Brew #... um.... six? seven?

[Crazytwoknobs]

It's time.

I've got to decide... and as I type this I'm just trying not to make up my mind... whether to buy a pot and start doing full boils, or to buy a wort chiller and keep doing partial boils. Either way, I'm working my way up to doing AG eventually.

Cost is a factor, but not that big of a factor. It just can't seem like I'm spending a lot of money. Which investment do you all think is going to make a bigger difference?

I've been doing partial boils in a 3.5gal pot, mixing it with cold water (after it reaches 130F from sticking the pot in ice water in the sink) in a plastic bucket, then racking to a carboy.

 

[Blender]

They kind of go hand in hand because if you do full boils it will take a long time to cool your wort without a chiller. I would wait until you have enough for both and then buy them together.

 

[DeathBrewer]

yeah, i'd buy the chiller first. that way when you but the pot, you'll have a way to cool the wort, and in the meantime you can cool your smaller boils even faster!

 

[anthrobe]

I did the chiller first which really helped with my partial boils. The chiller will improve your beers and set you up for the next step. Now that I am at full boil/partial mash, I am always good to go!

 

[olllllo]

Temperature contol, from wort cooling to fermentation is the biggest bang-for-buck.

 

[tbulger]

Start to be on the look out for a cheap keg to convert to a keggle.

 

[Crazytwoknobs]

Temperature contol, from wort cooling to fermentation is the biggest bang-for-buck.

Wootness. That's exactly the type of advice I was looking for. That provides guidance for future purchases as well, and if other people agree, should be part of the FAQ.

I have contacted a metal-sculpture-artist guy, for when I finally find a keg to rip apart.

Edit:

Thanks btw, you guys rock so hard....

 

[malkore]

yeah, i'd buy the chiller first. that way when you but the pot, you'll have a way to cool the wort, and in the meantime you can cool your smaller boils even faster!

agreed, this is the better 'which one first' answer, because the big brew pot requires the chiller.

also remember that for AG, you'll need something 5gallons or more for a hot liquid tank. yeah you can use the brewpot for mash-in water, but it'll be half full of wort by the time you need sparge water.

also make sure your brew pot is at least 8gallons. a 60 minute boil usually causes at least 1-1.5gallons of evaporation, so your AG brew boil actually starts off at 7 gallons or more for a 5gallon final yield.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

I bought an IC first, then I got my keggle about 20 batches later

 

[krispy d]

Can't stress the chiller enough!

 

[Crazytwoknobs]

Sry to ask noob questions, but I don't have many people around who I feel terribly comfy calling up and being like "hey, I have no idea what diastatic power is". For all grain,

What am I aiming for as far as the added steps to the brewing process, for my first AG batch?

I have been thinking about what I want to use for a HLT, and I haven't come up with any superb ideas. All the equipment I've seen for HLTs includes a spigot off the bottom of a large SS vessel. Is there something cheaper? Can I just dip a cooking pot in the HLT and pour it over the mash? I'm not even sure what the process of mashing looks like, and sparging seems really intense, the guys on the podasts are like "HAHA NOOB STUCK SPARGE, NEEENER, HAPPENS ALL THE TIME"... ok, so not really, but you know what I mean. Are there any good youtube vids that give a good idea of what mashing should look like? Sparging?


Thanks again guys, I saw a thread where some ass said that this forum was unhelpful, he's totally wrong.

 

[Crazytwoknobs]

oh gosh does WLP's california V yeast cause some stank....