eBrewing & Fermentation Setup for $3.5K or Less?

[Iowa Brewer]

Hey all,

We're doing major renovations in our basement and my wife (for reasons unknown, and for which I will not ask!) granted permission to turn the laundry room into a laundry/brew room, AND to get an electric-brewing setup. Any advice on how to spend $3.5k, or less, on equipment?

I'm an all-grain brewer who primarily makes 5-6 Gal batches. Been eyeing the following setup:
- Spike Solo+
- Either a Spike Flex+ or their CF5, with a heating/cooling package

Been reading a lot about these, but that said, I know there are plenty of fish in the home-brewing sea (and this is going to be my only time in such a good boat!). Any advice and/or experiences are greatly appreciated!

FYI, I'll have a 240v outlet, a chest-freezer fermenter for a cold-water reservoir , and a good chunk of space.
Thank you, very much!

 

[NewJersey]

Hey all,

We're doing major renovations in our basement and my wife (for reasons unknown, and for which I will not ask!) granted permission to turn the laundry room into a laundry/brew room, AND to get an electric-brewing setup. Any advice on how to spend $3.5k, or less, on equipment?

I'm an all-grain brewer who primarily makes 5-6 Gal batches. Been eyeing the following setup:
- Spike Solo+
- Either a Spike Flex+ or their CF5, with a heating/cooling package

Been reading a lot about these, but that said, I know there are plenty of fish in the home-brewing sea (and this is going to be my only time in such a good boat!). Any advice and/or experiences are greatly appreciated!

FYI, I'll have a 240v outlet, a chest-freezer fermenter for a cold-water reservoir , and a good chunk of space.
Thank you, very much!

I've been fermenting in a spike flex+ for over a year and love it. (I'm sure a CF5 would be a tad nicer even)
I just bought a 15 gallon solo and it looks really nice. Excited to actually brew on it.
If you're not buy a glycol chiller, coils, neoprene, etc then a stand-up freezer is your best bet. The glycol route will eat up way too much budget.
Also, skip Spike's copper cfc.

 

[Iowa Brewer]

I've been fermenting in a spike flex+ for over a year and love it. (I'm sure a CF5 would be a tad nicer even)
I just bought a 15 gallon solo and it looks really nice. Excited to actually brew on it.
If you're not buy a glycol chiller, coils, neoprene, etc then a stand-up freezer is your best bet. The glycol route will eat up way too much budget.
Also, skip Spike's copper cfc.

Thanks for the reviews, NewJersey!
Yeah, I would put a metal tub in my chest freezer for cold-water feed. Do you use glycol?

 

[khannon]

Hey all,

We're doing major renovations in our basement and my wife (for reasons unknown, and for which I will not ask!) granted permission to turn the laundry room into a laundry/brew room, AND to get an electric-brewing setup. Any advice on how to spend $3.5k, or less, on equipment?

I'm an all-grain brewer who primarily makes 5-6 Gal batches. Been eyeing the following setup:
- Spike Solo+
- Either a Spike Flex+ or their CF5, with a heating/cooling package

Been reading a lot about these, but that said, I know there are plenty of fish in the home-brewing sea (and this is going to be my only time in such a good boat!). Any advice and/or experiences are greatly appreciated!

FYI, I'll have a 240v outlet, a chest-freezer fermenter for a cold-water reservoir , and a good chunk of space.
Thank you, very much!

Think organization, lighting, and comfort while brewing as well. A decent sized sink to clean in has been well worth the $$.

 

[NewJersey]

Thanks for the reviews, NewJersey!
Yeah, I would put a metal tub in my chest freezer for cold-water feed. Do you use glycol?

The metal tub in chest freezer for cooling method isn't so great. Search on here and see others guys results. I do not use glycol as I only use one fermenter and for one fermenter a stand-up freezer and an inkbird are WAY superior imo.
Again, add up what a glycol chiller, cooling coils, pumps for glycol, and neoprene jackets cost. You could easily eat through more than half your budget in that stuff alone WITHOUT fermenters or a method to make wort.

 

[Iowa Brewer]

Think organization, lighting, and comfort while brewing as well. A decent sized sink to clean in has been well worth the $$.

Excellent points, Khannon, and Douglas Adams tag . Thanks for the advice!

 

[Iowa Brewer]

I only use one fermenter and for one fermenter a stand-up freezer and an inkbird are WAY superior imo.
Again, add up what a glycol chiller, cooling coils, pumps for glycol, and neoprene jackets cost. You could easily eat through more than half your budget in that stuff alone WITHOUT fermenters or a method to make wort.

Excellent point!

 

[Beenym88]

I have the electric SS brewtech setup it cost a fortune when all said and done. You will need to purchase a table as well and nothing really comes complete your going to realize you need more stuff. Mine is in my basement so getting a sink added a lot of money to the set up. If your not in an area where your comfortable making a mess I’d definitely look into the 1 vessel systems. Transferring hoses leads to a messy situation and the pumps often need to be bled. However I do really like my system it’s just a big investment.

 

[Iowa Brewer]

If your not in an area where your comfortable making a mess I’d definitely look into the 1 vessel systems. Transferring hoses leads to a messy situation and the pumps often need to be bled. However I do really like my system it’s just a big investment.

Cheers, Bennym88. Good advice, and sounds like you have a great setup! Fortunately I already have a utility sink down there, which I'm going to replace with a slightly larger one with a sprayer. Yeah, I think a 1 vessel system is going to be the way for this room.

 

[apache_brew]

My advice would be to consider how much beer you want to ferment and store/have on tap simultaneously. (5 or 10+ gallon batches, 1 or 2+ fermentations, cold/kegerator storage) and then work backwards to the hot side. There’s endless ways to make wort. My vote would be for one that you’ll most enjoy on brew day (and leading up to it with cleaning). For me, that means a gravity 2 vessel mash in cooler with a single pump. Simple to deal with. But really if I could simplify it more to reduce the brew day, I would.

Right now, I can only do a single fermentation with a vertical freezer and inkbird + heating mat (10 gallon batches in a half bbl keg), but it kicks ass. I eventually want to have two fermenters going, so because another freezer takes up more space, I’m going to look into building a glycol system at that point.

 

[Iowa Brewer]

My advice would be to consider how much beer you want to ferment and store/have on tap simultaneously. (5 or 10+ gallon batches, 1 or 2+ fermentations, cold/kegerator storage) and then work backwards to the hot side. There’s endless ways to make wort. My vote would be for one that you’ll most enjoy on brew day (and leading up to it with cleaning). For me, that means a gravity 2 vessel mash in cooler with a single pump. Simple to deal with. But really if I could simplify it more to reduce the brew day, I would.

Thanks, apache-brew. Sage advice!