Beginner equipment question

I plan to start brewing in a couple weeks. My only equipment so far is a Ranco thermostat for the spare refrig in my detached garage (installed and working perfectly). My first plan was to buy a good equipment kit from a local brew supply store, buy a 20qt SS pot, partial-boil extract in the kitchen, ferment in the garage refrig, and bottle in the kitchen. Research is giving me some ideas to do everything in the garage. I have access to free kitchen cabinetry, counter, and sink that I can easily install in my garage. I can run a garden hose into the garage from an outside well faucet. I already own a turkey fryer unit with 30qt aluminum pot. I am thinking to buy the basic kit but use the aluminum pot for a full-boil of extract. I know I need a wort chiller and my water temp will require additional ice water cooling once the wort temp is brought down.

I figure that a smaller wort chiller will work for the 5-6 gallons I am brewing. Not sure if I should use the aluminum pot or if I need to make any mods to it.

Any and all advice will be appreciated!

It sounds like you're on the right track. I'd make the leap now and brew in your garage since you have everything or it's readily available.

I would recommend you DON'T use an actual garden hose... get a RV hose for water. You don't want the garden hose flavor in your beer.

rgray58 said:

I know I need a wort chiller and my water temp will require additional ice water cooling once the wort temp is brought down.
I figure that a smaller wort chiller will work for the 5-6 gallons I am brewing. Not sure if I should use the aluminum pot or if I need to make any mods to it.

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In the summer, I coil the hose into a 5 gallon bucket, fill with water, salt, and frozen water bottles to pre-chill my tap water for the immersion chiller. Otherwise it comes out at about 70F. I collect the water from the chiller, which is pretty hot in a big tub and use that for cleanup.

The aluminum pot is fine. Have you used it for anything before, like deep frying a turkey? If so, make sure to scrub it out, then boil a pot of water to passivate it. For a full wort boil for 5 gallons I can tell you you'll need to fill it close to the top to end up with 5 in the fermenter at the end of boil. You can use foam control ( Fermcap-S ) to help with boil overs.

Definitely go with a bigger pot than 20 Qt. My first batch I bought a cheap 16 Qt pot and it did ok for my first batch. But I knew that I wanted to eventually go to all grain so I bought a turkey fryer for real cheap and really enjoyed being able to do a full boil. Watch it close though like stevo said it will want to boil over! Also +1 on a wort chiller it will take forever to chill down a full boil. Good luck you will find lots of helpful info on this board and definitely read everything you can about brewing. Soon you realize that you're obsessed with it!

jtlawlor said:

I would recommend you DON'T use an actual garden hose... get a RV hose for water. You don't want the garden hose flavor in your beer.

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+1 on DO NOT USE a regular garden hose. It isn't just a flavor issue. Some garden hoses use PVC and the cheap fittings can contain lead. Plumb it for water, have it plumbed or use a hose specifically marked safe for drinking water (usually find them in RV supply stores).

The aluminum pot from your turkey fryer will be fine. I use a turkey fryer pot. Just make sure it is clean and you're set.

But serious...don't use a garden hose for your water source.

When I was thinking water, I was only thinking for the chiller, not the water used to make the beer. Thanks for the tips to avoid a garden hose. Also thanks for the tip for using the hose as a pre-chiller when needed. My water temp will require it. If I pump water out of rain barrels (and put it back in) that will also require pre-chilling.

Question - Should I install a spigot on the pot?

I wouldn't bother with the spigot to start off with. You can always get a second person to help you hold things in place, or just use a siphon to transfer the wort into the fermentor at first.

Also, don't be afraid of plastic fermentors... and if you do use glass... get a brew-hauler or milk crate. Don't pick 'em up by a neck handle or just bare.

rgray58 said:

When I was thinking water, I was only thinking for the chiller, not the water used to make the beer. Thanks for the tips to avoid a garden hose.

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That's fine then; I draw the brewing water from my kitchen sink and use a garden hose for chilling.

Question - Should I install a spigot on the pot?

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Very low priority, IMO. If you're using a 20qt pot you'll be doing partial boils, and you can pour it through a paint strainer bag (aerate and transfer at once) or use your autosiphon to transfer.

A spigot's more important when you go to full-boil all-grain, and even then not mandatory; get into things for a while and get a feel for whether you like it and what approach you want to take before you start spending on bells and whistles.

rgray58 said:

Question - Should I install a spigot on the pot?

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Not a necessity but I just bought a 10 gallon pot with a 1/2" SS Ball Valve and it is AWESOME!!! But I wouldn't worry about it until you got your bigger, permanent brew kettle....and trust me...you will get one some day.

Wort chillers are extremely easy to build if you use hoseclamps, just make sure to test it for leaks. I built mine for ~$30 with parts from Lowes... the only hard part to find was the adaptor for my faucet to the hose.