# Apartment Brewing



## outbreak (26/5/11)

Having just signed the papers on my first home, I am going to be going from a house on a massive block of land with a large backyard area to a 1 bedroom apartment. I just wanted to know what kind of AG setups are people using for apartment brewing! I am torn between a 40l Urn for BIAB or a 20l Braumeister (however now that I have a mortgage the urns is winning). 

It might sound weird but I was also thinking a setup with an Urn and a Round Esky as a mash tun then doing the boil in the urn... 

If anyone has pictures of their apartment setup it would be appreciated!!


Unfortunately the keg fridge has to go :angry: I'm going to have to ferment in a bar fridge and maybe if I have room have a keg fridge in a smaller bar fridge....


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## Acasta (26/5/11)

How about mashing in a minimal sized mash tun cooler and just boil ~20-30L on stove?


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## Phoney (26/5/11)

Pistolpatch (one of the founding fathers of BIAB) started off by brewing in a one-bedder apartment. 

Given that you're limited in space, single vessel would definitely be the way to go, then when you're not using it you can store a lot of your brewing gear inside your urn/pot. Also consider using plastic jerry cans instead of round fermenters as these can take up a lot less room too.


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## outbreak (26/5/11)

Both good points! 

I was thinking of BIAB smaller batch size say 17l and then ferment in the Willow Jerry cans as I already have 2 of those. Smaller batch size is no issue as I don't actually drink all that much beer ( yes I know, I know! I actually like brewing beer more than drinking it!).


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## keifer33 (26/5/11)

If the round esky and urn where of a perfect size one could fit inside the other for storage. Also is your apartment going to have a store room or are you stuck in one of these '50m2 what you see is what you get' apartments?


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## Bizier (26/5/11)

Is there a balcony or common area? I brewed exclusively in the carpark of the apartment I used to live in.


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## Pollux (27/5/11)

Bizier said:


> Is there a balcony or common area? I brewed exclusively in the carpark of the apartment I used to live in.



I loved the fact that your neighbours all seemed cool with that.....

I live in a two bedroom shoe box. But I have a garage so I can't offer much in terms of brewing in the apartment. Although I used to do BIAB in the kitchen and ferment under the table. 40L and you have all you need.


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## Ironsides (27/5/11)

I'm brweing in a two bedroom joint, in the kitchen. I made up a 12L mashtun which will take about 3.5kg of grain, then i boil in a Big dub 20L SS pot. I can comfortably make 15L batches. The small mash tun allows for doing a proper sparge. The only thing about this setup is that you end up adding cool water to bring it up to volume, rather than boil down to volume. That said though, adding cool water helps bring the temp down.

IS


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## Effect (27/5/11)

Do you have a carpark? When I lived in a 2 bedroom apartment the balcony was so narrow that I used out undercover carpark to brew under. Just parked the car on the street for the day.

I used to also live in a one bedroom apartment (was actually an apartment hotel - so quite tight). Brewed out on the balcony. Both apartments had the same brewery. 50 litre keggle, 55 litre willow mashtun, big w 20 litre hlt.

Cheers.


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## scott_penno (27/5/11)

Might also be worth looking at high gravity brewing and then diluting. In doing this you could use smaller vessels for the mash and boil and then top the fermenter up to the required volume.

sap.


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## jkmeldrum (27/5/11)

I live in a house, but my setup would easily suit a flat....I have a 38L Rubbermaid cooler with a false bottom, a 50L SS pot which I use as both HLT and boil kettle...use the wok burner & backburner of my stove at the same time, it's a little slow but it gets there....use gravity for all transfers and it works okay....lifting pots is only down side but it doesn't take up much room to store and I get pretty good quality brews. Provided I remember to turn all the valves off when transferring liquids all goes pretty well with little mess!!!!


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## argon (27/5/11)

In my opinion the most sensible option is urn and a bag. If you're not concerned with batch sizes larger than a standard 23L then it's pretty good option.

:icon_offtopic: Congrats on the purchase of the new place... i cringe at the thought of having to get into the market now. I thought i payed alot for our place 8years ago. Don't think i could afford it these days.


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## HoppingMad (27/5/11)

BYO Magazine Article (USA) on Small Space Brewing:

Overcome your closet anxieties in small space brewing

Quite a long read but you might pick up a few pointers specific to your situation. Some pointers on keeping sweet with neighbours etc.

Many small spacers I know use Stovetop brewing as a space saver (helps to have a forgiving room-mate or partner).
Other options include building a vertical stand for your equipment or brewing smaller batches more frequently. (ie. so don't invest in massive pots and eskys go the mini-route). Brew in a bag is also an effective method.

Good luck.

Hopper.


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## proudscum (27/5/11)

This is nearly the whole brewery sitting in my laundry tub is good for small spaces and easy to clean.Laundry is about 2800X3500 so a nice workable space once i get rid of all the washing stuff.can put a brew on and go off and do some study read look at AHB then stroll back to check brewery.Am thinking of getting a submersible pump to put in an ice bank for when i crash chill the wort.dont like the thing of hoses going out the window as happens at present but it does mean i use my 13500 gallons of rainwater tanks as my water source which then goes back to the tanks.


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## Wolfy (27/5/11)

40L Urn for sure, but then either a BIAB-bag or a mash-tun of your choice.
I'd make that judgment more on what and how you'd like to make your beer than space considerations, since there will be little difference for either option.


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## ekul (27/5/11)

What are you running currently? If you already have a single batch pot then you could just buy a 2200W element from craftbrewer for $40 and some voille, then you'd be ready for BIAB. If not get an aluminium 50L jobbie for $75

Or you could get massive equipement and do big batches at a mates places and take the cubes home with you to ferment. This is what i'm going to do when i move next. I'll go home every few months and knock out 10 cubes in a day. (double brew day with 140L pot (8x cubes) and single brewday with 80L pot (2x cubes). Sort your mate with beer and everyone is laughing!


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## [email protected] (27/5/11)

I'm in a 1 bedroom apartment, but luckily I have a large storage space, with power for a ferment fridge. It's a bit of a pain getting everything up from the store but I have a nice little trolly for that. I have 20 L bucket mash tun, 50L pot, 4 ring burner, and all other bits and pieces plus I store about 50kg of grain.


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## yardy (27/5/11)

If I was brewing in limited space I'd buy a Braumeister and be done with it, BIAB seems like a pita to me.

cheers


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## stux (27/5/11)

Or get yourself some 9.5L kegs and then you can pop one in your food fridge 

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=50930

Perhaps start out making 10L brews on your stove with a small pot?

Or, kick it up a notch and get a 40L URN.

I would *definately* be doing BIAB if I was in a 1 bedder appartment

10L cube + 20L pot + halfsize fermenter and a few 9.5L kegs... all the brew stuff would fit in the pot

And you could even do your ferment in a 15L FWK cube.


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## [email protected] (27/5/11)

Stux said:


> Or get yourself some 9.5L kegs and then you can pop one in your food fridge
> 
> http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=50930



Yep do that too, and got those kegs from there


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## outbreak (27/5/11)

I suppose I should have mentioned that I BIAB in a 50l pot and use a Nasa burner as my heat source. Thanks for all the replies, some really good ideas thrown around. I think I will store the 50l pot and nasa burner at the oldies place and invest in the 40l urn and continue with BIAB for now and ferment in willow jerry cans. 

In the process of finding a 9l keg as the idea of being able to have a 9l keg + picnic tap in the fridge is great. The rest of stuff will go into storage untill I make the move to a bigger place in a few years time. The parents did offer to let me brew at their place and if that is the case I will build the 3v system I have been wanting to build and nochill and ferment at my place. 

The Braumeister would be great, I was already looking at one, but with having a mortgage now its a bit of a dream at this point in time.


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## Bribie G (27/5/11)

yardy said:


> If I was brewing in limited space I'd buy a Braumeister and be done with it, BIAB seems like a pita to me.
> 
> cheers



The only pita with BIAB is hoisting the bag and I would agree with Y to the extent that if you don't have a skyhook or something as effective, it could be a bummer. However if you own the place, skyhook is easy - use a stud finder or similar and put a big one of these in the ceiling (nice chrome or brass) and hang a fern off it when not brewing, or just ignore it. 





I had one in a rental once and nobody even spotted it at inspections for 2 years :lol: Braumeister is basically a super-sophisticated BIAB unit that has a solid bag (the malt pipe) and the lifting is much more under control but seeing as you BIAB anyway you know what's involved.

Edit: and using an urn you can crank out 15L batches even more easily. Confession: I have won a few gongs with my dark mild recipe but I don't personally _like_ mild all that much, certainly not 30 bottles of it, so the tryout batch for the new season is just a 15 nochilled in an old FWK from St Peters I have hanging around - surprised how bloody easy, almost trivial, it is to do a 15 in an urn as opposed to a 25. After trub loss you'll still get 18 bottles (I assume you aren't kegging) and that would go very neatly in a Willow.


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## vykuza (27/5/11)

outbreak said:


> I suppose I should have mentioned that I BIAB in a 50l pot and use a Nasa burner as my heat source.




If you don't mind putting a hole in the pot, just get a 2200W element from Craftbrewer or JBBrewing Supplies. They're less than $50. Especially if you already have a tap and whatnot in your 50l pot. An urn is essentially just a big pot with an element and a tap in it after all.


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## [email protected] (27/5/11)

Make sure you TELL the evilbay seller that you only want them sent by AIR, unless you want to wait for 2.5months to get them


Stux said:


> Or get yourself some 9.5L kegs and then you can pop one in your food fridge
> 
> http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=50930
> 
> ...


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## Bribie G (27/5/11)

If you sell the 50L, the burner and the bottle plus reg as a going deal I'm sure it would cover the cost of a Crownie 40L


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## HeavyNova (27/5/11)

I'm in a small 2 bedroom apartment and when not brewing I have it all stored in any nook or cranny I can find.

I'm currently only doing 12L BIAB batches on my stove in a 19L pot and fermenting in a small fridge (in the second bedroom) in a 20L Willow jerry. No kegs or anything either. Others say they can't be bothered putting all that effort in to only get about 30 stubbies out of it but I really don't mind and don't have much a choice at the moment anyway.

I have thought of getting a bigger pot and a burner and doing it outside in the car park but I think an urn with BIAB would work nicely.


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## Amin (27/5/11)

I had a customer at work tell me about how he used to brew in his kitchen, years later the cornices still sweat out sugar on hot days.


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## outbreak (27/5/11)

Amin said:


> I had a customer at work tell me about how he used to brew in his kitchen, years later the cornices still sweat out sugar on hot days.



Well thats why I am kind of hesitant as being a builder I know what will happen to the ceilings if you are evaporating 10 or so litres in a boil. 

Looks like I will be brewing at the parents house, no chilling and fermenting at my place. I will be renovating anyway so will have no time for brewing


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## jpScarfac3 (27/5/11)

That's what I'm doing at the moment. Brewing is a one day job whereas fermenting + bottle is multiple--and the folks have a nice big garage so I can spread out on brew day!


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## goomboogo (28/5/11)

outbreak said:


> Well thats why I am kind of hesitant as being a builder I know what will happen to the ceilings if you are evaporating 10 or so litres in a boil.
> 
> Looks like I will be brewing at the parents house, no chilling and fermenting at my place. I will be renovating anyway so will have no time for brewing



You could put a hood on the pot and vent to a window. But once again, probably a pain in the arse. The Braumeister units have an optional copper hood. It's a matter of how far you're willing to go in the pursuit of making your own beer.


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## keifer33 (28/5/11)

Install a range hood in the kitchen at a height you can put the pot on the stove top and use your electric element and crank the range-hood up to extract the air? Its stove top brewing just not using the stove top.


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## camel78 (29/5/11)

I biab in a 40lt Crown urn from a two bedroom unit. I originally went back to kits after buying the place. But that didn't last long. 
If you have a balcony that helps alot. If not, I'd suggest doing your boil in the bathroom. Close it off and turn on the exaust fan if it has one. 
No chilling also helps.
For apartment brewing I really love my urn it's compact, hassle free and I fit all my gear in side it when not in use. 

Next on my list is to work out how to run power to my garage so i can run a keg fridge again. It's got a light but no power points and I'm guessing no earth.


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## manticle (29/5/11)

yardy said:


> If I was brewing in limited space I'd buy a Braumeister and be done with it, BIAB seems like a pita to me.
> 
> cheers



Not everyone's got a spare couple of grand Yardy.


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## yardy (29/5/11)

manticle said:


> Not everyone's got a spare couple of grand Yardy.



maybe not, seems you have an opinion on everything though, the OP was tossing up between a 40Lt Urn/BIAB or a Braumeister, like I said, I would lean towards the Braumeister if that's OK with you.


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## manticle (29/5/11)

Point taken.

I read the OP several days ago and forgot that bit.

Yes I am an opinionated prick by the way. Nothing wrong with that (except when I forget to read properly).


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## Rurik (29/5/11)

Having lived in a two bedroom unit with 5 people and brewed, planning on doing so again. I would buy a brewmeister. Ease and compactedness are a winner. Pack your brewing equipment in it and no chill. I have a keg king fridge in my lounge/dinning room used to serve and ferment in.

Hope that helps,
Rurik.


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## booargy (29/5/11)

Install modified air-con and have your apartment at lager temp. did this once where I didn't pay for power. 14c in summer (had to take jacket off to go outside) although it wouldn't get to -2


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## outbreak (31/5/11)

booargy said:


> Install modified air-con and have your apartment at lager temp. did this once where I didn't pay for power. 14c in summer (had to take jacket off to go outside) although it wouldn't get to -2



With the cost of power being what it is in WA I don't think that's an option. 

Thanks for all the replies, all a great help. I have decided....
Firstly if I have a small win in lotto or find out an old aunt has died and left me money, I will get a braumeister. Failing that I am going to get a 40l urn, and keg into the 9l kegs I have ordered and bottle the rest. So I will have a small bar fridge for fermenting in willow jerry cans and 1 9l keg in the fridge. 

Atlases this gives me a lot of time to plan and acquire parts on the cheap for a herms system that I want to build.


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