Basic equipment needed for all grain home brew set up geared towards IPA/DIPA

[shetlandshaun]

Hello,

I am an extreme noob in the home brew game. Been a fan of craft beer for couple years and now want to try my hand at it. I made a diablo iPa using the mr beer set up which was ok but didn't quite taste like an iPa.

After doing some research I figure I will more likely get a beer I like using an all grain set up. As funds are limited I was wondering what is required to get a basic all grain set up (budget around $300) it seems $500 is the standard to get a good set up. I've been keepin eye on Craigslist for brew pots and wort chillers and the like but would really appreciate a break down list of essential components to get stated and can always add on extras as time goes by.

Appreciate any and all tips

 

[LovesIPA]

If your budget is $300, I would suggest getting the basics out of the way first. How are you controlling fermentation temps? Are you making yeast starters? If you don't have these factors under control, you can still make beer. Once you do, it will be much better beer.

Search for "swamp cooler" on HBT and "how to make a yeast starter on google.

Starting out brewing all-grain is a real challenge. You have to be well-prepared with both knowledge and equipment.

 

[TNTgill]

The basics would be a fermenter (either 6.5 gallon bucket or carboy), bottling setup, brew kettle (aluminum is good and cheaper than stainless steel) that's at least 10 gallon, propane burner, a mash tun is nice but you could start AG by BIAB ( brew in a bag) where you mash in your boil kettle and your grains are contained by a fine mesh bag. That's how I started out and it worked great. There is a whole thread on it here. Then all the various little pieces like tubing, auto siphon, capper and such. I started out for around 150 bucks with the above set up. Grabbed a starter kit from Midwest off groupon and then a 50 dollar kettle and 20 dollar burner to start.

 

[Patirck]

I agree with LoveIPA and would add this:

If you want to make IPAs and DIPAs, don't rush into all grain brewing. If you want a complex malt profile for a german dopplebock or an imperial stout, that would be a good reason to jump in with all the extra equipment. For Hop forward beers - extract works great. Keep an eye on craigslist and get a turkey fryer after thanksgiving. It should come with a 8 gallon or so pot (aluminum is fine). Don't worry too much about a wort chiller - if you really like hoppy beers, you will probably end up doing hop stands (letting the boiling wort cool down slowly while you add hops). You can also do "no-chill" brews. A list of things to keep an eye out for:

Turkey fryer setup - propane burner, kettle - this assumes you can brew outdoors or at least in a garage with the door open. I bought one a few years ago for $20.

Get two 6.5 gallon buckets for fermenters (I'm assuming you want to make 5 gallon batches). You can get these from a home brew store or online. If you don't need any store's logo on it - you can get plain ones for less than $10.

Auto siphon - home brew store or online - used to transfer from the fermenter to the bottling bucket. You will also need tubing that does not impart plastic flavors. I would start off with 10 feet of tubing - you will find uses for it and you need to replace it every so often.

Bottle wand - plastic tube used for filling bottles with un carbed beer.

Plastic spigot for bottling bucket.

Big spoon (preferably stainless) for stirring the pot when your boiling. Restaurant supply places carry these for $8 - $12. Try to get one that is plenty long.

Star-san or other sanitizer - used to sanitize fermenters and other stuff (cleanliness is super important in brewing).

A decent thermometer - this can be an $8 floating thermometer bought at a homebrew store or a $90 thermapen. There are many options in between.

Hydrometer and test jar - used to measure gravity of fermenting beer to see if it is finished - about $10

Bottling stuff - you need a wing capper and some bottle caps - about $15 - $20.

As mentioned above - you also need some way of controlling temperatures - this can be done in many ways. Depending on where you live and if you have some place like a basement (or closet for that matter) that stays at a constant temperature (like the low to mid 60s), you can just ferment there. The next step up from that is a swamp cooler / water bath - this is a giant plastic bucket - usually used for holding 1/2 barrel kegs. You put your 6.5 gallon bucket in there and then fill it with cold water until it reaches the liquid level in the feremnter - it helps insulate and cool the fermenting beer. If you need it colder, you can periodically (like once or twice a day) swap out plastic soda bottles that you store in a freezer to help keep things at the right temperature. The next step up from here is a temperature controlled chest freezer - The chest freezer can be had for as little as $25 - $50 on craigslist (sometimes free if your lucky). The part you have to buy is a temperature controller - you can get these unwired for about $50 on amazon and do some simple wiring yourself or get the whole thing done and ready for about $100.

For the style of beers you want to make (right now) you don't need to worry about making yeast starters - just use dry yeast - works great, costs less.

The bottom line is there is much more to making good or even great beer that mashing grains. If you are getting into this for IPAs and DIPAs, I would not bother going all grain until you have a chance to do at least 8 or 10 batches and improve your technique for the boil and fermentation.

After you get this setup going, another way to save some $$$ is to order some ingredients in bulk online - especially hops - you can buy them by the pound and stick them in a freezer. Just don't go crazy as you probably want to use the hops within 6 months or so of getting them. You can also buy malt extract and dry yeast online store it until you use it.

 

[shetlandshaun]

thanks for the input everyone and for the great break down of what I should source. I guess i will keep on truckin with the extract process for a while and see what it yields. Thanks for all the info everyone

 

[davygoat2]

http://homebrewshop.com/

http://www.howtobrew.com/

these are two real good sources that i used, I also bought this and can't put it down
http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Homebrewing-Third-Edition/dp/0060531053
Good Luck, keep clean and I'm having fun hope you do, the first brew made me a little crazy, after that I let it flow..

 

[invivoSaccharomyces]

If you have the equipment for extract brewing, you can always stove-top partial mash: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-partial-mash-brewing-pics-75231/

You will start saving some money on ingredients this way, and you can start getting a feel for the all-grain process.

 

[sumbrewindude]

How big of a batch do you want to brew?

I just did my first ever brew, a 1.5G AG, on the stove top and oven with a cheap wallyworld stainless 3 gallon pot and my wife's extra 1.5gal pot. Offloaded to a 2gal bucket.

All said and done, I think I was about 60ish bucks in for equipment (including the HF grain scale), then 8 bucks for grain/hops/yeast.

The trick is to not get caught up in the "toys" (and there's a LOT of toys on this site... LOL) and get what you NEED. Small batches fit in my plan, and they're very easy to work with getting started and learning a process. Super easy to clean up too - everything goes in the dishwasher.

Eventually I can see myself moving to a 2.5G setup, but it's just me drinking and I love to experiment and try different beers.

I could do a lot of damage with 300 bucks...

 

[shetlandshaun]

How big of a batch do you want to brew?

I just did my first ever brew, a 1.5G AG, on the stove top and oven with a cheap wallyworld stainless 3 gallon pot and my wife's extra 1.5gal pot. Offloaded to a 2gal bucket.

All said and done, I think I was about 60ish bucks in for equipment (including the HF grain scale), then 8 bucks for grain/hops/yeast.

The trick is to not get caught up in the "toys" (and there's a LOT of toys on this site... LOL) and get what you NEED. Small batches fit in my plan, and they're very easy to work with getting started and learning a process. Super easy to clean up too - everything goes in the dishwasher.

Eventually I can see myself moving to a 2.5G setup, but it's just me drinking and I love to experiment and try different beers.

I could do a lot of damage with 300 bucks...

I was thinking to work with 5 gallon batches but also not ruling out trying smaller batches especially if it saves on equipment costs. I definitely want to build up my gear as I go. I was reading Sam calgione book extreme brewing and he gives a list of equipment he believes is the fundamentals but he's a pro so I wanted to see what options actual home brewers have used and worked well for them. Appreciating the input 🍻

 

[yewtah-brewha]

ive been using a mash tun, 10 gallon cooler, and I want to try the biab out it looks easy and possibly better than a mashtun.

 

[sumbrewindude]

ive been using a mash tun, 10 gallon cooler, and I want to try the biab out it looks easy and possibly better than a mashtun.

I brewed with a guy before I tried doing it on my own, and he used the cooler. I think the cooler works great - and definately has an advantage on HG brewing, but for simplicity and speed BIAB just flat out works. I'm really glad I put in the effort to research it before going the cooler route. It shaved almost 80 bucks off the initial investment, and I still hit my marks with a double crush and a dunk sparge.

Doesn't stop me from wanting a cooler setup for HG!

Only downer on BIAB, if you do a TRUE BIAB, you need a larger pot for the volume of water, vs a sparge where you can get away with two smaller pots. Large pot = more cost. Still, who doesn't need a bigger pot.