Long post so please bear with me.
I have about 7 months, maybe ~10, to plan my brew setup. I wanted to share my initial plan to see if anyone has done something similar and what other options I might be missing. I first thought about what my end goal was and to work backwards. Although I keep finding it hard to not keep looking at the actual brew equipment. So below is my plan. I appreciate any feedback. I am sure to miss some things since I have only done extracts. I do plan to go all grain using electric. Any links to good articles or reviews to keep responses short might help others as well.
End goal: No smaller than 4 tap system.
I like the idea of building my own keezer. I'll use build lightly as I would look at a 7-9 CuFt chest freezer. I have seen a few at Lowes for ~$350. Much lower than the Kegco 3 and 4 taps I saw. I have done bottles before and will never go back. 4 corney kegs and for the slight cost difference, a 10lb CO2 tank. I would like to keep the tank inside the keezer. I am looking at the Kegco reglator and secondary. I may try different pressures so a distributor isn't needed. I'm OK with the added cost when I can catch them on sale. I'll look at all the lines, couplers, dispensers, sink and drains in the coming months.
How to get 4 kegs of beer? Fermentation time. I am way up in the air on this one. I didn't mind my old glass carboys. Cleaning is a pain, but why not some plastics? I don't know. I don't have to go low cost but don't mind putting in more overhead. I liked the idea of conicals so I can dump the trub and yeast. I also like the transfer from bottom spigot. Some of the pricing is way beyond my understanding, but I have seen some reviews on the Anvil 7 gal bucket. Much cheaper. Has a small concave bottom but no trub dump. I figure I have to start somewhere. Also, with 4 kegs I plan to buy a minimum of 3 fermenters. I plan to keep a rotating lager at minimum. I do have a side-by-side refrigerator I can use. I just need to measure the inside height to see if I can fit two. Doubtful if I can put a third on the freezer side.
I'm not planning on doing secondary. A lot of reading seems to point in the direction of this is not absolutely needed. I will finish with conditioning in the kegs.
Other issues I need to consider are ale fermentation cooling/heating. A GC just isn't happening yet. Maybe later.
Fermentation summary: 3 fermenters, one lager min at all times. The rest I'll keep different to try new flavors.
Now to figure out how to get the fermenters full! Common sense I know. But, I do plan to use electric system. I can't get past the number of positive reviews for Anvil 10.5. I also like the idea of using 110V first until I can get 220/240 going. Since I will probably be moving in a few years I am not sure I want to fit the bill of that install and have to do it over after the move. I doubt I would go less than 5 gal batches, and maybe once, if that, a 10 gal batch. BUT I do like the high octane so a bigger kettle is good. My next option is Grainfather G40. I lean toward this just because it has more video reviews posted so I can actually see what is going on. I'm a visual learner . I have thought about trying the Anvil and if needed sell and get the GF. May not come to that, but ya know...options!
Options I like to look for: warranty, what accessories are included, do I need to buy anything additional, ability to step mash, sparge, ease of cleaning, learning cure of setup using the interface. I have IT background.
I don't need anything WiFi or BT but might be nice to have if my laziness gets worse.
Again this is just a starting point and I have at minimum 7 months to learn what I may like and to figure out how off I am initially. I think black Friday is when I'll start looking for deals and get first purchases going. I already saw the regulators on sale for the 4th so holiday shopping should prove nice since I have to wait anyway.
Looking forward to advice and follow-up questions.
Brew on!
I have about 7 months, maybe ~10, to plan my brew setup. I wanted to share my initial plan to see if anyone has done something similar and what other options I might be missing. I first thought about what my end goal was and to work backwards. Although I keep finding it hard to not keep looking at the actual brew equipment. So below is my plan. I appreciate any feedback. I am sure to miss some things since I have only done extracts. I do plan to go all grain using electric. Any links to good articles or reviews to keep responses short might help others as well.
End goal: No smaller than 4 tap system.
I like the idea of building my own keezer. I'll use build lightly as I would look at a 7-9 CuFt chest freezer. I have seen a few at Lowes for ~$350. Much lower than the Kegco 3 and 4 taps I saw. I have done bottles before and will never go back. 4 corney kegs and for the slight cost difference, a 10lb CO2 tank. I would like to keep the tank inside the keezer. I am looking at the Kegco reglator and secondary. I may try different pressures so a distributor isn't needed. I'm OK with the added cost when I can catch them on sale. I'll look at all the lines, couplers, dispensers, sink and drains in the coming months.
How to get 4 kegs of beer? Fermentation time. I am way up in the air on this one. I didn't mind my old glass carboys. Cleaning is a pain, but why not some plastics? I don't know. I don't have to go low cost but don't mind putting in more overhead. I liked the idea of conicals so I can dump the trub and yeast. I also like the transfer from bottom spigot. Some of the pricing is way beyond my understanding, but I have seen some reviews on the Anvil 7 gal bucket. Much cheaper. Has a small concave bottom but no trub dump. I figure I have to start somewhere. Also, with 4 kegs I plan to buy a minimum of 3 fermenters. I plan to keep a rotating lager at minimum. I do have a side-by-side refrigerator I can use. I just need to measure the inside height to see if I can fit two. Doubtful if I can put a third on the freezer side.
I'm not planning on doing secondary. A lot of reading seems to point in the direction of this is not absolutely needed. I will finish with conditioning in the kegs.
Other issues I need to consider are ale fermentation cooling/heating. A GC just isn't happening yet. Maybe later.
Fermentation summary: 3 fermenters, one lager min at all times. The rest I'll keep different to try new flavors.
Now to figure out how to get the fermenters full! Common sense I know. But, I do plan to use electric system. I can't get past the number of positive reviews for Anvil 10.5. I also like the idea of using 110V first until I can get 220/240 going. Since I will probably be moving in a few years I am not sure I want to fit the bill of that install and have to do it over after the move. I doubt I would go less than 5 gal batches, and maybe once, if that, a 10 gal batch. BUT I do like the high octane so a bigger kettle is good. My next option is Grainfather G40. I lean toward this just because it has more video reviews posted so I can actually see what is going on. I'm a visual learner . I have thought about trying the Anvil and if needed sell and get the GF. May not come to that, but ya know...options!
Options I like to look for: warranty, what accessories are included, do I need to buy anything additional, ability to step mash, sparge, ease of cleaning, learning cure of setup using the interface. I have IT background.
I don't need anything WiFi or BT but might be nice to have if my laziness gets worse.
Again this is just a starting point and I have at minimum 7 months to learn what I may like and to figure out how off I am initially. I think black Friday is when I'll start looking for deals and get first purchases going. I already saw the regulators on sale for the 4th so holiday shopping should prove nice since I have to wait anyway.
Looking forward to advice and follow-up questions.
Brew on!