$25 Gift Card to Lowe's, What Should I Get?

I'm in a transition phase. Within the next few months I'm doing a few things:

1) Keezer Build & Kegging
2) Move from 2.5g Mr. Beer to 5g
3) More in-depth recipes rather than all Mr. Beer extract kits

I would like this gift card to go towards something I could use down the line. Basically as a way of committing to my goals. To those of you who have been here before, what would you suggest? Wood for the keezer collar? Router bits to assist in the Chest Freezer convert? Igloo cooler & piping for Mash Tun conversion? Mini Propane Blow Torch kit? Heck, I'll even consider trades for your old equipment (as a last option probably). I would like to put as little as my own money into this as possible, but willing to wait to buy something more expensive like a brand new chest freezer (as opposed to craigslist). Any ideas?

hmmm.....depends on how you'll do you 5 gal batches. maybe towards a fryer pot/burner for full boils?

I think making the move to all grain should come ahead of kegging equipment on your list (unless the chore of bottling keeps you from making more beer). Do you have a wort chiller yet? If not, then I would suggest buying a coil of soft copper tubing with that gift card.

Moose

I think making the move to all grain should come ahead of kegging equipment on your list

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It's a list, but it isn't in any particular order. Copper for a wort chiller seems like a good idea. Googling "wort chiller build" showed a small tutorial wear parts cost less than $20, minus the cost of a tube bender. This is definitely an option. Great recommendation.

MenkeMoose said:

I think making the move to all grain should come ahead of kegging equipment on your list (unless the chore of bottling keeps you from making more beer). Do you have a wort chiller yet? If not, then I would suggest buying a coil of soft copper tubing with that gift card.

Moose

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I agree with Moose. Go AG before kegging.

I would use some of the gift card towards the MLT conversion or towards a wort chiller.

When I did mine, Home Depot didn't carry stainless steel braids, so I got them at Lowe's. I got almost all of my parts at Lowe's except for the cooler itself (Home Depot), stainless fender washers (local hardware store) and stainless hose clamps (local hardware store).

I forget how much all the hardware was...maybe $15?. The 10gal rubbermaid cooler was $40 at home depot though. I bought a wort chiller, so I can't comment on making one from copper tube.

Turkey fryer or copper coil for a wort chiller. You don't need to "go allgrain" to use either of those two items. Even extract brewers can benefit from full volumes boils. And even for 2.5 gallon sized stovetop boils quick chilling is crucial on so many levels.

In fact with that in mind, I would use the lowe's gift card toward the copper and the other little pieces for a wort chiller of at least 25 ft.

Since you haven't made full 5 gallon batches, I would learn to make good EXTRACT with grain beers BEFORE I concerned myself about all grain, or even kegging for that matter. All grain isn't the holy grail of brewing, it won't gaurentee you make good beer, working on your process, and having the right tools to do the job is the way to making great beer.

And great tools are needed REGARDLESS of what kind of beer you are making....

Rapid chilling is one of the most important first steps to great brewing...as are, to a lesser extent full volume boils. But you will use your chiller all the time. (I have a turkey fryer setup, but in the winter I still do batches on the stove where I top off, or I do small batch stovetop beers, and my chiller is used for those as well.)

If you get a turkey fryer, a chiller is almost a necessity. Because you are not topping off with cold water. So it might make sense to get a chiller now (You'll want/need one anyway) and maybe look on CL for a turkey fryer.

You could buy the spigot and steel mesh hose to make a mini mash tun out of a small cooler. If you feel like doing any kind of a partial mash, that is. Then use the same parts to build a big mash tun later down the road.

As other suggested, a 25 foot copper coil would be a good use for it (that is what I did with a similar gift card). You shouldn't need a pipe bender to make the chiller though, I just used a coffee can and took my time so I didn't kink it.

gregger said:

Googling "wort chiller build" showed a small tutorial wear parts cost less than $20, minus the cost of a tube bender.

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No need for a tube bender with soft copper tubing. Just wrap it around something that is round and the same circumference that you want your chiller to be.

Insulation and 2x4s to build yourself a fermentation chamber. Or if you don't want to build one then get a rubbermaid container for a swamp cooler. Do a search on either for DIY builds. Good fermentation practices will get you the best "bang for your buck" beer in return.

I will add that some people have been able to wire a housing thermostat up to use as a temp controller. Might be something to look into as well.

I bought a wort chiller for my first batch. I'm glad I did and I'll always have it now.

+1 on the chiller...and kegging with extract with fine. Some of us don't have extra hours to spend doing AG and I cant stand bottling anymore...

Think I'll go with building a wort chiller, and create a thread about it. Seems like an easy first build, cheap, and it's something I'll use sooner rather than later. Thanks for the suggestions everybody.

Apparently I promised the wife I'd make a custom shelf above our T.V. cove a year-and-a-half ago. Now I know where my gift card will be going. Darn.