how bare bones can you brew?

Everytime I brew I try to make it different whether it be new ingredients, techniques, or equipment. Recently I've been brewing in different locations to try and take advantage of local water and change of scenery. I hate lugging around all my equipment so I try to take as little as I can get away with. It creates a new challenge to the brewday when you don't have all your gear. I'm curious how bare bones everyone else has gone when brewing?

P.s. I'm brewing an all grain lambic right now using a single kettle for a bk, mlt, and hlt

If were camping in the woods and brewing a beer I think all I might need is a kettle, lid for overnight chilling, mashtun, 2 buckets (acts a my lautering tun)and ingredients. Heat source can be a camp fire. I think that should about do it. Oh ya and sanitizer.

BIAB would be perfect. One pot and a heat source and you are good. Even less to haul around.

There was an article a few months ago in Zymurgy where a guy brewed beer on backpacking trip. I don't think you can get much more minimalist than that. He had to pack in everything...including a collapsable fermenter.

Forgot to mention I left my chiller behind so I could do the traditional overnight open air chill. I like the fire idea for the heat source. That'd probly take all day to get 5 gallons to boil tho

Na you just need a good burning fire

1 pot,1 burner,1 bag, 1 bucket.

Hell, they did it in clay pots they made themselves over a fire for a thousand years. Granted, it probably sucked, but they did it.

whitehause said:

Hell, they did it in clay pots they made themselves over a fire for a thousand years. Granted, it probably sucked, but they did it.

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what bjcp category?

Ive been brewing with one pot, a bag and a propane burner in my garage since I started (granted thats only 1.5 years ago). If your talking wilderness brewing with no power then this would probably be the least amount I could do (plus fermenter). But if your are going somewhere with power and looking to either change or upgrade your equipment for this you should check out this build. He gets all of his stuff so it fits inside his 11 gal pot. Pretty cool build

BIAB, one pot, one paint strainer bag, one roll of saran wrap to put over the pot as it chills overnight to keep the bugs out. Pitch yeast in morning after aerating and recover the pot (now known as the fermenter) with saran wrap to create an airlock. The problem with all this is carrying all the bottles. 50 full bottles will be a tough load to backpack out.

RM-MN said:

BIAB, one pot, one paint strainer bag, one roll of saran wrap to put over the pot as it chills overnight to keep the bugs out. Pitch yeast in morning after aerating and recover the pot (now known as the fermenter) with saran wrap to create an airlock. The problem with all this is carrying all the bottles. 50 full bottles will be a tough load to backpack out.

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I believe he only brewed a gallon or two and used a party pig. He drank the beer with his buddies in the backcountry. I don't think he brought any beer out with him