All Grain Brewing - Cheaper Than Dirt

[ThomasPaine]

Great article. I hope to never be constrained to your type of system, but if i lived in an apartment and had no money I would do this. This is the kind of thing people need to be doing all the time. sooooo easy

 

[wwgiese]

I used to cool my wort very fast. I used an ice bath like you but i also used ice in the pot. What I did was take a milk jug and wash it out. Then boil a pot of water. I rinsed out the jug with boiling water to sterilize it, then filled it up about 1/3 full and capped it and put it in the deep freeze. With a clean knife i would cut out the block of ice and drop it in the pot with the cooling wort. I got a very quick cool down with a great cold break. This resulted in an extremely clean clear beer usually with out any clearing agents.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

@skitter
No reason not to just go hand grind. I still use a hand grind Phil Mill II 20 years and hundreds of gallons later.

 

[MarsingRedneck]

@zowen88 Unless like me, you don't have a sink faucet that the connectons for a wort chiller will fit on which would involve an additional cost for the new faucet

 

[MarsingRedneck]

I downsized from 5gal. Living alone in my old age, I don't drink near as much as I use to. That's why your article on 2.5 gallons cauught my eye.

 

[jesse]

I really love this.
I actually spend a lot on homebrewing gear (and pro-brewing gear) but I am also a minimalist at heart. In fact, living in Japan, away from all my primary gear in Australia, I have found myself going right back to basics!
You can see my own website in my email address. Please check out my site (and search the terms 'minimalist!)
Cheers to you sir

 

[ambchemist]

Probably not the best idea to use an aluminum kettle. The problem is aluminum is a reactive metal, and when any food or liquid that doesn't have a neutral pH, so anything slightly acidic or alkali, is in contact with it metallic and other off flavors can be produced. The reason being because what you basically create is a primitive battery, and really, who wants to drink battery acid? Although, I know some of my brews have ended up tasting like battery acid regardless of the type of kettle, haha.
Anyway, it's best to go with a "non-reactive" pot/kettle. So, Stainless steel of course is the best option. Technically anodized aluminum, and can definitely work, it's just finding one of the right size can be problematic.
I hope this info helps a bit, and that I haven't come off too much like an arrogant ass. Haha.