Opinion on my proposed all-grain set up

I've been extract brewing for a few months using a pretty good Brewer's BeAst set up and I'm ready to take the next step into all grain. I'm on a budget, so I'm trying to get everything I can for under $400. I'd like to get some opinions on the set up I'm looking at to see if anyone thinks I'm over/under-doing it. I'm aiming to do 5 gallon batches here of any gravity.

Mash Tun - Homemade converted 10 gallon igloo cooler with a braided faucet hose as a filter - approx $80

HLT - My current kettle is a 5 gal. stainless steel pot. Thinking I can install a brass valve on it for about $15. Add another $15 for the step drill bit to accomplish this.

Kettle - Looking to purchase a 9 gallon pot with a stainless ball valve and thermometer pre-installed from "Adventures in Homebrewing" here in Metro Detroit - approx $130

Burner - AIH also has a nice 14" square burner on sale for $90

Wort Chiller - 25' Wort Chiller 3/8" copper tubing with compression fittings for hoses, also from AIH for 69.99.

Everything else I figure I can use the same as extract. Thoughts?

 

You might need a second chiller as a pre-chiller if your water isn't cold enough to reach pitching temperature. (My tap water is 75* in the summer.)

 

you could get a bayou classic sq14 (burner) for close to half that. I had looked at those AIH burners and decided to get two SQ14s instead. I have brew 10gal batches with it, with no problem. So if you wanted to save a couple bucks thats one way.

 

or look into a 50 foot chiller, 25 will take forever if it even makes it to the temp you want. other than that tho it looks like you got it! congrats on the conversion, im brewing by 5th AG batch this weekend

 

You should figure on about $50 in fittings, hose (buy silicone...) and other ancillaries, and $50 for an initial fill and purchase of a propane tank if you don't have one.

You can save half the cost of the chiller by buying the copper tube yourself and bending it. It's incredibly easy to do. A 25' chiller is probably a bit short for summer brewing, but you could use it for the winter with cold tap water, and then move it to pre-chiller use next summer.

You'll also need a standalone long probe thermometer for measuring the mash temperature.

 

I don't have a lot of empirical evidence for this, but I think that the braided hose results in lower efficiencies. I use a copper manifold and my nephew uses a braided hose and his efficiency is nowhere near what mine is. That's the only significant difference between our two setups.

You could also build a PVC manifold for a lot less than copper.

You will be happier in the long run with a stainless ball valve.

I think you can save yourself some money on this one by installing the thermometer and ball valve yourself with the step bit. Here are a couple other things to consider as well. Aluminum works just as well as stainless steel does. Someday you may want to start making 10 gallon batches. You can get a nice converted keggle with all stainless fittings for what you're paying for that kettle.

I have a bayou classic that I got for $40. 30+ batches on it, performs every time.

I have no affiliation with this company, but I bought my chiller from them for a lot less than that. I just had to bend it and solder the fittings myself.

https://coppertubingsales.com/storefront/index.php?cPath=174_208&osCsid=iktdflc68u2fluvtjva733ppm2

You will also need a long spoon to stir the mash. If you have the money, get a quality thermometer to monitor mash temperature. There will also be a few misc & assorted items that you will find makes brewing easier.

Also, what is your fermentation temp control like? If you haven't done anything yet, I'd recommend getting a chest freezer and temp controller before going all-grain. Proper ferm temp control is really crucial to making good beer.

 

On the cheap- you can skip the HLT. Use your main kettle to heat water and just use a bucket to transfer. If you only have 1 burner, you don't really need 2 kettles.

The kettle - double ported are nice, but the thermometer is mostly eye candy. You need to know mash temps, but you are just going to boil in the kettle. A valve is definitely worth it though.

Burner - perfectly fine burner, but you could certainly find cheaper ones if that is the goal.

Wort chiller - this is not where you want to scrimp - go 50ft or a plate chiller. You probably won't have much issue with ground water temps in Michigan

Definitely need a real mash paddle. The tractor supply company is advertising them for $15 or so.

 

I would buy a kettle, a 50' section of copper and the fittings to make a chiller, bayou classic burner, big stainless spoon/mash paddle (or make your own out of hardwood), BIAB bag, thermapen, and a quality PH meter.

My setup is very similar... only I wish I had a thermapen and a PH meter.

 

Depending on what type of sparging you are going to do (batch or fly) you may want to do a false bottom for the mash tun. If you're fly sparging the false bottom is more efficient, but if you just want to get into the all grain the braided will work fine. I've done the igloo cooler build and it works great, although my plans are to go with the false bottom to replace the braided filter.

I agree with LovesIPA about the fermentation control temp as it is very important. My personal choice was to go all grain first though because better / fresher ingredients are a huge improvement over using extracts. Ultimately though it's up to you which one you think is priority.

 

I echo the point that you only need one kettle. I you are going to batch sparge, you can save money by not buying the round cooler and just using a much cheaper cooler. A braid works great and is just as efficient as a false bottom or manifold

Check out Denny's set up. http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/

You really don't need valves on your kettle. You can pour or siphon the wort to you fermenter and save some money.

You can really go all-grain on the cheap without losing much but convenience if you try. If you want to upgrade to valve, keggles lateretc etc you can

 

Let's see. You're on a budget and want to start doing all grain without spending a lot and then you start out by mentioning $400. That ain't budget, that's pretty deluxe. For that amount I could brew a lot of batches of beer. You want budget? Really budget?

I bought a turkey fryer that came with the propane burner and pot. $60
I bought a Corona style mill because I don't have a LHBS. $25
I bought a pair of paint strainer bags. $5
That comes to $90 total which leaves me with $310 for ingredients. I can make a lot of beer for that.

 

Yep.

I starte all grain for about $100

Garage sale cooler and added braid $20
40 QT Winware Aluminum Kettle $40
Bayou classic jet burner $50

I chilled in an ice bath but added a IC for about $40 shortly after.

You can get set up really cheap if you are patient and look on Craig's List and garage sales.

$400 is a lot of money

 

If budget is a concern, I'd do BIAB. Good burner, $75, Good pot, $50, Bag $20, and you have the opportunity to make very good beer. Spend the rest on wort chilling (make it yourself) / temp controlled fermentaion / yeast starter - stirplate -oxygen injection equipment. The one caveat is you have to be near a LHBS that turns over lots of extract, so it's fresh.

This gives you virtually all the flexibility with recipes that AG gives. And a good burner / pot fit into a 3 pot AG system down the road.