Has anyone done this before?

 

[hopbrad]

thatll work. bottles styles that will age well and keg with beers like IPA, Pale ales, wheats, etc.

the other 20% of the year you can use it solely as a kegerator when you dont need the temp control.
could also get a cool-brewing cooler bag. or swamp cooler. they both work well or brew up a saison if your kegerator is full.
tons of options.

 

[Sammy86]

I use my chest freezer for both as well...a lot of the time when I already have one keg filled and the other empty I'll use the freezer to cool the wort down to pitching temp, pitch my yeast and use a cool brew bag to finish the fermentation.

 

[Bobb25]

I do both with my freezer. The only caveat being that I try to think ahead about the fermentation temps for the yeast in my next batch. A 40 to 50 degree lager isn't a problem fermenting at beer serving temperature. However ale yeast temps of 65 to 70 degrees is a tad warm for most peoples drinking preference.

 

[HausBrauerei_Harvey]

Check out the monster I built (link in my signature below). I built two ferm chambers ontop of my keezer, works great where a small footprint is needed.

 

[cannman]

I started this way. I had to upgrade FAST to a second freezer for the following reasons:

- Fermentation temps are different that your serving temps (or at least they should be, depending on what style you're serving
- Because of this, you have to finish all the kegs before you can get a carboy into the chamber.
- This causes lag time between brews. Your tapped out, in goes carboy, ferm time, crash time, secondary time, etc. Then add the time to carb. Could be 2+ weeks, so your bottle idea works.
- Brewing 10 gallons at a time will help minimize this. Either 10 of one batch or have two batches brewed on the same day to end fermentation at about the same time.
- Fermentation in freezers has a mold issue. Make sure you include a bucket of DampRid so clean up that extra moisture. A refrigerator is much better at humidity control and doesn't require the Damprid product. It's just way of life, I love my freezers! Wipe down regularly helps too.
- The solution is a second freezer or refrigerator, that way you always have a steady supply!
- or, Brew in a pattern of Keg/Bottle/Keg/Bottle etc.

Over all, I would enjoy the temp control the freezers provide. But yes, you can do it!

 

[NarrowsBrewCo]

Awesome thanks for the all advice!