Getting Started - Go Big?

I am thinking of moving into AG at some point in the next few months. I am the type of person who is better off going big right from the start, otherwise I will spent money and time UPGRADING. So, should I go with a big rack with keggles, HERMS, and pumps or will I be fine with a converted cooler MLT. What is better? Does it make a difference in the end other than satisfiying my gadget obsession. What is the best way to go here?

Oooh, tough one. I'd say if you've got the inclination and $$, don't like to constantly tinker and "upgrade", then do it like you want from the start, be it HERMS or whatever.

I've got a 3-tier stand with kegs and love it, but it took me a while to get there. I started with a turkey fryer, unmodified cooler, and bucket-in-bucket lauter tun. From there I got one keggle - you want a big kettle - and then the other 2 for the MLT and HLT. I'm still modifying and improving and have a nice list of to-do's. It's part of what makes the hobby fun and interesting for me. If I had it all from the start, I would've missed out on the journey (that I'm still on).

I say go simple just for the fact, those expensive systems confuse the hell out of me. But if you have the money, go for it.

I started with extract kits and moved to mini/partial mashes in a bottling bucket. When I decided to go AG and went ahead and bit the bullet and bought a complete system. Wasn't the top of the line, but it met my needs and budget. I have no regrets. The only thing I haven't worked out into a final process yet is my fermentation set up. I'm still wanting to get the ss conicals, just haven't pulled the trigger yet. So even if you buy all the AG equipment you think you need, you will find other areas of the brewery to upgrade.

Upgrading is kinda fun and many times you don't lose much in the deal. You tend to continue to use piece of entry level stuff. If you go with a converted cooler MLT, you'll alway have use for a cooler. If you buy a small pot, you'll end up using it anyway if you upgrade to a keggle.

Go Big!



Only 48 Large at B3

Seriously, you could start small with a decent 10 gallon pot, a good propane burner, a 10 gallon Rubbermaid Cooler, a wort chiller, and a couple Better Bottles.

You can alway upgrade and sell your stuff here or on Craigslist.

Go big but ya gotta earn it.
Ain't no respect unless we see:
A couple posts on stove top boil overs.
Screwing up your mash cuz your MT was too small for a big beer.
Falling way short on your OG cuz you had to add 3 gallons of bottled water to get a five gallon batch....



Seriously, go for the larger capacity but keep in mind, no equipment will go to waste. You'll always find something to do with it.

BierMuncher said:

Go big but ya gotta earn it.
Ain't no respect unless we see:
A couple posts on stove top boil overs.
Screwing up your mash cuz your MT was too small for a big beer.
Falling way short on your OG cuz you had to add 3 gallons of bottled water to get a five gallon batch....

Click to expand...

Does this qualify as "earning it"? This was my first brew session on my 3-tier. Note to self - covering the false bottom in the keggle with nylon fabric is a bad idea!

thats a sad, sad picture indeed.....a moment of silence please

Lil' Sparky said:

Does this qualify as "earning it"? This was my first brew session on my 3-tier. Note to self - covering the false bottom in the keggle with nylon fabric is a bad idea!

Click to expand...

WOW. I think I remember that post.

I can still smell that **** from here.

My buddy was a partial mash brewer for about five years. I did one or two such batches with him, and then we built our rack:



King Kooker burners and needle valves, copper-plumbed propane, and the heart of our system is the Igloo cooler with stanless false bottom:



After only a couple of batches, we're pushing 80% efficiency. We're thinking its due to the quality Barleycrusher grain mill and the fact that the tun cooler looses very, very little heat. We've only ever fly sparged with it, too.

I'd say go for a simple rack system like this. Seems about the least expensive way to get into all grain brewing.

No offense to the folks that went all grain right from the start, but I say get a big enough pot, but do some extract batches first. They are easy and help you understand what you are doing. I'm just now planning my move to AG, and I know if I would have gone straight to AG, it would have confused the heck out of me. Not to mention, it's pretty easy to make a pretty decent beer with extract, and those early successes really boost the confidence to try something a little more difficult.

Get a turkey fryer and a really big pot. Do some extract full boils and make some good beer. After 2 or 3 batches if you want to jump to AG, you have nothing that you won't use again.

I have already done several batches of extract and I would like to have more control over the process. This is what AG can do for me. I am tired of not getting to my target FG due to extract. I have 3 kegs lined up to convert. My question is how do you keep the mash at a constant with a keggle set up?

You can insulate it, but to be honest, I lose very little heat without any. Since I heat the strike water in the MLT, it gets smokin' hot and actually holds a lot of heat itself in the metal. My last batch was 25 lbs of grain mashed w/ 8 gals of water. According to the digital probe thermo installed in the thermosight, it lost < 1' over 40 mins. I can live with that.

Of course if it does drop, cracking on the burner for a min or two is an easy fix.

Here's a pic of it in action a few weeks ago when Reidstav was over brewing 11 gals of oatmeal stout.

Sorry, I didn't check out your sig block. Since you do have those batches under your belt, go for it. Decide what you want to spend then figure out what to get. I don't have the cash to plop down that much cash, but if you have it and are planning on doing it anyway, why not do it all at once.

Drayman86, how's that wood hold up with all that burning going on? That's my only real concern about building it out of wood. Do you have heat shields on it?

No worrys. I am just looking for input and you all are really helping!

Lil' Sparky said:

Click to expand...

This picture is quite possibly the funniest and most sad I have seen on this board

Too bad I didn't get my wife to take a picture of me on the ground kicking and pounding my fists like a baby. That would've been even funnier (and sadder).

It's a tough one.... It's not really just a matter of going whole hog or not. It's how you go whole hog... You say that you want to have more control over your brew, so I guess you want maximum flexibility...

That means that you may do decoction mashes, batch sparging, fly sparging, RIMS, HERMS, SWIG.... or any of the other methods... For this reason, maybe you don't want to invest in a system, because the system may not have the flexibility you are looking for.

I'm not done building up my brewery yet, but I'm not sure where its gonna go either, so I'm trying different stuff and as I recognize that I need something, or come across a suggestion that seems pretty good, I expand.

I know for sure that the RIMS system that I lusted after for years is something that I'm just not interested in anymore. (good thing I didn't plop down a couple of grand, huh?). You can probably reconfigure the system should you get one, but why get one if that's what you are going to do?

Am I rambling? I think I'm Rambling... I'm rambling, aren't I? Do you think I'm rambling?

here come's happy hour