Ready to get into brewing. 2 Concerns.

[Rusty77]

Hi, I've been reading all about home brewing and I think I'm finally ready to take the plunge. I have only 2 concerns for now.

1) I live in an apartment with a roommate and I want to know if while fermenting, does the beer give off any extreme or offensive odors that my roommate might not like living with.

2)Also while living in this apartment i will not have sole control of my room temperature, how much leeway do i have with maintaining the temperature of my fermenting beer, and are there ways of keeping the beer at a temperature different than air temp? (ie. ice baths or something along those lines)

Finally this is the beer kit I'm planning on purchasing, any opinions?http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=6874

Thanks,
Rusty

 

[BGT Hophead]

Rusy...it's not the fermenting that produces the funkyness...but it's the boiling of the wort (the liquid substance that becomes beer after the yeast is pitched)

I would reccomend you try to boil the wort OUTSIDE....the odors produced during the brewing process can stick around for quite sometime...and your chances for getting laid will go down by a significant percent...as if having a roomate wasn't bad enough

When I was in my appartment...I kept the glass carboy (fermenter) in the bathroom closet

Just try to keep it in a cool dry place, and your results should be fine

Congrats by the way!

Homebrewing is quite possibly the greatest gift you could give yourself!

 

[Fingers]

Most beers don't give off offensive odors. There are some exceptions, but you'll likely not run into that until you're well under way in your new hobby.

Controlling fermentation temperatures is fairly important. As you say, you could use baths or you could buy a chest freezer and convert it to maintain whatever temperature you require.

That starter kit looks like it has everything you need to get going. I can't comment on the price because it's been a very long time since I bought any starter materials, but it will get you started nicely.

Welcome to the hobby. Did you warn your wife? If not, you'd better. It gets pretty obsessive pretty quickly. Oh, and read this:http://www.howtobrew.com It will do you a world of good.

 

[tranceamerica]

You will want to air the place out (if you are brewing indoors) during the brew process. If you have a real vent fan over the stove (that vents outside, not just recirculates the air inside the apartment) then you run it during the brewing process. Crack a window open & it'll vent everything outside fairly quickly. I do this in my house, because I don't like the brewing smell hanging around for hours (even though my wife doesn't mind).

If you don't have the vent fan, exhaust with a fan set in a nearby window. Same deal.

then, while it's fermenting you might want to put it in your bedroom, and air it out every day. Usually there aren't many odors, but sometimes you'll get a bit.

MMMM..regarding ferment temps - look into the safale/safebrew yeasts - they tolerate up to 75*F, which is one reason I use them, good for room temp ferments.

the kit is fine. I personally don't see the need for 2 buckets, but it'd work fine for you.

 

[Philip1993]

If you have a real vent fan over the stove (that vents outside, not just recirculates the air inside the apartment)

I used to rehab apartments when I was in college, and I can testify that *many* exterior venting hoods just vent into the wall cavity behind the stove.

For the OP; My SWMBO does not like the smell of hops or malt and is vocal about it. As long as I brew (mash, boil, whirlpool, siphon) outside she's ok with it. I can boil a partial inside and she complains, but it's not too bad. But when I set up the keggle in the living room she really complained. {just kidding}. That aside, I do top off, pitch, clean up, and ferment inside (often 2 carbuoys) and it doesn't bother her.

On rare occasion a fermenter will stink (i.e. apfelwein), but you have to be right on top of it to notice.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

I agree with the crowd. A ferment may stink a little if you get right over it and take a huge whiff, but it's not going to small up your entire apartment or even 1 room for that matter.

You could always use frozen water bottles in a tub of water, or blankets and a heating pad to raise/lower temps.

 

[tranceamerica]

On rare occasion a fermenter will stink (i.e. apfelwein), but you have to be right on top of it to notice.

yeah, apfelwein smells a bit funky, but airing out once a day during the first week solves that problem. the smell is a bit like apple juice though, so it's not too offensive.

 

[GloHoppa]

Rusty, I got the kit you showed, and it is AWESOME! I recommend you get an ingredients kit with it as well so you can be ready to brew asap! My only addition i would make to that kit would be another 3 pc airlock, a wine thief, and a cylinder to put the hydrometer in. The additional 3pc airlock would be so when you rack to secondary, you can immediately start working on a new batch (apfelwein?). The wine thief would be so that you can pull samples from the carboy easier during fermentation (you could use it for the ale pail too but a sanitized turkey baster works just as well), and the cylinder is simply that the kit doesnt come with one, and using that dinky plastic cylinder it comes in is nothing short of nerve-wracking.

I brewed my first real batch (Brass Ale extract from MW) in my townhouse with 3 roommates, they didnt even notice I did it and I had a boil-over!

Good luck, have fun, youre gonna love it man!

Oh and RDWHAHB are words to live by

 

[Eves]

I haven't noticed much of a problem with odors while handling the wort. This last batch I started (IPA) had such an awsome aroma that I wish I could have bottled it. Even my wife was happy our family room (just outside of the room with the fermenter) was filled with the IPA's aroma. Sadly it didn't last longer than a couple days

 

[quixotic]

You don't like the smell of boiling wort? I love the smell of wort in the morning, it smells like... victory.

 

[Philip1993]

You don't like the smell of boiling wort? I love the smell of wort in the morning, it smells like... victory.

I do. My wife doesn't like the smell of malt...

 

[Rusty77]

Thanks for all the great replies guys. I'm ordering asap!

All the best
Rusty

 

[Ben25]

I just ordered one similar to that. Should be here late this week. I can't wait to brew my first batch!!