Getting Paid next week, buying some new equipment. Need advice.

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Forrest

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Westminster, Uk. But only till the end of Decembe
Well Thursday of next week is the day I have been waiting on, PAY DAY!!!!!!!!!!

To Celebrate, I am going to buy myself some more beer brewing equipment to ease myself a little closer into all grain brewing. I am want to get a grain mill and some of that brewing software as the first all grain brew I am going to attemp to make is a personal developed recipe and I would like to run it through a program and make sure everything is sound as I have had some people tell me that I am putting too much Hops in it.

Starting with the Grain Mill though. I have been reading on these forums people recommending two main Grain Mills. The Barley Crusher, and CrankandStein. I have also heard of some other Brands but these are the main two listed. I know these things are a matter of personal preference but I thought I would get some opinons on which is better. Funny thing is, I use to live in Atlanta. In fact, I just moved away from Atlanta back in January. So I could have bought a CrankandStein and saved on shipping. Oh well.

The next thing is the brewing software. I have downloaded trial versions of Promash and Beersmith and I have the same problem with both of them. The reason I first started brewing beer was the inclination to brew hard to comeby or unusual beers. I particuarly like Rye which is not so unusual any more but I still like using it. Anyway, I noticed that none of these programs (at least the trial versions) have any of the different Rye Malts included that I use a lot like Chocolate Rye and Cara-Rye. So I am not sure how much use these programs would be to me. Maybe the newer version do have these malts?

Any advice will be appreciated.
 
I don't have a mill yet, so I can't give any advise there other than I'm leaning toward a Crankandstein

As for Software, Beer Tools Pro has they have a few Chocolate Ryes, a Caramel Rye and all sorts of other Rye choices. You can also add new ones if you want.
 
I can't help you on the grain mill, but to be honest, I think that's really one of the last AG equip you need. First, get/make a good MLT, big kettle, good chiller, etc. Just my $0.02.

For the s/w, I use BeerSmith and really like it. It seems really easy to use once you get it configured for your equipment. It has Caramel Rye, Chocolate Rye, Rye Malt, and flaked Rye. They may have come from one of their updated data sets, though. Not sure. In any case, I didn't add them by hand (which you can obviously do if needed.)
 
I am in the process of making a MLT right now. The reason why I want to go a head and get a grain mill is because I now live out in the middle of no where and getting malted grains is hard. Pretty much my only option is to order them online. The smallest quantity you can buy online is a lb and I don't need a full lb of all of my grains so some of the grains would go bad before I could use them. Good to know that Beer smith and the other has some of the Rye Malts. It is just a hard choice of which one to use.

How do these purchasable programs compare to Qmash? Are they worth buying?
 
QBrew is nice for making recipes. But it doesn't have any options for strike temp and steping up temps for the mash. Also water profile and a few tools are missing from it. I prefered BeerSmith and bought that one. As for the mills, I own a crankandstein, I like that I can adjust the rollers and that the price has been lowered. I made my own base and hopper for about $9 worth of stuff.
 
Thanks for the link but the only Grain that I use that Beersmith doesn't have isn't on that site either. One of the companies on that site makes it but they dont' have it listed. I need the info on Cara-Rye or Caramel Rye Malt (same thing) They have Cara wheat, and Cara Pils and all kinds of other Cara's but not Cara Rye.:(
 
Forrest said:
Thanks for the link but the only Grain that I use that Beersmith doesn't have isn't on that site either. One of the companies on that site makes it but they dont' have it listed. I need the info on Cara-Rye or Caramel Rye Malt (same thing) They have Cara wheat, and Cara Pils and all kinds of other Cara's but not Cara Rye.:(


Contact that site. I'm sure they'll help you.
 
sause said:
QBrew is nice for making recipes. But it doesn't have any options for strike temp and steping up temps for the mash. Also water profile and a few tools are missing from it.

Strike temp, steps, etc will be on the next release.

Email the author with the stuff you want. He's pretty receptive to adding things.
 
FYI - BeerSmith does have info on Caramel Rye. Again, maybe it's in an update for the grain data. Here's what it shows.

Caramel Rye (Weyermann)
Origin: Germany Color: 35.0 SRM
Supplier: Weyermann Must Mash: No
Type: Grain Add After Boil: No
Potential: 1.032 SG Diastatic Power: 0.0 Lin
Dry Yield: 70.0 % Max in Batch: 15.0 %
Coarse/Fine Diff: 1.5 % Protein: 12.0 %
Moisture: 4.0 %

Notes
Caramel malt made with a rye base. Adds aroma, flavor and color. Used in rye styles.
 
Hey Forrest

I'm not trying to rain on your parade and you may not really be looking for advise, just people to reaffirm your buying decision but:

Since you stated you wanted to go all grain and are on a limited budget if it were me I'd get the equipt. to do all grain brewing first. Then add software and a grain mill once you are comfortable doing AG.

You can easily create your own recipe by tweeking a clone W/O software and most every HBS will mill your grain for you.

Just my $0.02 in case you happen to be looking for real advice and not affirmation.
 
Forrest said:
The smallest quantity you can buy online is a lb and I don't need a full lb of all of my grains so some of the grains would go bad before I could use them.

Yes, but at the most you're throwing away 50 cents to a dollar worth of grain which, if you keep it in a freezer, will last several months.

http://ebrew.com/company/catalog.htm#welcome < - they sell malts by the oz. I've purchased from here before and found them to be a reliable source.
 
Forrest said:
Pretty much my only option is to order them online. The smallest quantity you can buy online is a lb and I don't need a full lb of all of my grains so some of the grains would go bad before I could use them.

Austin Homebrew also sells by the ounce.

But as Cheesefood says, we're talking about a very small expense if you end up wasting a few ouces of grain. Also, crushed grain keeps a while in the freezer.
 
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