bernerbrau
Well-Known Member
Having just completed my second batch, I've decided to review my equipment and process so far to see what I can do to improve the quality of my brew sessions.
For the moment, I have 6.5g and 5g glass carboys, a bottling bucket, a 5-gallon aluminum brewpot, 3-chamber airlocks with rubber stoppers, a hose and racking cane with a bottle filler, a large funnel/strainer, a small funnel, a turkey baster I use to start siphons, mason jars for yeast prep and yeast storage, 22-oz bottles, oxygen absorbing caps, cheap vodka, a spray bottle and SunOxy and StarSan for cleaning and sanitizing.
I clean everything by soaking it in SunOxy then siphoning off the soak water to clean the interior of my siphon apparatus, then I repeat the process with StarSan to sanitize. I save some of the racked-off StarSan for the brewing process to re-sanitize my hands and anything I end up touching.
I chill my boils in an ice bath; this usually takes 30-60 minutes. I have an extra strainer on hand that I use to skim off the hops after the chill before transferring to carboys. I use cheap vodka in my airlocks, and for conditioning I siphon my priming liquid directly from the pan into the bottling bucket.
To prepare bottles for filling, I prepare a bucket full of SunOxy solution and rack into bottles, then I scrub them out with my bottle brush, dump, then re-fill the bucket with tap water and rinse each bottle three times, then finally I fill the bucket once more with water and StarSan and fill each bottle halfway, give them a good shake and let them sit before dumping them out.
I am thinking of buying either a larger brewpot or a second one so I can achieve closer to a full boil (and since I have a double sink, I can chill two pots at once). Also, I've been having bad luck with volume so far due to boilovers and a great deal of reduction during the boil, as well as not having enough top-off water.
I'd also like to be able to know the alcohol content of my beer and better determine when fermentation is done, so I need to get a hydrometer, and I'm told a carboy thermometer is vital for consistent temperature brews.
I'm also thinking of investing in a blowoff tube since I've heard stories of clogged airlocks and the stopper shooting off mid-fermentation, and if I go to single-stage fermentation I won't have a lot of space at the top of my 5-gallon carboy.
Anyone have any other recommendations for upgrading my equipment or process?
For the moment, I have 6.5g and 5g glass carboys, a bottling bucket, a 5-gallon aluminum brewpot, 3-chamber airlocks with rubber stoppers, a hose and racking cane with a bottle filler, a large funnel/strainer, a small funnel, a turkey baster I use to start siphons, mason jars for yeast prep and yeast storage, 22-oz bottles, oxygen absorbing caps, cheap vodka, a spray bottle and SunOxy and StarSan for cleaning and sanitizing.
I clean everything by soaking it in SunOxy then siphoning off the soak water to clean the interior of my siphon apparatus, then I repeat the process with StarSan to sanitize. I save some of the racked-off StarSan for the brewing process to re-sanitize my hands and anything I end up touching.
I chill my boils in an ice bath; this usually takes 30-60 minutes. I have an extra strainer on hand that I use to skim off the hops after the chill before transferring to carboys. I use cheap vodka in my airlocks, and for conditioning I siphon my priming liquid directly from the pan into the bottling bucket.
To prepare bottles for filling, I prepare a bucket full of SunOxy solution and rack into bottles, then I scrub them out with my bottle brush, dump, then re-fill the bucket with tap water and rinse each bottle three times, then finally I fill the bucket once more with water and StarSan and fill each bottle halfway, give them a good shake and let them sit before dumping them out.
I am thinking of buying either a larger brewpot or a second one so I can achieve closer to a full boil (and since I have a double sink, I can chill two pots at once). Also, I've been having bad luck with volume so far due to boilovers and a great deal of reduction during the boil, as well as not having enough top-off water.
I'd also like to be able to know the alcohol content of my beer and better determine when fermentation is done, so I need to get a hydrometer, and I'm told a carboy thermometer is vital for consistent temperature brews.
I'm also thinking of investing in a blowoff tube since I've heard stories of clogged airlocks and the stopper shooting off mid-fermentation, and if I go to single-stage fermentation I won't have a lot of space at the top of my 5-gallon carboy.
Anyone have any other recommendations for upgrading my equipment or process?