if you had some cash to spend

[beerbelay]

I brew all grain. Have a 8.5 gallon SS pot, 1 burner , a converted cooler(rectangle) for a mash/lauter tun and a chiller.. I have plenty of hops in the freezer. I came into some cash ($600)and would like to improve my setup. Any ideas on what to get? I was thinking O2 and a stone. Maybe spend some money and convert the 1/2 barrel keg I have into a keggle. Or pickup a second cooler and a march pump for recirculation. Wadduhyathink?

 

[IrregularPulse]

For that cash, I'd run a 240V 50A line and build a 10G+ electric system using your 8.5G pot for an E-HLT and you keg for a E-BK. Keep your mash tun and grab a pump or two. Then a couple SSRs with PID control and build your control box. That's what I'm currently working on with 2 kegs and just want your extra cash to finish it

 

[Airborneguy]

Get a grain mill. By purchasing bags of grain, you will literally pay for the grain mill in savings in after a few bags. Then, you can safe more money to buy more equipment.

 

[BadgerBrewer]

A pump for sure. They make everything SOOOO much easier and efficient on your brewing. And maybe a conical so you can harvest your yeast which will also save you money the more you brew.

 

[Pappers_]

+1 for a grain mill - it's great to buy in bulk and be able to brew on a whim.

Maybe a setup to control fermentation temps would be a good investment, too.

 

[Montanaandy]

Yeah 1st thing you want to get is the mill for all of the aforementioned reasons. I use the Crankenstein and love it - other use Monster, etc. and love them. They are all very good.

You should still have enough $ remaining where you could also get the O2/stone along with another cooler and March pump. The March is a great addition. Montanaandy

 

[JNye]

i'm planning on grabbing a thermapen next. I would rather get many other things first but...considering i spend alot of trouble hitting my temps, relying on a cheap thermometer just doesn't make sense to me anymore. then a keg set-up

 

[oceanselv]

Grain mill, chest freezer, temperature controller and kegging equipment. The grain mill will allow you to buy in bulk. The freezer and temperature control will allow fermentation control and give you a place to store your bulk grain and hops.

Buying directly from North Country Malt I bought a bag of Best Malz Pilsner and Thomas Fawcett Maris Otter as part of a group buy for approximately $70. I also purchased a pound of fuggles, a pound of hallertauer and a pound of magnum hops from Hopsdirect.com for $41.00. The hops sell at my LHBS for $3.50 an ounce or $56 per pound and the grains are $150 for both bags. Investing in the freezer will pay off huge in buying in bulk and in the quality of your beers.

 

[SamuraiSquirrel]

Temp control, freezer, add kegging setup if you are interested in that. If not at least get the freezer and temp controller for fermenting in.

Look on craigslist. The freezer/temp controller combo will only run you 100-150 of you 600 dollar allowance. More if you add kegging equipment.

 

[Beerbeque]

Six bills would buy me a cool room setup in the corner of my garage and a couple more fermenters.

 

[CDbrews]

dont waste it on the O2 and stone... + 1 to mill and temp contolled ferm chamber

 

[bmsteele]

I'd buy Jonas Brother's memorabilia.

 

[jawsbc]

A nice stainless conical (or two, for $600) would give you a lot of convenience. Eliminating racking and secondary fermentation. Go straight from primary to keg. And they are easy to clean up.

 

[IrregularPulse]

A nice stainless conical (or two, for $600) would give you a lot of convenience. Eliminating racking and secondary fermentation. Go straight from primary to keg. And they are easy to clean up.

Me and several others do this with a plastic bucket
I second the temp controller fermentation if you don't already have this. It will give you the biggest return in beer quality for your buck.

 

[ndsgr]

Become a premium supporter of HBT...

 

[beerbelay]

Thanks all for the responses. I'm leaning toward kegging, a couple more better bottles and possibly grain mill or ferm temp control. Any more ideas?

 

[conpewter]

I'd go with a whole market index fund

 

[drengel1]

for quality of beer i'd go with either an o2 stone and tank or temperature control for fermentation. a mill really wont influence your quality to a huge degree provided your not using ages old malt. temperature control isnt expensive either. i bought a frig for $50 from habitat for humanity and a $65 temperature control unit. its also not expensive to find an old window AC and build a cold room out of styrofoam. an o2 stone does a world of good as well (more than you think probably).


for convenience a keg setup is definitely the place to put your money. i stopped homebrewing cause i botlled beer for a living for a year and couldnt take going home and bottling my homebrew. had at least 20 gallons of beer go to waste simply cause i was to lazy to bottle it.

the best way to think of this is to think of a simple professional brew setup and what they have that you dont. an o2 setup, conical fermenters, and temperature control would be the three brewing related pieces that i would think of

as a caveat dont waste your money on a filter. waste of money. will only strip down and probably oxidize your beers.

 

[KyleZ]

I would go grain mill and keg set up. I just got a grain mill and love it. Hoping for a keg system soon.

 

[AggieChemDoc]

grain mill and kegging setup + convert to keggle.

 

[Sedge]

Fermentation temperature control is the most important thing you can do for your beer at your level. You've already got a proven system for mashing and boiling. Fermentation is where it becomes beer. Don't skimp.

After that I personally would go with pumps, extra fermenters, or building a nice rack to house everything statically. I don't have the space to build a static structure/sculpture and it adds a lot of time to brewdays hauling everything out of the basement/garage and getting it back again.

 

[ForRealBeer]

Fermentation temperature control is the most important thing you can do for your beer at your level. You've already got a proven system for mashing and boiling. Fermentation is where it becomes beer. Don't skimp.

 

[Homercidal]

Grain mill! Saves you money right from the start. Then temp control. A pump could make things easier, but it won't necessarily help you make better beer.

The kegging is nice if you aren't already doing it. It's kind of expensive, but it's a bit easier to deal with than bottling and just cool to pour a glass from. I'd still go with the mill first. You'd have a few hundred left over to start into kegging.

 

[Great_Neck_Brewer]

Temp control, freezer, add kegging setup if you are interested in that. If not at least get the freezer and temp controller for fermenting in.

Look on craigslist. The freezer/temp controller combo will only run you 100-150 of you 600 dollar allowance. More if you add kegging equipment.

I agree, fermentation is key to good beer

 

[DeathBrewer]

+1 on temperature control. And a pump...recirculation can really improve your efficiency and give you some clean, clear beer.