Fermentation Chamber Setup Homebrew Wednesday | Beer Geek Nation Beer Reviews

[danielmyers76]

What size is that conical? Is it the 14.5 gallon or is it a 6? I was hoping to find a refrigerator/freezer that could hold two 6 gallon carboys (for now) but had the room for the blichmann 14.5....

[BeerGeekNation]

@danielmyers76 Its the 14.5 gallon one. Im going to start 10 gallon batches so I wanted to get this size

[ASXL41]

Cool setup. Were you able to find out where the leak was coming from?

[BeerGeekNation]

@ASXL41 I think what happened is that when I dropped the temp the metal shrunk and it started leaking around the elbow at the bottom. I took it all apart cleaned it and retapped it so hopefully it is ok now.

[DrGonzoHST]

It is wonderful to see someone preaching temp control. Making good wort is easy controlling yeast is the magical part. It is possible that the huge swing in temp from hot to cool made the connections leak a bit.

[BeerGeekNation]

@DrGonzoHST I was thinking the same thing about the temp messing with the fittings. I dropped it from 75 to 50 in about 2 days and then down to 40 for crashing. It didnt start leaking until it was in the low temps so I was thinking the same thing. I just took all the fitting apart and put more teflon tape on. Ill have to be more gentle with the drops I guess

[superspak]

nice setup man. standing fridge is definitely the way to go there for the conical. I am currently getting my ferment chamber ready to go. I got a Ranco temp controller off amazon recently, and I just need to get a chest freezer and I will be good to go. I am going to brew an IPA this week, but since I am using WLP001 the temp factor wont be much to worry about(apt usually sits near 65 lol). When I brew a Tripel or Dubbel then I will have to be careful about the temp. Cheers!

[BeerGeekNation]

@superspak Yeah as long as ipa's dont get over 70F you should be fine, the Belgian beers are definetly the trick.

[ThoseGuysWebTV]

We here at "Those Guys!" love beer. And now... we have our beer geek expert to go to. Is it possible to love beer more? Guess we'll find out! Thanks Beer Geek Nation!

[sjporr]

Great I have fermentation envy right now.......LOL

[BeerGeekNation]

@sjporr haha thanks man. If I was to start over again home brewing this would be the first thing I would buy. It has by far made the biggest difference in my beers

[arrogantbastardale]

Well look who decided to join HBW! Welcome! Super nice controller. I got an infection once from a leaky spigot, but that was a crappy plastic bucket. Hopefully you are good there. Thanks for posting, and hope to see more!

[BeerGeekNation]

@arrogantbastardale The damn thing didnt start leaking until a few days ago. Its been in there for 3 weeks with no issues. No idea what happened.

[Gearheaded7]

my roommate and i were JUST discussing options for this very set-up, its like u read my mind! You say it fits two carboys? Also, at that temp, have you ever had problems with mold at warm temps?

[BeerGeekNation]

@Gearheaded7 Yeah a 20cuft freezer should fit 2 carboys or 2 ale pails side by side. I havent had any mold issues yet but I have been keeping an eye on it. So far so good. I fermented the tripel in the video in there are 75F for 2 days and had no issues

[blasian91]

thats is awesome.

[BeerGeekNation]

@blasian91 Thanks man. Cheers

[StumpyJoeJr]

I definitely need to get that heating pad. It's been getting cold in my garage.

[PbNAphasia]

@StumpyJoeJr In San Diego?

[StumpyJoeJr]

@PbNAphasia Yeah, even here.

[BeerGeekNation]

@StumpyJoeJr Yeah its a really cheap and easy fix. They are like 10$ at a pet store. And I know you dont work with AC but you could probably build this controller no problem!

[duckmanco04]

Great video, and I with you on temp control. IMO its waaay more important to get temp control then making the jump to AG.

[BeerGeekNation]

@duckmanco04 Agreed 100%. I really wish I would have had this setup a loooong time ago. Its amazing how much cleaner my beers come out.

[LongDogBrew]

Chris, excellent first HBW video. I've been thinking about building a fermentation chamber out of a mini fridge and getting a Johnson Controller. I'll now build my own controller from your plans, so thanks for sharing! Keep them coming...Cheers!

[BeerGeekNation]

@LongDogBrew Your very welcome man. And a mini fridge will work perfectly! I had to go a bit bigger because of the size of my fermenter. Good luck with the plans if you have any questions let me know.

[Runenaldo]

Celcius isn't a drawback.. for european peeps anyway ;)

[BeerGeekNation]

@Runenaldo hahahaha I know I was just kidding when I said that :)

[DevonHomeBrew]

Are you fermenting lager at 7.7*C coz ale doesnt ferment down that low.

[BeerGeekNation]

@DevonHomeBrew No I was cold crashing a tripel. Its been in there for 3 weeks now. I started it at 64F and ramped it up to 75 over 10 days. Held it there for 4 days and slowly have been bringing it down to the current temp. Cheers