One vessel vs. two

[Lax coach]

I've been brewing with a Pico Pro for about 2 years now, and looking to make the jump into "for real" all-grain brewing. With that in mind, I'm trying to figure out what kind of rig I want to buy/assemble. From my reading, I'm fairly certain I don't want to go to a full 3-vessel HERMS setup. But I'm going back and forth between doing BIAB (likely with a basket rather than a bag) or a 2-vessel (BK/MT) Kettle RIMS setup. I was hoping the smart folks here could help me weigh out the pros and cons.

First, a couple of assumptions:

• Budget is around $2600, but that has to include kegs and fermentation. Thinking 1 or 2 brew bucket + beverage fridge + heating pad + inkbird setup(s) for the latter.
• I will be doing electric for sure, already have a 30A circuit and spa panel installed in the garage.
• Garage is unheated. Temp right now is upper 40s while it's in the teens outside, so figure on the really cold days it might get into the 30s.
• I do have a 4000W heater I could run in advance of brew day, but it use the same circuit (different outlet), so couldn't be used during heat to strike or the boil (might be fine during recirculation)
• I will not be installing ventilation, so whatever kettle I'm boiling in will have a steam condenser
• I have a cold water supply (hose bib), but no hot water or sewage
• I don't envision ever doing batches larger than 5G. It's pretty much just me and my father-in-law that drink beer, so 2 kegs a month is about as fast as we can go through it.
• I'm not planning on bottling

So far I've primarily been looking at Brew Boss or Grounded Brewtech for BIAB, or doing the 2-vessel thing either through High Gravity or a pair of custom Spike kettles. Would probably drive those with an Auber Cube2.

So what are some of the details that should be leaning me in one direction or another?

 

[BigRobb]

For 5G batches $2,600.00 is more then enough for everything by far. I do both BIAB and 2 vessels. BIAB at home and 2 Vessel system (high gravity) at my brew pub. I would have gone with a BIAB at my brew pub but the 2 Vessel system was actually less expensive. Personally I recommend the BIAB system, talk alot about it on my blog. I would go with either the GrainFather or the cheaper system Mash & Boil. Kegs simply pick up some used corny kegs, and fermenter the speidel 30L will work great. In total you can probably get it all done for $600-$700. Good Luck and let me know if I can help. Cheers Big Robb

 

[OG-wan Kenobi]

I do a single vessel brew in a bag I doubt anyone could change my mind on going multi vessel brewing but I also use propane (faster) and a bag (Cheaper). You have a healthy budget and as mentioned above the Grainfather customer's seem the enjoy there units a lot and it does a lot for them in 1 unit and there is a ton of information out there on it that is a good place to start researching another unit I see people seem to be happy with is the Claw hammer set up. When going electric time seems to be a big factor in how long these units take to reach temperature a lot of people seem to work around this though for me I would rather do 2 batches in a day and I go a different route (also $$ to redo my setup makes no sense). For fermenters I am really enjoying my Anvil 7.5 gallon fermenters they are a pleasure I have also used glass carboys and plastic buckets with very good results I have to say. Just side info a 5lb co2 tank will suite you fine for a small set up I use 5 lb for 4 kegs, and definitely go dual tap kegerator a single gets boring, check craigslist for cheap used kegs and maybe even a kegerator or used ink bird units, stir plate, wort chiller ect., best of luck

 

[Lax coach]

Thanks for the responses! Curious that both of you recommend 120V systems when 240V has been installed in the brewing location. I would tend to think 5500W would make for a much shorter brew day than 1600W.

Just side info a 5lb co2 tank will suite you fine for a small set up I use 5 lb for 4 kegs, and definitely go dual tap kegerator a single gets boring, check craigslist for cheap used kegs and maybe even a kegerator or used ink bird units, stir plate, wort chiller ect., best of luck

I actually already have a dual tap kegerator installed in my kitchen. The wife insisted we install it (next to her wine fridge) when we remodeled the kitchen 5 years ago. Who was I to argue? So I've got three 5lb CO2 tanks--one in the kegerator, one for carbonating and pressure transfers, and a spare. Kegerator is currently set up for one sankey and one ball-lock keg at a time.

 

[OG-wan Kenobi]

The nice thing about the Grain Father unit is it is expandable you can get the fermenters and glycol chillers its all nice as a system. I forgot you had 240 with 240 I would look at the Wort Hog that thing seems like a beast and it's designed for 5-10 gallons of brew

 

[Brewers Hardware]

We've been prototyping a one vessel basket system for a while and it has been great. The cool thing about brewing is you can customize your system to how you want to brew. Some people prefer to do biab and wrap the kettle to maintain the heat. Others might want to recirculate with heating elements. I used to use a bag from wilserbrewer and his bags are absolutely fantastic. We switched over to a basket with hooks so you can lift it up after mashing and hook it to the sides to let the grain drain. Either way will make great beer.

2 and 3 vessel systems are great too. It seems like a lot of people are moving away from multi-vessel systems to 1 vessel and biab because it usually saves time, takes up less space, and usually puts out a similar end result.

A few guys in our homebrew club use a Grainfather and love it. It sounds like your budget will pretty much allow you to go any direction, so you should be happy with whatever you decide to do.

 

[BSheridan]

OG-wan kenobi did mention the clawhammer system in his post. This is a single vessel brew in a basket system that they have in both 120 and 240v versions. I believe the 240v system is around $1500 which still leaves plenty of money in your budget for your fermentation and kegging setups

 

[Lax coach]

I did look at the Clawhammer, but it trailed off when I realized that the equivalent Grounded Brewing kit came with all triclamp ports (including whirlpool ports and a recirc port that could probably also hold a steam condenser), butterfly valves for all of them, a counterflow chiller and a panel that I perceive (could be wrong) to be nicer for just $200 more.

 

[4of7]

2v 15 gallon ebiab "brutus 20"..50 l kegmenter..should ibe in budget not sure about condenser..

 

[Jag75]

I have the Grainfather and really like it . Theres a few things I'm learning as I go . The Mash & Boil Is a good product from what I've heard . Supposedly they're coming out with the new model really soon. I went Grainfather because of the size of my house . I'd love to have a big nice stainless 3 vessel electric system but it ain't gonna happen. I do 5 gallon brews so GF is perfect for me.

 

[4of7]

Or you can pay the price for deluxe edition ...naa just start with one kettle 15 or 20 with electric element... now your at 30amp..want to spend more go for 20mash tun.. now your at 10-15 batches.. what now? OH yeah . still need the keg to serve... I bought 50 liter kegmenter.. I will pressure fermentation and transfer,,and serve.. still need to get the condenser.

 

[Lax coach]

I wound up going with the 15-gallon Brew-Boss, hoping to run my first brew this weekend.