HomeBrewLou
Member
Hey guys, I have been home brewing for 2 years now and have been a site lurker for a while. I have done extract, mini-mashes, and even mashes in very basic home brew and kitchen equipment. I usually do partial boils when doing 5 gallon batches. I want to upgrade my brewing equipment to add versatility and complexity to my brews. I want to make sure that I spend my money wisely and have a few things I needed some help on. A few things to keep in mind, I live in Manhattan so space is somewhat of an issue. I tend to do 5 gallon batches in plastic because glass breaks and I am doing this indoors. I have a separate 32 inch refrigerator that wifey said I can turn into a kegerator or leave as a lagering fridge(leaning in this direction). I have a kick ass GE stove with a 17K power boiler (currently being installed).
I want to get the basic 5 gallon cooler set from northern brewer (mash tun and HLT) or any site that has it fairly priced. It looks like the way to go based on everyone's feedback here and on their site. Questions related to temperature control: Has anyone used the same set of equipment to do mashes for 1-2 gallon test batches? I would imagine that holding the temperature for an hour with so much head room would be difficult. Ideally I don't want separate equipment(space issue) for 1-2 gallon batches versus 5 gallon batches(aside from carboys) I love brewing and want to get better and the only way to do so in my opinion is to take notes and compare results of batches. By doing smaller batches I can do it more often and fine tune recipes before brewing 5 gallons. Another added benefit of the smaller batch size is the ability to lager in the aforementioned beer fridge. I'd love to have some Marzen being chilled year round! Any thoughts on getting a smaller mash tun and hlt and mashing twice for larger batches? Are there any issues with waiting before boiling the wort after a first mash?
Wort chiller: Necessary with full boils, and leads to better results in any brew setting. I was thinking about this one: http://amzn.com/B004D4NM9K
It seems that everyone agrees that the extra money for the 50' over the 25' is worth it. This one has good reviews and I haven't seen one cheaper. I can't tell by the description if the fittings are for a garden hose or a sink. I would assume hose. The fittings shouldn't be hard to change or adjust to attach to a sink. Any help/thoughts/experience on this would be great.
Boil Kettle: this one seems pretty good: http://amzn.com/B003EW8HWY
I don't see any downsides here.
and some 1-2 gallon carboys.
Thanks for the help in advance.
I want to get the basic 5 gallon cooler set from northern brewer (mash tun and HLT) or any site that has it fairly priced. It looks like the way to go based on everyone's feedback here and on their site. Questions related to temperature control: Has anyone used the same set of equipment to do mashes for 1-2 gallon test batches? I would imagine that holding the temperature for an hour with so much head room would be difficult. Ideally I don't want separate equipment(space issue) for 1-2 gallon batches versus 5 gallon batches(aside from carboys) I love brewing and want to get better and the only way to do so in my opinion is to take notes and compare results of batches. By doing smaller batches I can do it more often and fine tune recipes before brewing 5 gallons. Another added benefit of the smaller batch size is the ability to lager in the aforementioned beer fridge. I'd love to have some Marzen being chilled year round! Any thoughts on getting a smaller mash tun and hlt and mashing twice for larger batches? Are there any issues with waiting before boiling the wort after a first mash?
Wort chiller: Necessary with full boils, and leads to better results in any brew setting. I was thinking about this one: http://amzn.com/B004D4NM9K
It seems that everyone agrees that the extra money for the 50' over the 25' is worth it. This one has good reviews and I haven't seen one cheaper. I can't tell by the description if the fittings are for a garden hose or a sink. I would assume hose. The fittings shouldn't be hard to change or adjust to attach to a sink. Any help/thoughts/experience on this would be great.
Boil Kettle: this one seems pretty good: http://amzn.com/B003EW8HWY
I don't see any downsides here.
and some 1-2 gallon carboys.
Thanks for the help in advance.