Best single addition to your brew day procedure

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The keggle, the homeade chiller, the keezeer, all that is good, but I'm going with a smoker.

Smoking meat takes about the same amount of time as brewing, so, smoked brisket at the end of a brew is quite enjoyable.

I think you win the prize!

Mang, smoker is on my list.. I want to make smoked pulled pork sammies so bad it hurts!
 
Yesterday.. (or was it two weeks from now? :drunk:) I added a flux capacitor!
Now I can brew in one tenth the time!
Plus now I can jump ahead to when fermentation is done!
When the keg is empty, I just jump back and drink it again!
Life is really good!
:mug:
 
Besides taking the whole operation outside with a turkey fryer, I'd say a fountain pump to feed icy-cold water through my IC.

You're my hero!:mug: I have been contemplating making a second IC to place in a bucked of ice water and "daisy chaining" them, but a fountain pump is a brilliant low-cost solution! Did you get an inline external pump or one that can be run under water? What kind of flow (GPH) do you need for it to work effectively?
Here in southern MS, even with 50' of 1/2" copper with the faucet full bore for 45 min, there is no getting below 85......
 
I got a plate chiller from Duda Diesel for $115 and it's incredible. Even when the tap (hose) water here in Oklahoma is warm, I just drop that thing in ice water and run it wide open and my brew is cold fast. I love it - saves a lot of time.
 
Probably making my brew rig. It creates a specific spot for a bunch of equipment (during brewing and storage) helping me with consistant processes each brew day from crushing grain to clean up.
 
For me it would have to be a 'Scrubby'; with me from the moment I take the rig from the shed to the time the yeast is pitched and everything is put away. Always close by to clean out the next piece of equipment and is on top of all sanitation requirements. Even helps to remove labels from bottles and clean out the remnants of a fermenting vessel or recently kicked corny. Yes, having an 'Apprentice' (use that term loosely as I am in no means a master) who is keen to clean allowing me to focus on the overall process, plus always nice to share the fruits so to speak.
 
Had to be the pond pump ice water setup. Super cheap, and let's me get south of ground water temps to pitch cool and then let the ferment or me decide when to raise it. Of course this was after adding the burner, 10 gal kettle, IC, o2 kit etc.
 
What is the one thing that you've changed about your brewing procedure (equipment, procedure, etc) that has improved your experience?
Thanks!

For me it was to not drink while brewing and instead fire up a pipe or cigar. For some reason the stupid mistakes just quit happening, plus it's nice to not be drunk by lunchtime on a brew day.
 
For me it was to not drink while brewing and instead fire up a pipe or cigar. For some reason the stupid mistakes just quit happening, plus it's nice to not be drunk by lunchtime on a brew day.

I hear you on that, particularly on days where you have a brew buddy. I've made a house rule - no drinking or chiefing on brew day until the boil is started and the bittering addition is in. Brew days go much more smoothly that way, and since we usually start around 9am, this keeps the shenanigans from happening until around 11am which is much more respectable.
 
I hear you on that, particularly on days where you have a brew buddy. I've made a house rule - no drinking or chiefing on brew day until the boil is started and the bittering addition is in. Brew days go much more smoothly that way, and since we usually start around 9am, this keeps the shenanigans from happening until around 11am which is much more respectable.

I'm an old fart. What's "chiefing"?
 
For me getting a digital scale, digital thermometer and a spray bottle for starsan were all very helpful. Esp the spray bottle
 
Picture a native american chief smoking a peace pipe.

What? You mean you don't like it when your 60 minute boil becomes an accidental 82 minute - oh shi*t! - boil? Did anybody add the 30 min hops? Is the chiller still in the oven?
 
What? You mean you don't like it when your 60 minute boil becomes an accidental 82 minute - oh shi*t! - boil? Did anybody add the 30 min hops? Is the chiller still in the oven?

Hey, it wasn't me who said the don't...:cross:

Even still, that has only happened once and it wasn't during the boil. Accidentally did a longer mash but when I looked at the recipe it called for a 90 min mash anyway haha. Not like a longer mash would hurt anything but it all worked out in the end heh.
 
The best addition that I've recently made is my grain mill. Mostly because its an awesome extra step I get to enjoy during the brew day :rockin:. I also just really started using Beersmith more heavily, I know its not necessarily considered part of the brew day but I can sit around for hours dreaming up new beer recipes and keeping them all nice and organized on my computer. >:)
 
I hear you on that, particularly on days where you have a brew buddy. I've made a house rule - no drinking or chiefing on brew day until the boil is started and the bittering addition is in. Brew days go much more smoothly that way, and since we usually start around 9am, this keeps the shenanigans from happening until around 11am which is much more respectable.

Boooooooooo. BAN!!

;)
 
r8rphan said:
Yesterday.. (or was it two weeks from now? :drunk:) I added a flux capacitor!
Now I can brew in one tenth the time!
Plus now I can jump ahead to when fermentation is done!
When the keg is empty, I just jump back and drink it again!
Life is really good!
:mug:

Me too!

But that was after I found this forum. I've learned and practice so much information and techniques that I've encountered on this forum, from all you basass brewers out there. So without a doubt my single best addition has got to be HBT. Thanx everyone! Brew On
 
I found that getting a restaurant ice-paddle, used for cooling soups and stocks for refrigeration, made getting those last Pain-In-The-Rear temps from 80F to pitching much quicker (especially during the summer when the water is a bit warmer). I just pull it from the freezer, sanitize and put it in the center of my immersion chiller. The shape also makes it very easy to get the reverse whirlpool to cool it even faster. Cut my cooling time from those temps by 20+ minutes. I would never put it in hot wort fresh from the pot, but it's pretty effective for anything under 90F. Any restaurant supply store will have them or you can get them from Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/San-Jamar-Rapi-Kool-Cold-Paddle/dp/B0001MSCI4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1342499862&sr=8-2&keywords=rapi-kool
 
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I found that getting a restaurant ice-paddle, used for cooling soups and stocks for refrigeration, made getting those last Pain-In-The-Rear temps from 80F to pitching much quicker (especially during the summer when the water is a bit warmer). I just pull it from the freezer, sanitize and put it in the center of my immersion chiller. The shape also makes it very easy to get the reverse whirlpool to cool it even faster. Cut my cooling time from those temps by 20+ minutes. I would never put it in hot wort fresh from the pot, but it's pretty effective for anything under 90F. Any restaurant supply store will have them or you can get them from Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/San-Jamar-Rapi-Kool-Cold-Paddle/dp/B0001MSCI4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1342499862&sr=8-2&keywords=rapi-kool

i may try this with frozen 2 liter bottles. It should work the same, no?
 
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Few coins added to BK to prevent boil over.. no more panic spraying with spray bottle.
 
i may try this with frozen 2 liter bottles. It should work the same, no?

Yeah, they're basically the same thing. I was using those small reusable soft cooler ice blocks before getting the rapi-kool, but they would melt before getting my wort down to pitching temps. I got the paddle on sale at a local restaurant supply store dirt cheap and the 1 gallon size fits perfectly down the center of my chiller.
 

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