Need a little help…

[GrowleyMonster]

That's quite a "starter kit" you got there!

I would stop buying stuff for a while except for ingredients, and make a few 5 gallon batches before buying anything else. Otherwise you will end up spending an extra $2000 to make the same 60 gallons or so of beer every year. And actually you are already on a good start there. Don't get me wrong... pretty much everything you have bought is useful and good quality, but you could have spent a lot less and still be able to brew great beer. No biggie, water under the bridge. But going forward from here, staying a little closer to the basics on future purchases will leave more money for more and better ingredients.

 

[davidabcd]

Another solution is to buy spring water at the store

Absolutely. I was getting a whiff now and then of chlorine from the tap water so all spring water now. I do extracts so my boil is 3 gallons. Long story short, two gallons of spring water in the freezer to 33°F for top off. Makes getting to pitching temp really easy.

 

[Big_D]

Absolutely. I was getting a whiff now and then of chlorine from the tap water so all spring water now. I do extracts so my boil is 3 gallons. Long story short, two gallons of spring water in the freezer to 33°F for top off. Makes getting to pitching temp really easy.

Good tip there!

 

[Deric]

My $0.02

You have GREAT equipment.

IF your water tastes good - get some Campden tablets and treat for chlorine/chloramines to be safe.

If brewing 5 gallons:
Get 10-12 pounds of 2 row
2-6 ounces of hops (do you like more or less bitter?)
A couple packs of GOOD dry yeast - perhaps US-05

If brewing 10 gallons double it.

Brew a batch. Keep DETAILED records. I'd suggest brewing software .... BrewFather, BrewersFreind, BeerSmith etc. I really like BrewFather.

Does it taste bad? Post here with your questions/concerns. Get feedback, adjust process as necessary.

Brew it again.

Make improvements and brew it until you think you can make it the same over and over.

Try a new recipe.

 

[superiorsat]

Thanks for the reply! A lot of suggestions on going with an extract kit verse whole grain to start off. I guess the mash process is a little more challenging than what I was thinking. I helped my dad years ago do a BIAB batch, I remember it was quite a process. I’ve got a couple weeks off from work. I can do a couple water trial runs, and then an extract kit followed by an all grain and compare them to see how they come out.

I would suggest you start off "extract" as in extract the sugar from your all grain setup which should perform as desired. Mashing is not tough. A carbon filter or Campden tablet for chlorine and get to brewing and report back in a couple weeks. The longer you linger looking for info just means you have to keep buying over priced beer from the MAN. Lol.

 

[GrowleyMonster]

Here is a good recipe kit to just get your feet wet. Dead easy, no surprises, simple instructions. Not even particularly temperature dependent. Ferment at room temperature! Quite a nice drink, too. This, just as an example, but it was my first batch and it was darn good beer. BAM, out of the park! That first batch got me off to a great start and gave me a lot of enthusiasm to continue brewing. Even Mrs. Monster liked that one, and she doesn't like beer.

https://www.northernbrewer.com/products/block-party-amber-ale
You can use two complete recipe kits for one 5 gallon batch and make "Double Block" ale. But don't do that your first time at bat.

You have the stuff to go all grain recipe brewing right from the get go, but there is a lot to be said for starting in the shallow end of the pool. There are a lot of parameters to control and a lot of details you simply can't forget, that later on you will take care of as a matter of course, while hardly thinking about them. Could be a bit bewildering your first time.

With a good ingredients kit, mainly you just need to be meticulous with cleanliness and sanitation. The fine points of the process can wait while you do your first batch of ale of your first couple of batches.

You are probably used to drinking lager beer, maybe pilsner. Yeah, the yellow stuff from the grocery. And you can make a superior lager that puts it to shame, but lager is a little more complicated than a simple ale. After your kit batch or batches, try a popular ale recipe, nothing fancy, just good ol' ale. No need to continue with extract once you have your foot in the door. You got the gear, go ahead and go with all grain brewing. Get a few batches of ale in, before trying a lager. Be able to keep your fermenter down in the 50's (fahrenheit) for WEEKS, during ferment and lagering, if you want to make a proper lager beer. Ales ferment happily in the upper 60's through lower 70's generally.

 

[JAReeves]

It's quite the starter kit; I have been assembling/building my system over the span of several years, and I'm at the point where it's very minor changes if any at all. Aside from the advice you already received, I would strongly encourage you to pick an online recipe resource, especially if you decide to go all grain.

FWIW, I use Brewer's Friend. Great calculators for measuring all sorts of things and processes, and the recipes I make are fully downloadable so I can keep accurate records of how my recipes have changed over the years. Others will have their favorite, I am sure, but pick one that fits your process. I don't always have room for my laptop in the garage when I am brewing, so using my phone to modify my recipe on the fly as calculations come in is easy with Brewer's Friend. Most of my recipes are public, so take a look if you are interested:

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/brewer/182475/reevesie

 

[GrowleyMonster]

It's quite the starter kit; I have been assembling/building my system over the span of several years, and I'm at the point where it's very minor changes if any at all. Aside from the advice you already received, I would strongly encourage you to pick an online recipe resource, especially if you decide to go all grain.

FWIW, I use Brewer's Friend. Great calculators for measuring all sorts of things and processes, and the recipes I make are fully downloadable so I can keep accurate records of how my recipes have changed over the years. Others will have their favorite, I am sure, but pick one that fits your process. I don't always have room for my laptop in the garage when I am brewing, so using my phone to modify my recipe on the fly as calculations come in is easy with Brewer's Friend. Most of my recipes are public, so take a look if you are interested:

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/brewer/182475/reevesie

Indeed. I use their recipe calculator just to try stuff in a virtual brew world and get an idea of what to expect from this or that, and tweak things with a reasonable expectation of results. My next batch, something like this. Might add some flavorings, might not.

Gentilly Imperial Oatmeal Chocolate Stout | No Profile Selected BIAB Beer Recipe | Brewer's Friend though I should have named it Gentilly Imperial Oatmeal Chocolate Cream Stout.

 

[Teufelhunde]

Appreciate it, I’ll check it out!

Do I need to get an O2 tank for the oxygenation kit? The kits I ordered have liquid yeast, so I’m assuming it would be best?

Good luck with that (if you are talking about the small red tanks from the hardware store), as they are backordered everywhere.....

 

[Big_D]

Good luck with that (if you are talking about the small red tanks from the hardware store), as they are backordered everywhere.....

Our Lowes had 10 in stock, I picked up 2. Not sure how to set the rate though on the regulator. These bottles feel like they have hardly anything in them.

 

[palmtrees]

Our Lowes had 10 in stock, I picked up 2. Not sure how to set the rate though on the regulator. These bottles feel like they have hardly anything in them.

What kind of regulator do you have? I have one that just has a gold knob I can turn to make the flow faster, with no indication of flow rate. Not ideal, but it was the right price for me. So I open the valve just a bit, close to as light as it can go. And then let it go for 60 seconds on normal gravity brews and 90 seconds on higher gravity. That should be all you need. It's lasted me more than 15 brews so far, so I bet your tank will go further than you think.

Now if your regulator has a flow rate to it, there's an optimum range you can hit. I'd search flow rate on this forum and tons of posts should pop up.

 

[Big_D]

What kind of regulator do you have? I have one that just has a gold knob I can turn to make the flow faster, with no indication of flow rate. Not ideal, but it was the right price for me. So I open the valve just a bit, close to as light as it can go. And then let it go for 60 seconds on normal gravity brews and 90 seconds on higher gravity. That should be all you need. It's lasted me more than 15 brews so far, so I bet your tank will go further than you think.

Now if your regulator has a flow rate to it, there's an optimum range you can hit. I'd search flow rate on this forum and tons of posts should pop up.

I‘ve got the same one. It might be a little different setup though, it’ll be going through a stone as the wort gets transferred to the unitank. Here’s a pic.. I ran out of hose so I had to improvise a little.

 

[Big_D]

A little better pic, I have a sight glass to see how much it’s putting in. Problem is, I know it’ll take more than 60 seconds to transfer over. I guess I should only use it for a minute and then close it off.

 

[palmtrees]

A little better pic, I have a sight glass to see how much it’s putting in. Problem is, I know it’ll take more than 60 seconds to transfer over. I guess I should only use it for a minute and then close it off.


View attachment 752553

I haven't used an inline system, but I've read about them and seen them used on YouTube brew videos. My understanding is you only run the oxygen for a short period of the transfer. It is possible to over oxygenate which can hurt your beer, so I'd err on the side of less when you're using pure oxygen. I would think a minute or so of inline oxygenation should do fine for you. Happy to be corrected by anyone who uses those!

 

[Saunassa]

I am on a well with a newer softener. While the water is good there is still some clear water iron that it is noticeable in lighter beers. I buy spring water when it is available otherwise I get the RO water at grocery store water station I started out using a blue enamel stock pot and a bmb fermenter and a thermometer.
You have a hell of a system, running a batch of water through all the steps, heck throw in a few hops even to break in and if it leaks no sticky mess.