new to brewing

[devlzluv]

Really new to brewing, made bout 5 of the mr beers and now finally stepped up to true brewing. I bought a brew set off craigslist for 30 bucks, gots me a 5 gallon carboy with 2 blowoffs, 5 gallon bottler looking thing from the 60's. Right now I have some EdWorts Apfelwein in it right now. So at this time i have a decent amount of money that im going to invest. At this time I really dont want to bottle unless I have to for gifts. So im looking into kegging right now and start building up my parts for brewing. I recently just aquired 2 5 gallon stainless steel pots from adventures in homebrewing, there ok but a lil on the thin side. Been reading alot on HBT and decided to go with this

Ordering 8 corny kegs from CHI along with a 10lb CO2 tank, 4 way secondary to drive 2 dual tap brass towers. SWMBO said it has to look classy or I cant do this at all. Im looking at a keezer build that can hold 5 kegs and the 10lb, I know about the freezer thread what will fit and what wont.

Also looking at ordering Brewing intermediate kit with the 2 5 gallon glass carboys from midwest supplies along with 2 6 gallon better bottles and additional 6.5 gallon glass carboys with all the tops and blowoffs that I will need. Also looking at getting a wort chiller but thats still in the air since im not going to be doing AG yet (still apt dweller) and lack of room.

I know I need more so thats why im posting this to get an idea of what else you guys think I should get. I really have about 2k to spend that SWMBO is letting me use so hook me up with some input.

Later
Dev

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

My suggestion is to slow down, and really think how to spend that money. If you can spend that wisely, it will be enough to get you very close to your dream system.

First a couple questions:

1) Do you intend to go all-grain?
2) Do you intend to move out of the apt in the near future?
3) Do you have access to somewhere other than your apt where you can brew until you have more space?

Without knowing your answers, I would suggest that you skip the intermediate kind of stuff. If you are spending that kind of money, go for the gold right off the bat.

For interior brewing, check this out:
MoreBeer | Vacuum Brew Kit

I would also look into John Beere's temperature controlled fermentation thread.

Write out your plan of things to buy. It will really help. I have a spread sheet that has all suppliers and costs of every component I want for my system. This way, whenever I spend even a dollar, I know it is not wasted.

I hope this helps.

 

[cody5thou]

I wish I could help, but I am in the same spot!!! I have a lot of questions that need to be answered, but I will search first!

 

[devlzluv]

yup def plan to go AG, I would have the room to do it outside but i live on the 2nd floor so i would have to transport the keggle or the carboy back upstairs to let it ferment. My hopes is to go AG here soon and possibly be getting a house here within the next 2 years but when and if that happens then I want to have a good AG setup. Lol and another thing my 5 gallon pots barely fit on my stove since I have a stupid microwave over it hence taken up space or else i would def try to conjure up some crazy contraption for AG but im still learning alot about this and want to get my feet wet first with the extract to the partial mash (deathbrewer) post. The more vacuum looks sweet but idk if they will fit on my stove. I also checked out jds post for AG, Im glad I already have a rubbermaid container like his thats just sitting around. I can prolly get a setup like that but neighbors are going to think im making drugs but like I said idk the first thing about AG.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

OK, here is a list of good questions to ask yourself. After you answer these questions make a plan for your brewery.

1) What are your goals? Do you want to brew so you can drink in quantity? What kind of beer do you want to brew? How in depth do you want to be?

2) Are you a do-it-yourselfer, or will you be purchasing everything?

3) Do you want to go AG?

4) If no to 3), then I would say at the very least do full boils and concentrate on fermentation control.

5) If yes at 3), start building towards that now. You do not have to immediately have to brew AG, but buy things that will be used when you do. For example, large enough pots, etc.

6) What batch size do you want to do?

7) How do you want to control fermentation temps?

8) What do you want to ferment in?

That's all I can think of now. I'll try and think of more.

I know it is tempting to just buy some stuff and start making beer, but if you can be patient and think these things through first, you will save money and have a better system at the end of the day.

I'm not kidding about writing it down. If you want, PM me your email address and I will send you my Excel sheet.

 

[devlzluv]

OK, here is a list of good questions to ask yourself. After you answer these questions make a plan for your brewery.

1) What are your goals? Do you want to brew so you can drink in quantity? What kind of beer do you want to brew? How in depth do you want to be?

2) Are you a do-it-yourselfer, or will you be purchasing everything?

3) Do you want to go AG?

4) If no to 3), then I would say at the very least do full boils and concentrate on fermentation control.
5) If yes at 3), start building towards that now. You do not have to immediately have to brew AG, but buy things that will be used when you do. For example, large enough pots, etc.

6) What batch size do you want to do?

7) How do you want to control fermentation temps?

8) What do you want to ferment in?

That's all I can think of now. I'll try and think of more.

1. I know it is tempting to just buy some stuff and start making beer, but if you can be patient and think these things through first, you will save money and have a better system at the end of the day.

I'm not kidding about writing it down. If you want, PM me your email address and I will send you my Excel sheet.

Goal of brewing is to drink what I brew, when I have get together at my place I want people to drink the beer, I want to become knowledgeable and get in depth as I can, im only 26 and really want to continue doing this for a good while. Ive ordered the john palmers book to read and learn more.

2. Big DIY, I always come up with some crazy stuff when I think about things

3. Def want to go all grain but wanna learn the basics then move up but yes AG is def in my future.

4. I will def start getting larger pots like the kettles and 10gal stock pots but still limited on space and cant use anythign bigger than 5gal on my stove cuz it sucks with height.

5. Want to do 5 gal batchs since thats about all the space I have room for and will prolly stick with 5 gal batchs since easier with kegging

6. Gonna control the ferment temps with the keezer I plan on building and fermentation cabinet that im already looking at building for the brews that require cold lagering

7. Want to ferment mostly in glass, maybe some buckets and better bottles. But really want to stick to glass cuz my curiousity gets the best of me and dont want to infect my beer looking in the buckets.

I know I sound crazy but im glad your helping me out, I wanna do this right and build up my equipment the first time. Ive made a spread sheet for my keezer so far with prices and how much im going to spend and so on with all the parts minus the look good parts like tile and such for that classy feel. I havent started pricing out all the stuff yet for my carboys and such but pricing just on a limb of about 350 for the stuff I listed earlier on. The pots will def come soon when I get my AG experience up more and decide on propane burner and stuff but gotta see how Im going to do that since of my apt complex.

 

[devlzluv]

hey Boerderij sent ya a pm

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

devlzluv - OK, welcome to HBT, and stepping up. It's pretty clear you like to take really big steps.
Moving from Mr. Beer to really cracking down to learn everything as fast as you can is just a little step, just like the last step on a cliff or from a plane.
Not trying to scare you, its obvious you have done some leg work and have a good ideal of what your goals are.

Keep some change in the bank and focus on making good 5 gallon batchs that you love and your friends enjoy to drink. For this I think basic equipment, being able to control your fermentation temps, and making it as easy as possible will be the biggest bang for the buck. In this I have to do two thumbs up to kegging, and a fermentation chamber, fridge will get you to good and carefree brewing.

From there the roads have many forks, but any direction you choose will be your road.

Best of luck,

 

[The Pol]

I would totally NIX the kegerator idea until you have the correct process and equipment required to fill the kegs. Kegerators with two twin draft towers etc will eat up a lot of funds. Walk before you run. As the other posters have said, you need to learn about brewing first, you are jumping a year or so down the road almost.
You will not be able to boil much on your stove, whether the kettles fit on it or not. You may want to look into how you are going to boil, before you start looking at draft towers for beer which has not been brewed.

_________________________________________
Primary- Circle City Haus Ale
Secondary- Orange Cascade APA (dry hop)
Keg1- Centennial Blonde (On tap)
Keg2- Oktoberfest (On tap)
Keg3- Christmas Spice
Keg4- Fire In The Hole
Keg5- AIR
Keg6- AIR
Keg7- AIR
Keg8- AIR

 

[JesseRC]

I think if the wife is okaying all of this he should just do it now before she changes her mind...

 

[The Pol]

Be a shame to buy a kegerator when you can't afford to boil your wort though LOL

_________________________________________
Primary- Circle City Haus Ale
Secondary- Orange Cascade APA (dry hop)
Keg1- Centennial Blonde (On tap)
Keg2- Oktoberfest (On tap)
Keg3- Christmas Spice
Keg4- Fire In The Hole
Keg5- AIR
Keg6- AIR
Keg7- AIR
Keg8- AIR

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

New thought. Boil volume is a problem... check

Solution, electric brewing. Works inside, no fumes, clean, and definitely within your budget.

I agree that making good beer is more important than the packaging. Kegging is nice, but if you aren't making good beer yet, and a lot of it (4 taps is a lot to feed), you may become discouraged.

I would look into some of the electric brewing threads if I were you.

 

[JesseRC]

I built my kegerator before my first brew. It gave me something to do while parts came in, and it was my way of Jumping in. But yeah that seems like a lot of cornies. Maybe compromise, build the Kegerator with minimum, but quality parts and stick to extract and partial kits for now. I think 4 cornies is ideal for my nooby self. It gives me some variety and time to brew more without running out. This guys seems really excited, which I know just how he felt, so as to not be a buzz killer, I would say buy the bare minimum, because there is no doubt that you will continually find things you need to order ...as I have come to find this is a wonderful hobby, but clearly I spend more on it than my Fishing and boating hobbies.. minus the boat.

 

[devlzluv]

Lol thanks everyone ya I want to build the keezer and have already had all the plans setup to do it right, also have a good idea on building a fermentation closet to hold 4 carboys. Only gonna cost me like 60 bucks to build and it will look nice,my cigar box gave me the idea so ima run with it to control the temp. I know im taken big steps but like someone said earlier I want to build the keezer before the wifey says nm you cant do it. I always want to build something all at once instead for instance buying 1 tower then having to take apart to install another tower.

For the boiling ive already tested my 5 gallon pots on my stove and i can get a boil within bout 20-30 mins on high, my stove is a beast but the height requirement just sux so thats why i have to stick with the 5 gallons until I move to AG outside or I persuade the wife so I can just rip it all out and then lol 9 gallon pot here I come. Maybe ill just hold off on 8 kegs and get just 4. Lol I can do that

I know you guys are just telling me this, 1k im saving for the keezer build the other 1k im just specifically putting towards good equipment. Lol this isnt something im going to get sick of even if I screw up alot once I set my goals I follow thru so you guys def be hearing alot from me I just hope one day ima have your guys knowledge of all this.

 

[telemarc]

I wish I had devlzluv's money! We're in the throws of a recession, you know. LOL!

 

[devlzluv]

I wish I had devlzluv's money! We're in the throws of a recession, you know. LOL!

lol ive just managed to sell some stuff thats all, any other time im poor

 

[Righlander]

Dude have you even tried brewing extract with adding some grains for steeping
and doing boils with hop additions at different stages in the boil? I'm no pro but... I'd say start with that if all you have done is Mr. Beer. You can produce some really good beers this way. It is really fun to do, you can do it in your apt no problem. And bottling has it's advantages: Stashing away a 12 pack of pints for like 6 months and forgetting about it...then suddenly stumble across it and remember it, and throw em in the fridge is a good thing.

 

[devlzluv]

Dude have you even tried brewing extract with adding some grains for steeping
and doing boils with hop additions at different stages in the boil? I'm no pro but... I'd say start with that if all you have done is Mr. Beer. You can produce some really good beers this way. It is really fun to do, you can do it in your apt no problem. And bottling has it's advantages: Stashing away a 12 pack of pints for like 6 months and forgetting about it...then suddenly stumble across it and remember it, and throw em in the fridge is a good thing.

O trust me im doing extract and partial mashing first, no way in heck im going AG gotta get my feet wet first. Another reason for the keezer wife already hates when I get a 12 pack of beer in the fridge so its kinda like shes letting my keezer/keg them if I wanna continue my hobby. I will stash a few bottles away like a 6 or 12 pack and come back to it in a lil, im still gonna do that for the exact reason your saying.

 

[Pivzavod]

Dude save your 2k and start out small. You can get 3 primary setup with all the other tools you need for under $200. Brew a few beers, get your fermentation chamber going and then work on keezer.

 

[devlzluv]

Ok lol well I went ahead and purchased some stuff from midwest supplies right now, the keezer is on hold for 1 still looking for decent freezer. So I got intermediate kit includes 2 better bottles 5 gallon, fermenting bucket, and bottling bucket. Also order 2/6.5 gallon glass carboys, 2/6 gallon better bottles, 1/5 gallon carboy, 7 blowoffs, carboy caps for all them, and the carboy racker/drainer. Cant have enough carboys plus that many I never saw as a bad thing. Once I decide to do my first lager then im building my keezer to keep temp down. Also looking at getting a kettle from craigslist and me and my friend are going to build a stand to support it. Ill keep you guys updated on my process and first real brew day