Aurora, IL - newbie

[baldbrew]

hello
first post on the HBT

into my third 5 gallon batch on my own (my father & i)
have participated in a few with friends, but had never tried it on my own until challenged by another pharmacy to see who can whip up the best batch

all kits so far (after my 6th extract kit im investing in the all grain set up - suggestions on a set up?)

first batch is a continental pils, waiting a few more days to pop open the bottles, but the pre-carbonated goodness was amazingly potent, and at 10am on a workday, i was singing its praises long before lunchtime and was tempted to not even carbonate the batch

second is a robust porter
low alcohol level, but a great way to get the females in the family into our new fascination (last year i had an aunt dump a FULL hop devil ipa down the drain cause it tasted "sour" - NOOOOOOO!)

third is an american light (brewed yesterday)
because we've tasted the kit version of this we added a few small secret ingredients and while the wort boil smelled of heaven - the pre-fermented taste was bonkers - citrusy, fruity and molasses-esque - almost like crushing up a froot loop and snorting it (hows THAT for descriptive!)

my father and i are questioning the move into kegging vs bottling because while i do have a convection oven to sterilize the bottles and carboys, i like the idea of just filling the bottles im taking with me vs having everything in 12oz-ers - and plus i can force carb and if that was the case now, id be sipping on two tasty HBs rather than this morning coffee

great discussions here!
ive been lurking for about a month and im excited to learn as much as i can from you folks!

 

[mrk305]

All I needed to jump to all grain was an ice chest modified with a stainless steel hose, a turkey fryer with a 7.5 gallon pot for full 6.5 gallon boils and a home made immersion chiller to cool down 5.5 gallons. What's another $100.00?

 

[baldbrew]

nothin!

as long as i can clean everything and take everything apart and re-clean everything twice over, i'll be happy with it!

as far as the ice chest goes, ive seen the ones they sell at midwest and those seem to be large enough and predrilled - bonus

 

[tflo101]

Cool, I'm about one town away from you (montgomery/oswego border).

 

[rdwj]

Welcome - lots of Chicago area guys around here. Kegging is great - you'll never regret making the move

 

[BrianP]

Welcome to HBT, and good luck with your move to the 'dark side' of AG brewing. I read up for a long time before buying equipment or making anything, and I started up doing All Grain. It really wasn't too difficult - a few more steps and more equipment.

I'll pretty much echo mrk305's comments.

A pretty common AG setup includes:

* A Mash/Lauter Tun (MLT) made up of either a rectangular picnic cooler or a round 10-gal 'gatorade' type cooler. Instructions for building a very popular design can be found in the DIY section (courtesy of FlyGuy). I'd strongly recommend going with the 10-gal round or similar sized rectangular.

* A large kettle and burner for full-sized boils (I went with a turkey fryer that came with a 30-qt aluminum kettle for $45; it does an o.k. job but you can certainly spend more for a bigger kettle and/or stronger burner; I wouldn't mind having a bigger kettle).

* An immersion chiller made out of copper tubing (a counter-flow chiller in another option, but more expensive and a little work labor-intensive).

* A grain mill is a nice optional addition so you can crush your own malt, buy it in bulk, etc. This is nice since you can control the quality of the crush and you do not need to go to the LHBS every time you want to brew.

Good luck with your brewing. I think you'll enjoy AG brewing.

 

[baldbrew]

Cool, I'm about one town away from you (montgomery/oswego border).

small world! before we started we had no idea there were this many people constantly striving to brew the perfect beer
When did you start homebrewing ? Have you joined any local clubs at all? Which HBS do you frequent?

Welcome to HBT, and good luck with your move to the 'dark side' of AG brewing. I read up for a long time before buying equipment or making anything, and I started up doing All Grain. It really wasn't too difficult - a few more steps and more equipment.

I'll pretty much echo mrk305's comments.

A pretty common AG setup includes:

* A Mash/Lauter Tun (MLT) made up of either a rectangular picnic cooler or a round 10-gal 'gatorade' type cooler. Instructions for building a very popular design can be found in the DIY section (courtesy of FlyGuy). I'd strongly recommend going with the 10-gal round or similar sized rectangular.

* A large kettle and burner for full-sized boils (I went with a turkey fryer that came with a 30-qt aluminum kettle for $45; it does an o.k. job but you can certainly spend more for a bigger kettle and/or stronger burner; I wouldn't mind having a bigger kettle).

* An immersion chiller made out of copper tubing (a counter-flow chiller in another option, but more expensive and a little work labor-intensive).

* A grain mill is a nice optional addition so you can crush your own malt, buy it in bulk, etc. This is nice since you can control the quality of the crush and you do not need to go to the LHBS every time you want to brew.

Good luck with your brewing. I think you'll enjoy AG brewing.

GREAT LIST!
We have a large enough kettle to do a full 6 gallon boil, but Im looking into a full sized keggle with a built in thermometer, valve set up,etc.
(this is the "health freak" in me, beware of boiling with an aluminum kettle for too long, because alzheimer's is a very real potential side effect of heating aluminum to high temperatures)

When you purchase your grain, are you using a mail order/internet source?

Thanks for the welcome's guys!

happy monday

 

[jvh261]

Welcome. I'm going to try to switch to all grain when the weather gets nicer.
I've been tipped off by a few brewers to start shopping for a turkey fryer in January. Most of the places that stock them seasonally will blow them out after the holidays.

 

[rdwj]

Welcome. I'm going to try to switch to all grain when the weather gets nicer.
I've been tipped off by a few brewers to start shopping for a turkey fryer in January. Most of the places that stock them seasonally will blow them out after the holidays.

Speaking of which, Meijer in Plainfield had a HUGE pallet of them for sale for pretty cheap. Probably worth a look.

 

[baldbrew]

yeah we got ours two days before thanksgiving for 29 dollars at lowes
we used the aluminum pot for marinading the turk in brine and salt and purchased a separate SS pot for brewin

i would like to get another burner set up though so i can continue to brew away from the lab without carrying hot pots from the back

 

[homebrewer_99]

Welcome from I-80, Exit 27!!

(I'm from NJ. One of the common comments when you say that you're from Jersey is: Really, what exit? So...)

 

[srm775]

Welcome to the board. I'm just one town over in Naperville, but I work in Montgomery. If you have any questions about where to get supplies, I'd be happy to help.

 

[baldbrew]

thanks for the welcomes's's

besides fox valley brew downtown aurora, and st charles HBS, have any of you been to the coop in warrenville or any of the other shops?

any that you prefer?


prepping a partial mash bitters as we type
dancing bananas for everyone!

 

[baldbrew]

Welcome from I-80, Exit 27!!

(I'm from NJ. One of the common comments when you say that you're from Jersey is: Really, what exit? So...)

haha, missed this one

I-88, last exit before 22 miles of no exits!
(rt 47/56/30!)

 

[rdwj]

thanks for the welcomes's's

besides fox valley brew downtown aurora, and st charles HBS, have any of you been to the coop in warrenville or any of the other shops?

any that you prefer?


prepping a partial mash bitters as we type
dancing bananas for everyone!

I go to Brewer's Coop most of the time as a LHBS because it's near work. They have a decent selection and they're prices are good. They're in the process of moving, so inventory was short last couple times I was there.

Honestly, I buy most of my equipment from Northern or Midwest. It's just so darn easy

 

[srm775]

haha, missed this one

I-88, last exit before 22 miles of no exits!
(rt 47/56/30!)

I work right down the road from ya where 30 and 31 intersect.

 

[skybrew]

Hey Neighbor,
I am also in Aurora.
The last time (a couple of weeks ago) I took a drive by the Brewers Coop, it looked like it was closed until they get the expanded brewery open.

 

[tflo101]

small world! before we started we had no idea there were this many people constantly striving to brew the perfect beer
When did you start homebrewing ? Have you joined any local clubs at all? Which HBS do you frequent?

I am pretty new still and actually just started brewing last thursday...but I am guessing you go to the same brew store I go to, the one in dowtown aurora. When I went there though I saw some information about some brewing club.

 

[baldbrew]

I work right down the road from ya where 30 and 31 intersect.

youre a stones throw from the pharmacy!
on a slow day you should stop in!

 

[BrianP]

Re: buying your grains, I find it cheaper at my LHBS because they have rock-bottom prices. However some people buy online (flat rate shipping helps). So I'd recommend some comparison shopping.