What part / ingredient do you never have enough of?

The more I brew, the more I feel like I'm frustrated about not having _____. I'm putting together a list so on weeks that I have spare money in my budget, I'll order extras to make brewing a bit easier. Here's the list in order of frustration level:

• Fermentation Vessels. I'm always buying one on brew day because all 7 of my vessels are in use
• Kegs (fermentation done..but all 4 of my taps are in use so I have to keep finished beer in the carboy which is why #1 is so frustrating.never enough kegs or carboys)
• 2-row / 6-row grain
• Tubing (mostly for blow-off) I find myself driving to the hardware store after racking to fermenter to buy a clean tube
• Hops. I never have enough Citra hops but have finally started buying a little bit each time I buy ingredients and having a nice stock.
• Propane.

I now have a 2nd propane tank that is always full just in case my burner goes out mid-boil. I need to bulk buy some grain like 50 pounds of it just to have it and tubing..it just requires that I buy 100' of 5/16th and 1/4th tubing and I'll be good for a while. Carboys are the most frustrating thing. Once you start doing 2-6 month fermentations, you never seem to have enough of them. I'll probably have 10 of them before the year is out.

What about you?

Time. I need more time.

Fermentation vessels, too. I'm up to 11... And need a couple more.

berebrando said:

Time. I need more time.

Fermentation vessels, too. I'm up to 11... And need a couple more.

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People don't seem to understand the carboy thing though. My GF says, "You have 4 beers on tap and 4 fermenting. That seems like a good plan but you have 7 fermenting and are buying another carboy. WHY?!?!?!?"

People don't understand that pale ales, wheat and porters..those are fine after a few weeks to rack but once you start doing Belgian beers and stouts, carboys just sit full of beer for months and months!

+1 on fermentation vessels, and also space, I never have enough space. Whenever I clear something out to make more room for brewing, it quickly gets filled with brewing supplies/equipment, and I am back to square one.....

Wyeast 1056. I wish I could have a constant start of it.

Kegs and co2. 16 kegs and 5 on tap. I've started aging in my kegs, so instead of needing more carboys, I just need more kegs!

With 16 kegs, I use up 2 5lb co2 bottles a month - purging, cleaning tap lines between switching out kegs, force carbing, etc.

cadillacandy said:

Kegs and co2. 16 kegs and 5 on tap. I've started aging in my kegs, so instead of needing more carboys, I just need more kegs!

With 16 kegs, I use up 2 5lb co2 bottles a month - purging, cleaning tap lines between switching out kegs, force carbing, etc.

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I know it's a big deposit but have you thought of a large tank that breweries use...25 / 50 pounds? They would force you to put the seats flat in your car to fit it in and probably a few hundred bucks deposit but less trips is always a good thing.

adamjackson said:

I know it's a big deposit but have you thought of a large tank that breweries use...25 / 50 pounds? They would force you to put the seats flat in your car to fit it in and probably a few hundred bucks deposit but less trips is always a good thing.

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That's going to be my next purchase. I'm planning in using it to purge, seat keg lids and force carb. I was worried about getting such a big tank because with my luck I'd have a leak somewhere and would be out 50lbs of gas instead of just 5lbs!

I have a pickup truck, so it's easy to throw all the propane and co2 tanks in and get them all filled at once.

A tank of beer gas is on the list too. Just ordered a stout faucet yesterday. Now I just need someone to help me drink all the beer!

2 Row / MO
Cascade
Yeast (I usually buy a packet of Notty/US-05/S-33 when I buy a vial or smackpack)
Crystal 40L (it's surprising how much of this I go through)

Fermenters and time are the biggest constant needs though

The thing I don't have enough of is metabolism to drink more beer without getting fat. I pretty much had to stop brewing for half the year so I can try to force myself to drink the remaining beer from some older batches. I know it's dumb to complain about having too much beer but I was running out of room for more bottles.

Otherwise, I don't keg and I don't normally brew hoppy beers (although I'm starting to) so I don't have to worry about CO2 or having enough hops. I also rarely use my turkey fryer so my propane tank is usually full. The biggest problem I have is not having enough empty fermentors, especially for my smaller batches. Most of my fermentors are occupied by sour/wild beers.

In order of importance:

SWMBO's patience
Fermenters
Space
Time
Ice/Frozen 2-liter bottles/freezer space (no wort chiller *GASP!*)

I had a decent set-up for a beginner:

3 fermentation vessels, 4 kegs, 3 taps and a keezer

So for me I always need to have hops on hand. I buy my grain by the batch becasue I don't have a mill, but it seems that all the hops I want are hard to get so I buy in bulk and store.

Now I had to downgrade for 6 months to a year, moved to Chicago on a work assignment and left the keezer behind.

Crystal Malt...

Fermentors is not a problem... 8 Buckets, two 14 gallon fermentors, I blickman fermentor.

there is always something empty since my Hefe(S) only stay three weeks, my Ales stay 4 or 5 weeks so I do have to clear one out Brewday but that is no problem.

DPB

I do not have enough of..... final product!! I need more beer, its been a tough busy year and I don't have enough backup supply to keep me happy.

Empty bottles

Airborneguy said:

Wyeast 1056. I wish I could have a constant start of it.

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Why not rinse your yeast and reuse it for the following batches? I can usually ferment 2-3 beers off one harvest.