Cheapest 5 Gal All-Grain system

Im looking for a good cheap all grain system. I know Northern Brew has a system for around $200. I COULD make one but I don't wanna screw it up.

I built mine from various places, I should have went with a kit...200 doesnt sound too painful. BTW Can I have one of your Guinesses ?

Cheers

You can't screw it up.

The main items you need are 9 or 10 gallon rectangular or round cooler converted to a mash tun, a 9 or 10 gallon kettle to heat strike water and boil wort( I heat all of my water at the same time but some say you don't even need to heat sparge water), a 5 gallon water cooler to hold sparge water, a carboy or bucket for fermenting, a propane/natural gas/electric heater, immersion chiller. You'll need various other items like a scale, a large spoon, a thermometer, a plug and airlock for your fermenter, hoses hop sock(if preferred), an auto-siphon, a timer. You'll need cleaners and sanitizers.

But if you must get a kit, I would stick with the basic kit for $79.99, having a second carboy for a secondary is not necessary but later on you may feel you need a second one. For now I would use that $80 towards a good kettle and burner.

You may want to look into buying this kit from Morebeer It's on sale today for $284.75 and comes with a kettle and immersion chiller.

I've brewed 10 tasty batches with my kit:
30L kettle from academy $20
Propane burner $20
Grain bag $5
Bucket $15
Trash can of ice water to chill with - free

Cheapest AG is brew in a bag. Almost as cheap is ZapPap. Many millions of gallons of homebrew have been made with both over the years.

Make one with a a steelbraid. I made it for 40 bucks with a cooler brand new. The steelbraid gives me a 80% yield, and I've never had breakdown, stuck sparges, et al. There are tons of youtube videos that are all pretty similar. I'll post later with a parts list.

jeffd10 said:

BTW Can I have one of your Guinesses ?

Click to expand...

giggle....

Thanks for the input guys. I don't mind paying the money I just want to find the best deal. Brew in a bag is out of the question. Maybe I'll just do the Northern Brewer kit.

If you are talking about the two coolers with the false bottom (and you just don't want to build it yourself), it will be money well-spent. I built one just like it, and I love it. Of course, even keeping it on the cheap, you will want a 7 to 10 gallon brew pot, a propane burner (to get it off the stove), and a carboy. So the money doesn't stop there. But hey, it's nearly Christmas, right?