david_42

Recipes 

Skip 5L mini-kegs and go straight to cornies.

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wildwest450

Recipes 

I can't hear you, my ears are plugged.

GilaMinumBeer

Recipes 

I know, it's infuriating isn't it. Want to hear the real kicker?

I have all this sh!t for brewing, 400 pounds of grain in stock, 28 kegs in my collection, and I brew maybe 1 or twice every 3 months. I have had full kegs for over a year before I tap them.

In addition to being an accomplished slow drinker, i have precious little time for brewing.

Catch-22

Recipes 

Agreed, I just went through my stuff and was able to put together two basic homebrewing startup kits. Probably will just end up giving them away.

If it were me, I would have gone AG, bought a bigger Kettle and MLT and researched more before starting my first batch.

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Dwight Schrute: In an ideal world I would have all ten fingers on my left hand so my right hand could just be a fist for punching.

wildwest450

Recipes 

If you lived closer, you would have a foot in your ass. And a lot more beer, because I have TONS of time to brew. Me wanna brew on a BM.

GilaMinumBeer

Recipes 

TRUST ME it has it's own set of frustrations. A very expensive set of frustrations. I love it and I'd get it again but, sometime I miss the simplicity of cooler tun infusions or extract brewing.

Heck, I don't even use the automated repeat functions. Just not practical for a brewer that like to make up new recipes.

Plus, you'd have to remove my wifes foot to get yours in.

wildwest450

Recipes 

She said there was plenty of room for both. Zing.

GilaMinumBeer

Recipes 

In hers, or mine?

Doh!

jevehn

Recipes 

I'm only 6 months in, but with seveal batches under my belt, and having made the switch to all grain, I think I can register a few points.

1) Build an immersion cooler ASAP (They're easy to make). This should be considered basic equipment. Cooling a boil in a sink is a royal PITA and it takes forever. I've got a little 25' ribcage cooler, and I can go from 212*F to 70*F in 8-10min.
2) Bottling sucks. I don't have enough space for a kegerator yet, so I'm stuck. If this is the way you have to go, keep a supply of clean bottles on hand. Bottling only take an hour or two if you're prepared. It takes way longer if you have to clean 50 bottles at the last minute.
3) Do lots of reading. This place is a gold mine. The more you know, the fewer mistakes you make, and the more time you save.
4) Get organized and prepare before brewing. Hunting for stuff you need RIGHT NOW isn't fun.
5) MILK CRATES for carboys. Don't move these things around without them. They're heavy, awkward, slippery, and dangerous when full.
6) Oxiclean and starsan is all you need to keep your brewery clean and sanitary.
7) Don't waste time with open fermentation vessels, If your bucket won't seal, just use a carboy with a blow off tube.

BrewBarron

Recipes 

On a somewhat related note:

I have only brewed about a half dozen extract batches and am making the jump to all grain. I have two 10 gallon rubbermaid coolers in my garage ready to be converted to a hlt and mlt and I already have a turkey fryer set up for my kettle.

So, with that said, would all you experienced brewers go ahead and build this basic system now, or, would you put a little more time/money into it up front and buy bigger pots/kegs for more capacity later? (I still have the receipt for the coolers).

I was hoping to end up with a single tier set up with at least an electric HLT, if not all electric. I hope to brew 5 gallon batches now, but I am not afraid of 10 gallons batches later down the road.