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newbrewr4fun · 08-30-2009, 09:57 AM

I am going to try and talk my brother in law into taking the all grain route of brewing. That way I have someone to split the cost with. Right now I have a few extract batches completed and the equipment to do 3 gallon boils.

I am going to see if maybe we could set something better up in his garage, and be able to do full 5 gallon batch boils all grain. I think between the two of us we would want to keep the costs pretty cheap say around 400 dollars for equipment. Any ideas? Are keggles out of the question here?

**KYB** · 08-30-2009, 10:10 AM

For 5 gal batches and the cheapeest route, you could just get an 8+gal kettle and a 10gal cooler from home depot. $40 for the cooler, ~$30 for the kettle.

**Brooklyn-Brewtality** · 08-30-2009, 11:06 AM

If I was sharing equipment with someone with the plan of always brewing together, I would go 10 gallons minimum. That way, you can brew at his place, each fill a carboy, then ferment at u
your own places.

winstonofbeer · 08-30-2009, 03:58 PM

Personaly, as a kettle i dont think you can beat a keg with the lid cut out of it.

When i have a buddy come over, If he pays for half of the cost of grain hops etc... He gets half of the brew. Problem for them is, Even if they get 5 gal of it. They dont have the c02 tank....That is the major drawback at the moment.
But i am sure one will pop up on craigslist soon

If you have time, and not in a hurry. Watch craigslist in your area. I have scored ALOT! of good deals.. Got a cooler for free. c02 tank, fridge, sanky tap, faucet $50.00

Lot of diy projects to that can cut down your costs.
I would consider keging if possible. Bottleing is a pain in the @ss.

Just my thoughts on it.

**IrregularPulse** · 08-30-2009, 04:30 PM

What does a CO2 tank have to do with all grain brewing??? You can bottle AG just like Extract

Talloak · 08-30-2009, 04:58 PM

newbrewr4fun - I was in your shoes about 7 months ago and I was able to get set up for allgrain for about $325.

Here is what I purchased:
10 gallon igloo cooler + parts to convert to Mash/Lauter Tun (MLT) = $80
10 gallon aluminum pot with lid = $70
5 gallon igloo cooler as a Hot Liquor Tun (HLT) = $30
Propane burner/turkey fryer = $50
Propane tank (new) = $50
Materials for homemade 50' immersion chiller with Quick Disconnects = $45

So that all was about $325. I've done 10 all-grain batches using this system and it works really well. I am still getting to know my equipment and getting a hang of sparging and hitting mash temps etc., but the equipment is holding up.

I would highly recommend the MLT conversion per Flyguy's instructions found on this website. The 10 gallon pot is nice because I can boil 7 gallons of wort down to 5.5 gallons with room to spare.

Denny · 08-30-2009, 05:33 PM

Check out the Cheap'n'Easy system....

dennybrew

winstonofbeer · 08-31-2009, 06:57 AM

Yes you can bottle AG and extract.
But bottling is a complete pain in the @ss.
Kegging is 100 times easier.
That is why i said c02. Set up a draft system.

The only downside to draft is the c02 tank needed.
But if you search around a lot of the times u can find a good deal on craigslist on co2 tanks, faucets and fridges.

newbrewr4fun · 08-31-2009, 08:14 AM

I would love to be able to get a keg setup as well as an all grain setup. I live with my parents though and space is an issue at the time. All of my stuff is in the garage, and the garage is a complete mess. Not really an option to put a kegerator in. Plus I would rather jump into all grain and then possibly try out kegging in the near future when I have some time to accumulate some more funds after spending them all on an all grain setup.

Quote:

newbrewr4fun - I was in your shoes about 7 months ago and I was able to get set up for allgrain for about $325.

Here is what I purchased:
10 gallon igloo cooler + parts to convert to Mash/Lauter Tun (MLT) = $80
10 gallon aluminum pot with lid = $70
5 gallon igloo cooler as a Hot Liquor Tun (HLT) = $30
Propane burner/turkey fryer = $50
Propane tank (new) = $50
Materials for homemade 50' immersion chiller with Quick Disconnects = $45

So that all was about $325. I've done 10 all-grain batches using this system and it works really well. I am still getting to know my equipment and getting a hang of sparging and hitting mash temps etc., but the equipment is holding up.

I would highly recommend the MLT conversion per Flyguy's instructions found on this website. The 10 gallon pot is nice because I can boil 7 gallons of wort down to 5.5 gallons with room to spare

That sounds like the perfect setup for me. although I would have ot get larger coolers and kettles for 10 gallon batches. I really think the keg as a kettle idea is what I would want if I could afford it but that starts to add up in cost pretty quickly. One that is setup and ready to brew at Sabco costs 340 dollars. I am not sure what I would have to do with a sanky keg, I am not real mechanical. I heard that the sanky kegs were best used to ferment anyhow. But if I can talk my brother in law into going ag with me and we brew 10 gallon batches at his house, just have a table setup with a half assed three tier system(wood blocks or crates or somethihg. Than that would be great.

I don't think we could talk the his wife in letting us turn the garage into a brewstation as well as a kegging station. That might take some work but you never know. Whats kegging costing these days and do you need to know alot of material related to kegging?

**IrregularPulse** · 08-31-2009, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by winstonofbeer

Yes you can bottle AG and extract.
But bottling is a complete pain in the @ss.
Kegging is 100 times easier.
That is why i said c02. Set up a draft system.

The only downside to draft is the c02 tank needed.
But if you search around a lot of the times u can find a good deal on craigslist on co2 tanks, faucets and fridges.

I agree bottling sucks and I too keg, but I don't think think it should be listed in a What do I need to buy for AG brewing" thread. I know my CO2 wasn't the ost expensive part of my keezer build. It was the fridge and outfitting it with 3 Perlicks.