When and what to upgrade?

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shepherds

shepherds

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Hello,
Im new to brewing and I have recently purchased a home brew kit that includes:

6.5-gallon Plastic Fermenter and Lid
5-gallon Better Bottle
6.5-gallon Bottling Bucket
2 Airlocks
#2 and #10 drilled Rubber Stopper
Autosiphon
Bottle Filler
Five feet of Flexible Tubing
Hydrometer
Hydrometer Test Jar
Floating Thermometer
Two Handle Bottle Capper
144 Bottle Caps
The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing
Sanitizer
Bottle Brush
Carboy and Bottle Washer
Faucet Adapter
Wort Chiller

This seems like a good amount of equipment for a beginner brewer. :rockin:

I am wondering what the suggested future upgrades are for someone who is seeking to go much further in brewing; towards all-grain brewing, having multiple fermentors going at once (obviously additional fermentors are needed), fermenting at lower temperatures, and kegging. I even plan on making labels for when I share them with friends. :mug:

What equipment do you all suggest I should invest in first, what I should wait on, and what equipment will just make the joy of brewing quicker and easier?

thank you for your replies,
 
shepherds said:
Hello,
Im new to brewing and I have recently purchased a home brew kit that includes:

6.5-gallon Plastic Fermenter and Lid
5-gallon Better Bottle
6.5-gallon Bottling Bucket
2 Airlocks
#2 and #10 drilled Rubber Stopper
Autosiphon
Bottle Filler
Five feet of Flexible Tubing
Hydrometer
Hydrometer Test Jar
Floating Thermometer
Two Handle Bottle Capper
144 Bottle Caps
The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing
Sanitizer
Bottle Brush
Carboy and Bottle Washer
Faucet Adapter
Wort Chiller

This seems like a good amount of equipment for a beginner brewer. :rockin:

I am wondering what the suggested future upgrades are for someone who is seeking to go much further in brewing; towards all-grain brewing, having multiple fermentors going at once (obviously additional fermentors are needed), fermenting at lower temperatures, and kegging. I even plan on making labels for when I share them with friends. :mug:

What equipment do you all suggest I should invest in first, what I should wait on, and what equipment will just make the joy of brewing quicker and easier?

thank you for your replies,
Click to expand...

The most important thing I bought was my 30qt pot. I know a lot of people start with smaller brew pots, but it was important for me to be able to do full boils and not have to worry about adding water to the bucket/carboy/better bottle at the end. If you're brewing in doors, then your kitchen stove will need to be strong enough to handle the full boil though. My stove is, but I know my father can't really get a vigorous boil, so he doesn't do the full boils.

The next thing I started buying were just more carboys so I could have more stuff running through the pipeline. Otherwise, if you want to switch to all grain from here, you can get a cooler and build a mashtun. The easy route is using the braided hose and the fitting to go out the drain.

You can make it as easy or as complicated (and still be easy, I suppose) as you'd like, either way, no matter what you get, for the most part you'll be able to make some good beer.. enjoy and good luck..
 
From what I can see all you need is a good boil kettle and you can start brewing 5 gallon batches with extracts right on your kitchen stove.
 
A healthy size pot and a burner are a good upgrade, you can use it now with extract, and you'll need it when you go all grain.
 
I have a blog posted about what I think a new brewer should purchase. My list is based for an individual with relative certainty that they intend to continue with the hobby. Following my list should save you considerable cash in the long run, because you won't be re-purchasing things because you didn't get what you really needed. I hope it helps.

:mug:
 
You can go all-grain by purchasing a couple yards of voile fabric and reading up on BIAB (brew in a bag)

Then you'll want a grain crusher and a better thermometer.
 
I agree with everyone else that you should get a good size pot and a burner.

A digital Thermometer is always nice as well.
 
I would suggest applying for some additional credit cards. This way you are much less likely to exceed the limit on any single card. You seem to have a nice selection of the basic equipment, but none of what you have purchased so far has put much of a dent in your wallet. Fasten your seat belt!
 
It never ends! You will always want another fridge or freezer and then you have to buy another controller for it. Then more carboys so you can keep the train moving.
Then an additional serving freezer w/collar and the expensive Perlick taps. Oh yeah, it's not possible to have too many kegs. Then you need a backup CO2 cylinder.

When you begin to think that you have everything you could possibly need, your thoughts will begin to drift towards a rig of your own design. You will be especially vulnerable if you are a gadget type person, like tools and working with your hands. Those with electronic skills will not be able to resist automating their breweries. You will become a spendthrift. IOW, you will spend twice as much building something as it would cost to purchase it outright and this fact will not bother you in the least.

Once an acquaintance samples one of your better efforts and tells you it's perhaps the best beer they ever tasted, you are dead meat.
 
I'd have to say a bigger pot, a nice burner, 2 or 3 more buckets for fermenting, and then a cooler for a mash tun. Then, the fridge/therm controller, then...........
 
my best purchase was kegs. something about hitting that tap to fill my glass and the bulk aging in the keg adds to it. just my 2 cents
 
Ok, I have decided on going with the extra fermenters and an upgraded brew kettle to start off. O ya and the burner:rockin:!

After I do a couple of extract brews and some partials I will get the mash-cooler to step it up to all grain.

I would like to build my own fermenter cooling system out of a fridge or something sometime in the next few months. I have just started some lay outs. I got ideas from other peoples set ups. I think it is going to turn out well.
 
lrr81765 said:
+1. Looking back, temp control has always caused me the biggest pain.
Click to expand...

+2. If you've got a basement that stays 65 all day long, maybe not, but for me, temperature control is the biggest thing that has made my beer much more consistent.
 
So I have been packing to move and I came across a blender, I was thinking about beer and brewing, I came up with the question of what can a blender do for brewing. Has anyone tried to use a blender to grind up grain or anything like that? Do yall think that would work?
 

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