Money for nuthin...

[CliftIndy]

Hello, HomeBrewTalk!
I've been brewing for about two years now since my wife picked up a one gallon all grain kit from Brooklyn BrewShop and I was hooked after that. I brewed for a year doing small all grain batches on the kitchen stove with decent results using really basic equipment and crude methods. After the first year, I upgraded to do five gallon batches but found it a challenge to maintain the all grain route because of the need for additional equipment and storage space. I also live in an area with terrible water. I started brewing with extracts and steeping grains. I like the beer that I make and it gives me great satisfaction.
Here's the question...I've got about $200.00 to spend on brewing equipment and I'm kind of lost on what to invest it in.
I've got a ten gallon kettle, standard wort chiller, replaceable bucket fermenters, bottling equipment and all the other little odds and ends.
My challenges lie in maintaining constant ferm temp in the summer months as I don't really have space for a spare fridge and a Johnson.
I also have small kids....so brew days start at 4am or 9pm

If you were on the same setup with the same concerns, how would you get the most bang for your $200?

 

[Black Island Brewer]

Based on your challenges, and the equipment you already have, you could get a Insulated Fermentation Bag for fermentation temp control and a Wilserbrewer Bag for your 10 gallon kettle for BIAB brewing for around $100.

 

[beergolf]

Based on your challenges, and the equipment you already have, you could get a Insulated Fermentation Bag for fermentation temp control and a Wilserbrewer Bag for your 10 gallon kettle for BIAB brewing for around $100.

Excellent suggestion to the OP....

I would add a Stirstarter Stir plate and a 2000ml flask to make starters and you are good to go.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

^^^^^^They both have the answers I was gonna give^^^^^^

 

[CliftIndy]

Thank you, sirs!
Between my Christmas gift card, shopper points and 10% discount I can get all four of these within my price range. I had been considering the cooler for a while and saw others have positive reviews for it. I think my LHBS carries all of these in stock, too. A friend had suggested a counter flow and chigger pump to help cut time out of the brew day but I didn't see how that'd improve the quality of my beers.

 

[VladOfTrub]

Maybe, a water filtering unit as well as the other things mentioned.

 

[flars]

Do you have a cabinet for the fermentor to make it "kid proof"? Or are your children not likely to remove an air lock?

 

[cjgenever]

Fermentation temp control is #1.

 

[yeahfairly]

Thank you, sirs!
Between my Christmas gift card, shopper points and 10% discount I can get all four of these within my price range. I had been considering the cooler for a while and saw others have positive reviews for it. I think my LHBS carries all of these in stock, too. A friend had suggested a counter flow and chigger pump to help cut time out of the brew day but I didn't see how that'd improve the quality of my beers.

You're on the right track.... For your set up a chugger and counterflow would be a waste. You said you had a basic wort chiller and utilizing gravity eliminates the need for the pump. Go for the Insulated Ferm Bag. I've read some great reviews on them. Fermentation Temp control will have the single biggest impact on your beer. Second thing I would consider is a cheap water filtration system if your water is that bad!

 

[unionrdr]

I've saved a ton of those re-freezable gel packs from hot weather yeast shipments. I was considering that fermenter bag with 3 or 4 of the frozen gel packs?

 

[CliftIndy]

The kids like watching the airlock bubble a lot and I don think they'd mess with it. My closet really is the only place that I leave my fermenters because the temps are pretty steady and they're out of the way there. It's good for ales in the winter months. It stays about 64~66 in there and I use S-04 or Wy1968 in just about everything. Summer is another story as it deviates from 74-79 degrees.
BIAB seems to make a lot of sense for a nominal investment. I'm sold on the cooler. When I said I had crap for water...the Ph is around 7, full of chloramine and the calcium is off the charts so I'm thinking I'd be less of a headache to start with mineral or distilled and adjust it from there.
I don't brew a lot of high gravity beers so I'd have to read up on a stir plate to see if I'd benefit there.
I think the consensus is that happier yeast means better beer and I'll get the most bang for my buck there.

 

[unionrdr]

I use Ohio spring water for mt beers. The yeasties seem to love it. Giant Eagle spring water for hoppy beers, White House Artisian Springs for maltier ones.