Birthday Gift Ideas

[Atlmustang]

My birthday is coming up and my mom asked me today what I would like for my birthday. I normally dont ask her for anything but with this new hobby of mine, I figured a new piece of equipment would be great. My wife is growing tired of me brewing inside and quite honestly I would die if I had a boil over on my professional gas range.

So I am thinking about moving my production outdoors. I was thinking a classic propane set up but have read about electric set ups as well. What do you all think/recommend?

 

[jerbrew]

It all really matters on how much money/time you want to put into it. If you're handy you can get an electric rig together pretty cheaply but it's going to take time and planning, especially if you don't have any experience with putting together electrical systems. That being said this forum has a lot of great resources you should explore if you're interested in e-brewing (or just other peoples rigs) and just keep in mind that before you plug anything in have an electrician check your work.

As for moving out side it can be as simple as a 10 Gallon cooler MLT a large pot (I like my cheap 15 gallon aluminum pot from amazon, it works for me), and a propane burner (nothing fancy needed if you're doing 5 gallon batches my 100,000 BTU from home depot was $70 and has worked exactly as it should). Just browse this forum and get a sense about what you're comfortable putting together and what your end goal is.

 

[jerbrew]

Also take a look at BIAB. I never went this route but it's about as simple as all grain brewing gets as long as you can put something together to lift the grain bag out of your pot.

 

[Atlmustang]

I do BIAB. I have an 8 gallon aluminum pot right now and do 4 gallons pretty comfortably. I have a 15 gallon titanium/stainless steel pot on the way though it was expensive. It is supposed to conduct heat all the way up the sides if the kettle rather than a normal stainless steel pot that doesnt conduct heat and relies on the water to heat the sides. The titanium is also hard such that it should never impart metals into the beer.

I am thinking the propane setup just to be simple. It would suck to run out of propane during a boil though :/

 

[jerbrew]

Always have two tanks of propane one you're using and one that's full. as soon as one goes out on me I go get it filled. That way I'll never run out of propane. And if i know i'm good on the boil I can get some food going on the BBQ.

If you already do BIAB just move it outdoors and you're golden. Sounds like you already know what you want just ask for a burner. Good luck

 

[Atlmustang]

Thanks! I will go with a 100,000 btu burner.

 

[mongoose33]

Always have two tanks of propane one you're using and one that's full. as soon as one goes out on me I go get it filled. That way I'll never run out of propane. And if i know i'm good on the boil I can get some food going on the BBQ.

If you already do BIAB just move it outdoors and you're golden. Sounds like you already know what you want just ask for a burner. Good luck

I have three--a backup to the backup.

But I wish I had this:

Thanks! I will go with a 100,000 btu burner.

I have a 54,000 BTU burner, and while it gets me there with a 7-gallon boil, it struggles a bit to get there. I'd think I'd died and gone to heaven if I had 100,000 BTUs.

 

[jerbrew]

I just looked at Home Depot and sadly the Brinkman 100k but burner I bought was discontinued. But not sadly it's on sale at cabelas here

http://www.cabelas.com/product/BRIN...gclid=COGUjJm88cwCFRSFfgodU40Pzg&gclsrc=aw.ds

For 40 dollars and you get a pot. I took the little pot guides off though. It's a pretty sturdy stand and full blast gets an awesome roar going.

 

[Megachimp]

Do some research on the Grainfather if you're considering electric. It's a pretty impressive bit of kit.

 

[bosster01]

I also agree with the grainfather - I want that myself.

In terms of propane burners:
I wouldn't buy a cheap one. I bought a cheap one and it scorched the crap out of my kettle after every brew. I would have black soot on the bottom due to inefficient combustion.

Buy a nice propane burner it'll save you time in cleaning the black stains off the bottom of your kettle.

 

[BroomVikin]

Buy a nice propane burner it'll save you time in cleaning the black stains off the bottom of your kettle.

Maybe this will help.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/blichmann-top-tier-burner-review.html

 

[jerbrew]

cleaning stains off the bottom of your kettle seems like a waste of time to me, its a pot who cares. What you should worry about more is if your kettle is efficiently absorbing the heat generating and transfer that heat into your wort. From my experience with the burner I linked to, there has never been any incomplete combustion apparent (I would never recommend something that did). The burner may have a great price tag but it's not cheap in its functionality, it has a low profile so it's easy to store and surprisingly sturdy, my aluminum pot is fantastically shiny on the bottom, and it gets things done quickly.

Just saying, $70 vs hundreds is exactly what I said in my first post. It all depends on how much you wanna spend and how much you like to make things your own.

 

[kev211]

I recommend the blichmann top tier burner. I was using the Bayou sp10 burner (bought on amazon for like 40 bucks) and grew so fed up with having to yell during a conversation whenever it was on. Thing sounded like an F-18. Recently upgraded to the blichmann and couldnt be happier. Tons of heat and its dead silent. I can actually have music playing while I brew now! Spend the extra money (or I guess since its a B-day gift, have your mom spend the extra money ) and get the Blichmann, or at least a nice banjo style burner