Myrdhyn
Well-Known Member
Well, it seems I've been bitten by the AG bug. I'm starting to gather my equipment now. I plan on picking up a turkey fryer/propane burner for boiling, building an immersion chiller for cooling, and building a MLT out of a cooler. The problem is I can't decide which cooler to go with.
I've got it narrowed down to two, possibly three, options. The main two considerations are:
5 gallon Igloo round beverage cooler - Available for $20
-OR-
12 gallon Cube type cooler - Available for $25
-OR-
The third potential option is that I've heard rumors of a 7gallon round beverage cooler (haven't checked all the Walmarts in town yet) that also has my interest piqued and might shoot for a happy medium between the two if I can find it.
I'm not forseeing going to 10g batches any time soon, but I would like flexibility to brew a wide range of styles/wide range of SGs. I'd say I'll probably average in the 1.050-1.070 range, but could go lower for some session beers or higher for some barleywines and the like. I would just go with the 12gallon cooler, but grain bed-depth has me concerned on <=1.050 batches. So I guess what it boils down to is, if I buy the 12g cooler, am I going to screw myself if I try to brew a 60/- or something like that? Or should I just quit stressing, buy the 12g I'm leaning towards, and attack it with tools/hardware/beer?
And before someone asks, yes I've done many searches, and I've spent hours upon hours reading here and elsewhere (including both Papazian and Palmer) trying to decide this.
I've got it narrowed down to two, possibly three, options. The main two considerations are:
5 gallon Igloo round beverage cooler - Available for $20
-OR-
12 gallon Cube type cooler - Available for $25
-OR-
The third potential option is that I've heard rumors of a 7gallon round beverage cooler (haven't checked all the Walmarts in town yet) that also has my interest piqued and might shoot for a happy medium between the two if I can find it.
I'm not forseeing going to 10g batches any time soon, but I would like flexibility to brew a wide range of styles/wide range of SGs. I'd say I'll probably average in the 1.050-1.070 range, but could go lower for some session beers or higher for some barleywines and the like. I would just go with the 12gallon cooler, but grain bed-depth has me concerned on <=1.050 batches. So I guess what it boils down to is, if I buy the 12g cooler, am I going to screw myself if I try to brew a 60/- or something like that? Or should I just quit stressing, buy the 12g I'm leaning towards, and attack it with tools/hardware/beer?
And before someone asks, yes I've done many searches, and I've spent hours upon hours reading here and elsewhere (including both Papazian and Palmer) trying to decide this.