What to get for my next upgrade?

Ok, I bought some basic brewing equipment last spring (fermenter, burner, chiller) and have since brewed 5 beers with varying degrees of success.

3 APAs turned out to all have a similar medicinal twang on the back end of it, but a Cream Ale and a British Bitter both turned out delicious.

So, I've been thinking of buying my first equipment upgrade with the hope that I can possibly improve my APAs and make even more delicious other beers.

I'm looking to spend around $100 so I'm wavering between one of two upgrades.

I was thinking of buying a yeast starter kit with a stir plate.

or

Buy a Temperature Controller and a Brew Belt since my house will be in the lower 60s this winter.

Any ideas which I should go for, one of the two options above or am I overlooking something? I could just try to make a starter kit with an old mayonnaise jar, but was just looking for what others thought.

Everyone here seems to say that most people can make good beer, but great beer is only made by controlling fermentation temp. I'd do something along that line.

You can make a yeast starter without a stirplate, so do that and get the temperature controller.

i've been brewing for years, and still my stirplate is me picking up the gallon jar and shaking it

You are asking the right question. As we build our breweries, most of us need to do so in a systematic and cost effective manner.

I set my goals as 1) safety, and 2) how can I improve my beer?

It is the fermentation that made a huge difference. If you are brewing ales, temps at the early 60's will be fine in your basement during the winter months. Therefore, a belt may not be necessary and the money could be used for the purchase of another piece of equipment.

TEMP CONTROL > STIR PLATE ......... at least if you have to choose one or the other.

You can make a perfectly good starter without a stir plate.

On the other hand what Gammon said above. If you're temp is on the low end with low end being low 60's you really don't need to "heat" your beer. I brew all my ales at 62. They come out cleaner than if you ferment up toward the 70 range. Most people have the opposite problem and need temp control to ferment them on the cooler end.

And scratch the mayonnaise jar for your starter. It's a big up front cost but it will be worth it in the end. Invest in a "gallon jug" from one of the online brew sites (AHS, BMW). Throw it on with your next order ................. they are $2.99 or something ridiculously low like that.

Our next major upgrade is going to be a son of fermentation chiller. Our beers have been pretty good so far without but I think they can be better. For $100 you might be able to build one and also buy a stir plate. I have to agree though, temp control seems like it would help quality. A stir plate seems like it would make doing starters more convenient but you can still pretty easily make a good starter without. Probably not the best way to do it but for my last starter I used a plastic water jug.

Gammon N Beer said:

You are asking the right question. As we build our breweries, most of us need to do so in a systematic and cost effective manner.

I set my goals as 1) safety, and 2) how can I improve my beer?

It is the fermentation that made a huge difference. If you are brewing ales, temps at the early 60's will be fine in your basement during the winter months. Therefore, a belt may not be necessary and the money could be used for the purchase of another piece of equipment.

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I agree with what seems to be a consensus in this thread; work on your temperature contol before anything else. OTOH, my basement stays from the high '50s / low '60s year-round. When I started brewing 3 years ago, I was concerned that it would be too cold to ferment down there, so I bought the brew belt. Turns out that the temperatures in the basement are pretty much ideal, and I now use the brew belt to help encourage dough to rise in the kitchen.

A heating pad set on the lowest setting will do the same or better IMHO as the brew belt.

However, Son of Fermentation Chamber would give you all season control of your temps.

Temperature control is one of the best things you can do to improve your brew. Forget the belt, I ferment ales in the 62f ambient range in my basement and make great ales. I ferment lagers in a temperature controlled fridge.

Thanks for all the advice so far. It seems like I might not need to do anything right now except invest in a simple container to make a few simple starters and see how that goes.

I should have mentioned earlier, but I'll be fermenting in the closet of my condo this winter. I'll try to monitor the temperature during my first few batches. I've heard that a consistent temperature is important during fermentation. Hopefully things won't fluctuate too much in the closet.

I tend to think that temperature control, and doing full boils are the areas that will make the biggest improvement. Not to say that pitching rate is not important but as lumpher said, my hands also make for a great stir plate.

tadgunkie, where are you in NJ? If you're anywhere near a brewpub, chances are they sell growlers. Buy some beer, get a growler, and use that for starters.

Hell, if you're like me you've got six or seven of the damned things taking up cupboard space. Just get a stopper and airlock and you're set for starters.

I'm going to jump on the temperature-control bandwagon. There are two things a homebrewer can do relatively inexpensively which will pay massive dividends in beer quality: Temperature control and pitch rates, both of which are part of managing your ferment.

You can often get old - but functional - refrigerators for free on Craigslist. Add a ~$60 temperature controller and you're done. If you can press-gang a growler into service as a starter vessel, add in <$5 for a stopper and airlock. Boom. Done. You've now got the ability to manage your ferment.

Cheers!

Bob

Yeah, I was thinking of using a growler. I have one that I've been collecting loose change in. I'll probably just try the aluminum foil trick for now. Maybe upgrade to a stopper and airlock down the road.