4 months in...

[jdphillips73]

I'm posting this for those who are thinking or just now getting into homebrewing. This is my 120 day review.

Days 1-30- I started out with one of those beginner kits with a glass carboy, bottling bucket, hand capper and extract kit. Brewed about 4 of those kits and quickly bought a 2nd glass carboy. I was making full 5 gallon batches in my Blichmann 10 gallon kettle. LESSONS LEARNED during this time- it got old real quick trying to keep the carboys in the ideal temperature range during fermentation.


Days 31-60- I bought a maytag 8.0 cu. ft. freezer and an inkbird temperature controller to use as a keezer. I was up to 4 glass carboys being stored inside of it. Bought tons of bottles, and upgraded to a bench capper. LESSONS LEARNED- I'm starting to think of saving money by going all-grain but dont want to spend a lot on the set-up. BIAB I (Brew in a bag)seems the way to go at this point.


Days 61-90- I got set-up for BIAB and started doing 5 gallon all grain batches. A Yopper Ale and Edworts Haus Ale were my first two. Bought a Corona Mill and modified it to be housed in a 5 gallon bucket and operated by a drill. The beer bottle pipeline is now going strong. LESSONS LEARNED- Im getting real tired of cleaning and bottling and multiple 5 gallon batches are taking too long. Plus the cost of propane and hassle of refilling is taking its toll.

Days 91-120- Kegging begins. I bought a danby freezer big enough for 4 kegs and added a inkbird temperature controller. By using plans on here I added 3 perlock taps and a #10 dual regulator CO2 tank. I also upgraded to a 20 gallon Blichmann kettle to make 10 gallon BIAB Batches. Also, bought a Blichmann Hellfire burner and natural gas conversion kit. Good bye bottling and propane.


So here we are... what started at a tailgate party across the street when I watched some guy make a extract 5 gallon batch in the front yard sparked a really fun, expensive yet rewarding hobby. Im spending way less time, working smarter, and enjoying more quality beer. Plans in the future? Well- Maybe a full blown all grain setup? I dont know, dont know enough about the benefits yet to take the plunge.

Wherever you are in the process, cheers!

 

[tylerardissono]

Nice work, looks like you got a good setup going for you.

 

[McKnuckle]

I went from 5 gallons of beer brewed with 3 vessels and packaged in 50+ bottles, to 2.5 gallons brewed in 1 vessel and packaged in one 2.5 gallon keg.

The classic homebrew books and forum wisdom can be a bit outdated in terms of helping newbies get a good sense of all options. You just have to do it and learn for yourself what you like.

 

[C-Rider]

I went from 5 gallons of beer brewed with 3 vessels and packaged in 50+ bottles, to 2.5 gallons brewed in 1 vessel and packaged in one 2.5 gallon keg.

The classic homebrew books and forum wisdom can be a bit outdated in terms of helping newbies get a good sense of all options. You just have to do it and learn for yourself what you like.

I also down sized from 5 gallon kits to 2 gallon BIAB. I don't have a lot of free loading friends to help me drink 100 bottles of the same stuff and Usually only drink one bottle a day. Maybe 2 on a weekend.

So 2 gallon batches gives me most of the time something between 16 and 18 bottles and my refer offers me a CHOICE of what to drink.

 

[BobOki]

Don't feel bad..... I am now coming up to my 1yr....
I went from a brew kit from Northern to a All grain setup with a built stand and pumps and **** over to a Grainfather which I love more than anything else thus far. Went from bottling to getting a Perlick kegger that is now 4 tap (think I will try http://keg.ninja to track it) with a 20lbs co2 and a 5lbs co2. Tools went from refractometers or hydrometers to a Tilt (http://tilthydrometer.com/products/brewometer) and now use brewstat.us to track the fermentation process.

On deck is a SS conical from SS brew, maybe that 7 gallon brewmaster edition..... and it just keeps going