$2k setup

I've been brewing a couple months while gathering equipment and realized that I had somehow become obsessed. Anyways i wonder if you, the more experienced brewer, had to start over and had $2k to spend on all the stuff you needed for homebrew... what would your stash look like?

$2k? Wow.. I'm brewing all grain just about every weekend and half kegging, half bottling for an investment of just over $400 in equipment.

If I spent $2k, I'd be looking at something more automated, and a better cooling setup for fermentation.

dwarven_stout said:

$2k? Wow.. I'm brewing all grain just about every weekend and half kegging, half bottling for an investment of just over $400 in equipment.

If I spent $2k, I'd be looking at something more automated, and a better cooling setup for fermentation.

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I honestly do not know how this is possible. You must be leaving out grain, yeast, CO2, consumables, etc. and had a bunch of hand-me-downs or unused kettles, coolers and refrigerators sitting around.

How do you get by with such a little investment? I'd like to find creative ways of cutting my spending on equipment.

TobyMcCann said:

I honestly do not know how this is possible. You must be leaving out grain, yeast, CO2, consumables, etc. and had a bunch of hand-me-downs or unused kettles, coolers and refrigerators sitting around.

How do you get by with such a little investment? I'd like to find creative ways of cutting my spending on equipment.

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As (I assume) a fellow beginner, I can guarantee you I haven't spent 2K getting started. And that's with $275 spent on a new refrigerator and $230 for a dual corney keg setup. $2K can buy some fairly high end equipment for the beginner.

TobyMcCann said:

I honestly do not know how this is possible. You must be leaving out grain, yeast, CO2, consumables, etc. and had a bunch of hand-me-downs or unused kettles, coolers and refrigerators sitting around.

How do you get by with such a little investment? I'd like to find creative ways of cutting my spending on equipment.

Click to expand...

Of course I'm leaving out grain and yeast. That's why I said "on equipment".

I got a free fridge and a $20 20lb co2 tank off craigslist that I spent $35 to fill and pressure test. Spent $25 for a CHI Co. regulator and set up hoses out of pretty much scrap. Spent $100 for 4 kegs and $30 more for fittings. The original brew kit was $80, and I've bought 3 carboys off craigslist for under $50 total. Built a mash tun from a cooler for $40 and bought a turkey fryer on clearance for $30. I no-chill a lot of beer, but if I need a chiller I borrow my buddy's. Same deal with grain- I either buy it crushed or borrow a buddy's mill.

Grand total to date on equipment: $410
You can get a ton of stuff for cheap if you're patient on CL and anywhere near a sizable city.

This is about what I figure. Not including bottles, ingredients, propane tanks, and stuff bought that later realized didn't really need.

Used keg( kettle ) $25

80k burner/stand $80

Weldless ss spigots/bulkheads x3 $90

Coolers 5gal, 12 gal. $50

Quick connects and miscellaneous tubing $75

Wort chiller $50

March pump $125

Auto siphon $10
Wine degasser $10
Capper $10
Vinator $15
Thermometer $30
Manifold/braid $30
Bottling bucket $25
Hydrometer $5
Large ss spoon $10
Small metal funnel $5


Glass Carboy 2x6.5 gallon + 2x 5 gallon, caps/airlocks $150

4 corny kegs, 10# co2, reg $350

Used upright fridge/freezer for kegeraror/frozen storage $100

Used large chest freezer for fermentation $125

Temp controller $50

Stirplate + 3 flasks.( 50, 500, 2000 ) $80

20cf oxygen tank, reg, wand defuser $150

Miscellaneous chemicals $40

Homemade beer gun $25
Homemade heat stick $50

Vials/pipette/gliceryne for frozen yeast bank $50

Weight scale 1gram-5Lbs $30

Grain mill $100

Case of 1 pint Mason jars $10

Brew software/ books $50

Some questions need to be answered first:
How big of batches are you planning?
All grain or extract?
Kegging? bottling? Both?
Dedicated brew space, or fold down garage brewing?
Ale or Lager or both?
The answers to these will help determine your list.

-d

I'm a fan of the synergymetalworking rig. I chose to go with a brewhouse with more bling (more money) but I do have the synergymetalworking Uni-tank fermenter (converted Sanke) and love it.

I think his work is very good for what he charges.

FYI- my startup costs started in the 2k range and quickly rose to about 9k+. I'm a crazy newb, no doubt. Maybe record crazy.

Nothing wrong with spending money on a hobby you enjoy. That being said, I have spent nowhere near $2,000 on equipment. Probably closer to $500, over a few years.

I think alot depends on the space that you are willing to dedicate to your new found hobby.

Do you have a dedicated space for brewing and equipment with cleanup facilities (water and drain at a minimum)? A bar area for a kegerator? An area for fermenting carboy's, etc.

The answers to your post really can be quite different for each individuals dedicated space and desires.

All that being said, here are some of the things I would spend money on;

A good kegging setup with a minimum of 4 corney's and a kegerator of some sort.$800 +/-

A stand of some sort to hold a HLT,MLT and a boil pot with heating devices.$700+/-

HLT, MLT and boil pot. Batch size dependent. $300-$500

Multiple primary's, and all necessary transfering equipment. $200+/-

That doesn't include any toy's you may want, but there are so many variables and that will put together a solid lifelong brewing and dispensing setup.

Hope this helps

Bull

I think my equipment would look pretty much the same as it does now. The big difference wold be a small dedicated storage/brewing barn in the back yard.

The only thing I could use is a few new pots, I don't brew beer all too often, but would definitely help with my ciders.

I have about $1500 in my Top Tier, BK, MT, HLT, plate chiller, pump, & accessories.

There's no need for a beginner to drop that kind of coin though.

I've had $40 a week going to a paypal debit card for the past couple years. Everything I do for brewing comes off of this card. I grab a few lunches on it hear and there, but not much.

$40 * 52 weeks * 2 years = $4160

This tells me I have spent over $4000 on the hobby over the past two years.

But this totally includes everything. Ingredients, equipment, experiments, Membership dues, magazine subscriptions, failed ideas, upgrades, tools, ect.

There is probably no way I could convince SWMBO to give me $4k for the hobby. But $40 a week was pretty easy. Its just understood that I have an allowance and that is what I dip out of for non-household things.

Another nice thing about the $40/wk budget is it helps you decide what you really want next. Do I want fermentation temperature control? Do I need a beer gun? It makes it easier to decide based off of what will improve the process.