So I'm a new brewer, still pumped about all the possibilities. I'm blessed with a great job and have been able to purchase what I need to get brewing. I have some cash that I'd like to invest into my equipment and was hoping I could list what I have so far and get opinions on what would be the best bang for the buck.
Note: I only make ~5 gallon batch and currently am doing extract only
Brewing:
-8 gallon SS kettle with stainless ball valve (primary kettle)
-5 gallon SS kettle (primarily use for boiling water and sanitizing my wort chiller
-King Kooker dual burner cart (love this thing and it was cheap)
-Copper Wort Chiller - Best investment I've made, connects to water hose and I love it, first batch I tried the ice bath, what a pain and it took forever
-Fermcap-S
-21" stainless steel spoon
-2 dial thermometers
Fermentation:
2 - 6.5 gallon primary fermentation buckets
1 - 6.5 gallon primary fermentation carboy
2 - 5 gallon secondary fermentation carboys
Lots of airlocks, stoppers, blow off tubes, etc...
Lots of fermometers
Oxygenation Kit 2.0 (disposable oxygen from Home Depot)
Pail opening tool (life-saver, highly recommend)
Carboy handles (very helpful)
Yeast Management:
-2 - 2L Erlenmeyer Flasks
-1 - 1L Erlenmeyer Flasks
-2 Stir Plates (one new and one given to me after I bought the first one)
-Magnetic Stir Sticks
Racking:
Lots of tubing, auto-siphon
Bottling:
1 - 6.5 gallon bottling bucket with spigot
2 - bottle filling wands
1 - wing capper
Lots of 12oz and 22oz amber glass bottles
Bottle washer (sulfiter)
45 bottle drying tree
Lots of oxygen absorbing caps
Miscellaneous:
9 inch funnel with strainer (haven't found a use yet but hopefully I will)
Hydrometer
Refractometer
I really like my 8 gallon brew kettle, got it at my LHBS for $99 which included the stainless (weldless) ball valve, it has graduation marks inside which is nice. My only criticism is that when I'm brewing any bigger beers it gets pretty full (over 7 gallons) and I have to watch it like a hawk to prevent boil-overs. My LHBS convinced me it's all I would ever need but I'm regretting not getting a larger one. For now I'm just going to keep using it because it's like new and has performed really well so far.
If you all had say $300 to spend on anything knowing my current setup what would it be? (don't include a full grain setup because I plan on convincing my wife to buy me that for my upcoming birthday).
This forum is the absolute best resource I've seen on home brewing (aside from the two books I've purchased). Thanks for all the help, every question I've had I've found answers in other threads.
Thanks,
RP
Note: I only make ~5 gallon batch and currently am doing extract only
Brewing:
-8 gallon SS kettle with stainless ball valve (primary kettle)
-5 gallon SS kettle (primarily use for boiling water and sanitizing my wort chiller
-King Kooker dual burner cart (love this thing and it was cheap)
-Copper Wort Chiller - Best investment I've made, connects to water hose and I love it, first batch I tried the ice bath, what a pain and it took forever
-Fermcap-S
-21" stainless steel spoon
-2 dial thermometers
Fermentation:
2 - 6.5 gallon primary fermentation buckets
1 - 6.5 gallon primary fermentation carboy
2 - 5 gallon secondary fermentation carboys
Lots of airlocks, stoppers, blow off tubes, etc...
Lots of fermometers
Oxygenation Kit 2.0 (disposable oxygen from Home Depot)
Pail opening tool (life-saver, highly recommend)
Carboy handles (very helpful)
Yeast Management:
-2 - 2L Erlenmeyer Flasks
-1 - 1L Erlenmeyer Flasks
-2 Stir Plates (one new and one given to me after I bought the first one)
-Magnetic Stir Sticks
Racking:
Lots of tubing, auto-siphon
Bottling:
1 - 6.5 gallon bottling bucket with spigot
2 - bottle filling wands
1 - wing capper
Lots of 12oz and 22oz amber glass bottles
Bottle washer (sulfiter)
45 bottle drying tree
Lots of oxygen absorbing caps
Miscellaneous:
9 inch funnel with strainer (haven't found a use yet but hopefully I will)
Hydrometer
Refractometer
I really like my 8 gallon brew kettle, got it at my LHBS for $99 which included the stainless (weldless) ball valve, it has graduation marks inside which is nice. My only criticism is that when I'm brewing any bigger beers it gets pretty full (over 7 gallons) and I have to watch it like a hawk to prevent boil-overs. My LHBS convinced me it's all I would ever need but I'm regretting not getting a larger one. For now I'm just going to keep using it because it's like new and has performed really well so far.
If you all had say $300 to spend on anything knowing my current setup what would it be? (don't include a full grain setup because I plan on convincing my wife to buy me that for my upcoming birthday).
This forum is the absolute best resource I've seen on home brewing (aside from the two books I've purchased). Thanks for all the help, every question I've had I've found answers in other threads.
Thanks,
RP