Returning to brewing - South Florida.

BrewTaku · Jun 21, 2013

Hi all,

I first got into brewing in 1996, I did mostly partial mash for a few years. I just made the change to all grain when a change in my job situation (aka unemployment :cross

forced me to move and I was unable to brew at my new home.

Somehow about 12 years flew by... I recently found home brew videos on YouTube and the desire to brew again is back and it's strong.

I decided to start looking for a new home and I'm now a few weeks away from closing on my new house. I'm not buying a new home just to brew but it was a big factor in getting me to start looking. haha

I plan on going straight into all grain and have been starting to plan my new brew setup. I look forward to learning more and getting to know others who brew.

:mug:

allenH · Jun 21, 2013

Welcome back! I will suggest you get a chest freezer or old fridge with a temp controller (STC1000 is a great, cheap one you can build yourself, instructions are on this site). There is not a single time of year we floridians can brew without temp control. I will take the heat and rain over snow any day though!

BrewTaku · Jun 21, 2013

allenH said:
There is not a single time of year we floridians can brew without temp control. I will take the heat and rain over snow any day though!

Oh yea, I remember my temp problems when I was brewing years ago. I would lower the A/C in my apartment and keep the carboy in a swamp cooler (bucket of ice water). I also would use the web t-shirt and fan trick but I was never really happy with it.

I plan on buying a Danby 4.4 cu.ft. fridge and a temp controller to ferment in. I was going to do the chest freezer but space issues made me think of this. I actually want to get 2 of these fridges and use a 2nd for a dual tap handle kegerator. :rockin:

allenH · Jun 21, 2013

BrewTaku said:
Oh yea, I remember my temp problems when I was brewing years ago. I would lower the A/C in my apartment and keep the carboy in a swamp cooler (bucket of ice water). I also would use the web t-shirt and fan trick but I was never really happy with it.

I plan on buying a Danby 4.4 cu.ft. fridge and a temp controller to ferment in. I was going to do the chest freezer but space issues made me think of this. I actually want to get 2 of these fridges and use a 2nd for a dual tap handle kegerator. :rockin:

Sounds like a plan! Best of luck on your "new" brewing adventures!

Cyclman · Jun 21, 2013

Welcome back to brewing, welcome to the forum, from CO.

jbaysurfer · Jun 21, 2013

If you live anywhere near a university, start combing craigslist for mini fridges now. When students move out, the closer it gets to moving day, the closer their asking prices get to zero!