[quote=“DrBrews”]How much fermentation can you get into a fridge? I’m between that, and building something like the “son of a fermentation chiller” build I found online.
Cost is a relative issue, in the more spent on equipment, the less I can spend on my next actual brews!
There’s plenty of local used refrigerator’s for 75-100ish.[/quote]
Unless you can get a great deal on copper, it’s cheaper to buy a chiller pre-built. Last summer I priced out building my own and due to the crazy high price of cooper, it was about the same price to just order one premade. Check amazon for deals.
Well, for Ales, you only need to pay real close attention to the first 3-5 days of fermentation as far as temp control. So if you brewed a batch every weekend (which is a lot of beer!), you would only need to put a bucket at a time into the fermentation fridge. After the most intense part of fermentation is over, you can do the next week or two at room temps while the next one is in the fridge. If you do really big beers or lagers, you are looking at 2 weeks or so in the controlled chamber.
Well, for Ales, you only need to pay real close attention to the first 3-5 days of fermentation as far as temp control. So if you brewed a batch every weekend (which is a lot of beer!), you would only need to put a bucket at a time into the fermentation fridge. After the most intense part of fermentation is over, you can do the next week or two at room temps while the next one is in the fridge. If you do really big beers or lagers, you are looking at 2 weeks or so in the controlled chamber.[/quote]
For lagers you’re looking at several months in a controlled chamber.
[quote=“DrBrews”]How much fermentation can you get into a fridge? I’m between that, and building something like the “son of a fermentation chiller” build I found online.
Cost is a relative issue, in the more spent on equipment, the less I can spend on my next actual brews!
There’s plenty of local used refrigerator’s for 75-100ish.[/quote]
i would recommend going with a chest freezer or fridge. Here is one in mt p for $100.
There is typically some decent savings when going to AG as well. In some cases, I’ve had a 5-gallon AG batch cost under $20 when buying grain @ a LHBS. Extract batches are usually well north of $30.
Also, learn to harvest and propogate yeast. You can usually save around $5-8 a shot on growing up your own yeast pitch.
My meaning being, a leftover glass gallon jug to grow starters, a decent sized kettle, and paint bags, as Shade says above, will pay for themselves quickly
You gotta ask yourself…do you wanna save time or money? Low on time got the keg route, wanna save money on each batch you make go the AG route…just my $.02.
