Saison
05-30-2008, 09:55 PM
So, a while back, Matt asked for instructions on how to set up a home brewery in a small apartment. Here's what I came up with.
Best bet for homebrewing is to decide whether or not you can accept that part of your kitchen will be taken over by this project. If you share kitchen space with a roommate, this is definitely a group decision. If your roomie is cool, then you should consider at least a pantry's worth of space or equivalent for your basic equipment and ONE batch of beer at a time. Having a small brewing space also limits your ultimate capacity. Further you have to make accommodation for storage of the beer you make in the fridge, as bottling is probably the easiest way to accomplish the goal. Kegging does technically take up less space, but the start up costs for such are heavier than the basic investment.
At our home brew supply store, we sell two types of beginner's equipment kits. One retails for $75, which contains a PET plastic fermenting bucket with lid, a bottling bucket/secondary fermenter, 6 feet of 3/8" beverage tubing, a racking cane, a bottle brush, a hydrometer, a floating thermometer, a bottle capper and a how to manual. There's a deluxe kit which has a glass fermenter as a secondary fermenter and an auto siphon. That one retails for $99. As far as beginners go, it's perfectly acceptable to use plastic buckets as they are easier to store and clean. However, I personally feel that upgrading to a better fermenter, such as the Better Bottle, which is like the glass carboy only made of lightweight, foodgrade, plastic, I find a much better fermenting vessel which is the easiest to lift. (Plus you can watch the fermentation in action through the glass, which is just freaking cool!!) Anyway, regarding a fermenter, do what you feel is best for you and choose the one you'll feel most comfortable working with.
In terms of upgrades to your basic equipment system is the auto-siphon. This is one of those no brainer upgrades. For a few extra dollars, you have a device that will transport a sterile solution and you won't have to put your filthy mouth on it. I can't express enough how important cleanliness is to the homebrewing process. Even the smallest contamination can over take the process and turn a perfectly good beer into a pile of hot steamy vinegar.
So, the other main pieces of equipment that don't come with a standard Brewers Best kit are the kettle and the immersion chiller. As we all know, beer must be boiled in order for the fermentable sugars to become sterilized and for the yummy alpha acids from the hops to be added to the wort. There's two ways to accomplish this. Based on space, you'll want to do what's called a partial boil. Most homebrewers make 5 gallon batches, (which is how most recipes are written, and how most kits are sold) but because of space restrictions, you can boil a smaller portion of malt and water and top off the solution later. Best bet is to find the largest stainless steel kettle you can find. You'll need to be able to fit at least 3 gallons boiling inside, plus several inches more. While you can find a kettle usually through a local home brew supplier, you can also score one more cheaply at yard sales, restaurant suppliers or good will stores. Make sure it's stainless steel and doesn't have any deep scratches. A lid is also helpful. We sell polarware kettles that will do partial boils for $32. I've sold a bunch and people are happy with them.
Immersion chillers are one of those expensive luxuries that if you can splurge on, I consider it a huge time saver. And they're usually small enough to store inside your kettle. Anyway, that's basically the equipment you'll need to get started. As long as you can work on an electric stove and can commit the storage space, you should be good to go. Let me know if you need a how to on brewing.
One of the best resources on the web for homebrewing is Northern Brewer catalog Here's (http://www.northernbrewer.com/starterkits.html) a link to their beginner kits.
Happy Fermenting!
Best bet for homebrewing is to decide whether or not you can accept that part of your kitchen will be taken over by this project. If you share kitchen space with a roommate, this is definitely a group decision. If your roomie is cool, then you should consider at least a pantry's worth of space or equivalent for your basic equipment and ONE batch of beer at a time. Having a small brewing space also limits your ultimate capacity. Further you have to make accommodation for storage of the beer you make in the fridge, as bottling is probably the easiest way to accomplish the goal. Kegging does technically take up less space, but the start up costs for such are heavier than the basic investment.
At our home brew supply store, we sell two types of beginner's equipment kits. One retails for $75, which contains a PET plastic fermenting bucket with lid, a bottling bucket/secondary fermenter, 6 feet of 3/8" beverage tubing, a racking cane, a bottle brush, a hydrometer, a floating thermometer, a bottle capper and a how to manual. There's a deluxe kit which has a glass fermenter as a secondary fermenter and an auto siphon. That one retails for $99. As far as beginners go, it's perfectly acceptable to use plastic buckets as they are easier to store and clean. However, I personally feel that upgrading to a better fermenter, such as the Better Bottle, which is like the glass carboy only made of lightweight, foodgrade, plastic, I find a much better fermenting vessel which is the easiest to lift. (Plus you can watch the fermentation in action through the glass, which is just freaking cool!!) Anyway, regarding a fermenter, do what you feel is best for you and choose the one you'll feel most comfortable working with.
In terms of upgrades to your basic equipment system is the auto-siphon. This is one of those no brainer upgrades. For a few extra dollars, you have a device that will transport a sterile solution and you won't have to put your filthy mouth on it. I can't express enough how important cleanliness is to the homebrewing process. Even the smallest contamination can over take the process and turn a perfectly good beer into a pile of hot steamy vinegar.
So, the other main pieces of equipment that don't come with a standard Brewers Best kit are the kettle and the immersion chiller. As we all know, beer must be boiled in order for the fermentable sugars to become sterilized and for the yummy alpha acids from the hops to be added to the wort. There's two ways to accomplish this. Based on space, you'll want to do what's called a partial boil. Most homebrewers make 5 gallon batches, (which is how most recipes are written, and how most kits are sold) but because of space restrictions, you can boil a smaller portion of malt and water and top off the solution later. Best bet is to find the largest stainless steel kettle you can find. You'll need to be able to fit at least 3 gallons boiling inside, plus several inches more. While you can find a kettle usually through a local home brew supplier, you can also score one more cheaply at yard sales, restaurant suppliers or good will stores. Make sure it's stainless steel and doesn't have any deep scratches. A lid is also helpful. We sell polarware kettles that will do partial boils for $32. I've sold a bunch and people are happy with them.
Immersion chillers are one of those expensive luxuries that if you can splurge on, I consider it a huge time saver. And they're usually small enough to store inside your kettle. Anyway, that's basically the equipment you'll need to get started. As long as you can work on an electric stove and can commit the storage space, you should be good to go. Let me know if you need a how to on brewing.
One of the best resources on the web for homebrewing is Northern Brewer catalog Here's (http://www.northernbrewer.com/starterkits.html) a link to their beginner kits.
Happy Fermenting!