The 200$ question

[ronan]

I have about 200 bucks in Amazon gift cards and are thinking what my next upgrade or addition should be to the home brewery. Really want to go bang for the buck. This is what I have it narrowed down to.

* New mash tun 10 Gall " My current one is a 10 year old cooler and waivers about 4 degrees during a 60 min mash." Still functional but my strike temps are usually higher than necessary just to account for the inefficiacny.

* Fermentation Chamber probably go with a used chest freezer and STC -1000 temp controller. "Presently fermenting at about 72-74 degrees in my basement."

Thanks

 

[jeepinjeepin]

What is your current setup? Fermentation temperature control and some patience and you can ferment lagers.

 

[ronan]

I do a lot of stouts and pub ales. My current tap tower is mainly setup for nitro/beergas and my keezer is too small for carboys. My current fermentation setup is basically just a cold spot in a my basement which is about 72ish in the summer and mid to low 60s in the winter.

 

[jeepinjeepin]

Are you brewing with extract or all grain? Have a 7+ gallon pot? Immersion or counterflow chiller?

 

[ronan]

All grain, 10 gallon brew pot not ball valve basically just muscle the wort through a strainer into a 6.5 gallon carboy. Wort chiller is an immersion chiller. Also just outfitted with a water filter system.

 

[jeepinjeepin]

OK, yeah. I'd suggest fermentation control and a weldless valve for the brewpot. If you want a new MLT, there is plenty of money left. Keep the old MLT to use as a HLT.

 

[whitehause]

Fermentation temp control FOR SURE!!!!

You already know how to compensate for your old mash tun. It's just part of the learning process.

Temp control made one of the biggest differences in my overall brewing. 72 is to high an ambient temp for "almost" any style. I try to keep most of my temps between 62 and 63 for the first few days, because the fermentation will raise the temp 4 to 7 deg depending on style. At 72 to 74, your fermenting at 77 to 81. Being able to slowly raise or lower your temp, and keep it constant, opens up a world of possibilities in brewing.

If you have it down to those choices, I can not stress temp control enough. It will add a whole new dimension to your brewing.

 

[ronan]

Thanks, just located a standup freezer that should accommodate 2 primary's and 2 secondaries for about 100$. So with that said definitely going the fermentation chamber route. Probably go with the STC-1000 for a temp controller. I have one now and I'm fairly happy with it plus it can heat and cool.

 

[ronan]

Picked up an upright freezer for 80$ (Montgomery Wards Deluxe Edition) and a stc-1000 temp controller for 23$ on eBay. I'm trying to determine what is the best approach is for heating the chamber in the winter in Chicago either heat lamp or heat pad? Temps in my garage will drop to 10 to 15 in the worst conditions. But all in I think it will be roughly 125$ total. I'm still using one burner and one 40qt for brewing and just using a bottling bucket for a HLT. Perhaps having the second burner and a real tank of some sort may help speed things up. I typically stay away from 90 min recipes for this reason.

 

[jeepinjeepin]

Picked up an upright freezer for 80$ (Montgomery Wards Deluxe Edition) and a stc-1000 temp controller for 23$ on eBay. I'm trying to determine what is the best approach is for heating the chamber in the winter in Chicago either heat lamp or heat pad? Temps in my garage will drop to 10 to 15 in the worst conditions. But all in I think it will be roughly 125$ total. I'm still using one burner and one 40qt for brewing and just using a bottling bucket for a HLT. Perhaps having the second burner and a real tank of some sort may help speed things up. I typically stay away from 90 min recipes for this reason.

I have a small ceramic heater with fan. I can't see needing anything more.

 

[daksin]

Fermentation temperature, pitching the correct number of healthy yeast cells, and oxygenation are the three SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT aspects of brewing beer. IN THAT ORDER. If you don't have the first one done, take care of it immediately and begin IMMEDIATELY producing better beer. Then work your way down that ladder.

 

[Dan]

Daksin nailed it!

I'd just like to add sanitation to that list.. probably towards the top.

 

[Broham1]

Fermentation temperature, pitching the correct number of healthy yeast cells, and oxygenation are the three SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT aspects of brewing beer. IN THAT ORDER. If you don't have the first one done, take care of it immediately and begin IMMEDIATELY producing better beer. Then work your way down that ladder.

This, but if you're looking for best bang for your buck, I'd suggest looking at a mill setup. The savings on grain for each batch allows more money to be spent on gear later. At least that's what I'm planning to sell SWMBO on soon

 

[jeepinjeepin]

I still stick with fermentation control over a mill. I got a mill before my fermentation fridge but I was also doing ice baths to regulate temperature beforehand.