Equipment suggestions for 5 gallon all grain

[BrewerDawg]

I currently only have the equipment to brew 1 gallon batches, and I am enjoying the process as I learn, but I want to get a 5 gallon operation going by the summer. Looking to build up my equipment piece by piece every month until June. Any suggestions on the best way to do this cost-effectively? I plan to do as much as I can on my own or with the help of a buddy. Also, what are some pieces of equipment that may not seem essential that actually make the process go much smoother?

 

[wtfDean]

a few things:

- 10 gallon rubbermaid/igloo cooler. you'll be mashing in this. you can get away with a 5 gallon cooler but it will limit how big you can make your beers.
- stainless weldless ball valve and false bottom/screen. this will convert the cooler. i use something called a bazooka screen
- turkey fryer. this is one of those things you don't really think about at first, but an all grain batch is usually something like 7.2 gallons before the boil. you can't easily boil that on your stove. i found mine used on craigslist.
- 8.5gal kettle or bigger. somewhere in that ballpark. mine came with the turkey fryer (its something like 8.5 gallons and i wouldn't want a kettle any smaller).
- immersion chiller. this will cool ~6 gallons of wort, which takes forever using the cold water bath method
- testing equipment. a hydrometer if you're not already using one and a floating thermometer to monitor mash temps.

this is not a complete list. there are things that you won't have from using a mr beer kit that' you'll need, like fermenters and a bunch more bottle space (or a new kegging system if you plan to do that). i suggest you buy all the things you need to make extract beer in 5 gallon batches and go from there. brew equipment kits are available anywhere online or at your LHBS

 

[IvanTheTerribrew]

Craigslist and yard sales are your friend.

I would invest in a 8 gallon brew pot. In case you chose to do all grain in the future. Get a propane burner system if you don't have the means to boil 5-7 gallons of liquid.

There are plenty of things you can build and even to say what's essential... That's mostly up to you. Some people swear by some equipment but some don't mind doing stuff without it.

I do recommend:
Big SS brewpot
Wort chiller
Bottle tree
Vinator

I'll add more as I think of stuff that's important to have/make.



- ISM NRP

 

[blizzard]

Take some time to figure out what kind of system you want to have. There are a lot of options out there. Do you want a traditional three vessel system or something like BIAB? Can you go electric or do you prefer to use gas? You don't always know what you want when you are starting out, but the fewer revisions you do, the more money you'll save.

 

[RM-MN]

Lets go back to basics. You've been brewing 1 gallon batches. Are these kits or original recipes. Are they from extract or partial mash, or all grain?

What equipment do you already have? How big of a boil pot do you own?

 

[IvanTheTerribrew]

^1 blizzard

If you have options like.. A brew kettle, if you think about getting one for 5 gallon but you look at one that would fit 10 gallon batches and actually think to yourself "should I just get the bigger one?" My suggestion is: if you had to think about it, go for it.

That may not be your thing.. But you get my point. It's better to get what you think you'll use for a long time vs get something cheap and then regret it and get something to replace it later.

Like ball valves. I used to have brass one piece ball valves cuz I used to say "should I get stainless 3 piece ball valves... Nah that's ok" now I have all 3PBV and a bunch of spare brass ones. :/






- ISM NRP

 

[mikeprooo]

Craigslist and yard sales are your friend.

I would invest in a 8 gallon brew pot. In case you chose to do all grain in the future. Get a propane burner system if you don't have the means to boil 5-7 gallons of liquid.

There are plenty of things you can build and even to say what's essential... That's mostly up to you. Some people swear by some equipment but some don't mind doing stuff without it.

I do recommend:
Big SS brewpot
Wort chiller
Bottle tree
Vinator

I'll add more as I think of stuff that's important to have/make.



- ISM NRP

Craigslist was the way I went!

I was thinking the same thing as you; I was looking around at all the online suppliers trying to decide what to get. At the same time I was looking around on craigslist and found a guy that had home-brewing stuff for sale. Luckily, I found a pretty good deal. This guy had everything required and then some: carboys, bottles, wort chillers, the works! So I go to meet the guy and he was moving and this and that and bottom line, he didn't want to sell bits and pieces, he wanted to sell everything at once. so for a small fee ($250), I got his entire inventory including:

6 gal glass carboy
5 gal better bottle
50? bottles, 16 OZ
Burner
Stainless wort chiller
bottling bucket
red bottle stand
bottle capper
Pepsi keg with accessories
CO2 bottle
Other stuff including tubes, hose, filters, stirrers, wine thief, airlocks, hydrometers, caps, bags, and a bunch of other stuff I haven't identified yet.

I think I got a good deal! Anyways, keep an eye on Craigslist, you may be surprised!

Mike

 

[wtfDean]

hell yeah, i found a wort chiller on craigslist for cheaper than i could have bought the copper tubing at a hardware store. keep your eyes open

 

[IvanTheTerribrew]

Craigslist was the way I went!



I was thinking the same thing as you; I was looking around at all the online suppliers trying to decide what to get. At the same time I was looking around on craigslist and found a guy that had home-brewing stuff for sale. Luckily, I found a pretty good deal. This guy had everything required and then some: carboys, bottles, wort chillers, the works! So I go to meet the guy and he was moving and this and that and bottom line, he didn't want to sell bits and pieces, he wanted to sell everything at once. so for a small fee ($250), I got his entire inventory including:



6 gal glass carboy

5 gal better bottle

50? bottles, 16 OZ

Burner

Stainless wort chiller

bottling bucket

red bottle stand

bottle capper

Pepsi keg with accessories

CO2 bottle

Other stuff including tubes, hose, filters, stirrers, wine thief, airlocks, hydrometers, caps, bags, and a bunch of other stuff I haven't identified yet.



I think I got a good deal! Anyways, keep an eye on Craigslist, you may be surprised!



Mike

Now that's a sweet deal! Congrats!


- ISM NRP

 

[40watt]

Definitely get off the stove.
Go big on your kettle.
Look into building your own mash tun cooler.
Eventually, having a grain mill is a really nice thing.

 

[MindenMan]

I started with 2 buckets, 1 spout, 1 hydrometer, I already had a 22 qt SS pot that I used on my stove, a bottle capper, and some tubing. I upgraded to a Zapap tun, and life was easy in one sense or another.
Using my old Zapap, and my underpowered smoker burner for heat, I won Best of Category Porter/Stout last Saturday.
Could my time while brewing be shortened back then too? I now have a 30 & 40 qt pot for using my burner that came with a turkey fryer set. My brew time has now been. My only point, is how creative can you be with minimal funds? Trust me, I drool over all the fancy stuff other people have, and I would like to have a bad aa$ setup too, but right now I don't need it.

 

[kh54s10]

There are many ways to go. It depends on your budget.

Cheapest is BIAB. An 8-10 gallon pot and some sort of grain bag. You may be able to use 5 gallon paint strainer bags.
Then gravity systems. You can do a HLT either fired or cooler style to a mash tun to a boil kettle.
A single tier system that needs a pump. This could have one, two or 3 burners and use a combination of coolers and pots or all pots.
Or go total bling and do an electric system.

You will need to do your research and decide what would work best for you.

 

[wtfDean]

Eventually, having a grain mill is a really nice thing.

i'd turn tricks for a grain mill!

 

[RM-MN]

i'd turn tricks for a grain mill!

You don't have to, a grain mill can be pretty cheap or rather expensive. Mine is a cheap Corona knockoff that I got for under $30 delivered. I turn the crank by hand. I could motorize it but I need the exercise and it takes me less time to grind out a batch of grain than it does to bring the water to strike temp so I do both at the same time.

Since I do BIAB, I want my grains milled very fine. My Corona mill will do that for me since it grinds more than crushes. I could open it up and mill for a conventional mash tun too but with that coarser milling, I lose efficiency and I like getting 85% instead of 65% of the sugars from my grains.

 

[dracus]

ok, a couple basic suggestions.

1. Don't waste your time with a 10g rubbermaid. Just go an buy a 72qt coleman extreme it will be the same or cheaper than the rubbermaid and then you'll be set to do 5-10 gallon mashes without having to ever worry about space. Get the cooler kit from bargain fittings along with a 3 piece ss ball valve.

2. You will definitely need a burner.

3. I second the suggestion of going big on kettles. I'd just go and grab a 15 gallon pot. A 10 gallon ($150) pot with a welded couple is only 40 bucks cheaper than a 15 gallon one ($190). These are even cheaper if you're willing to drill holes yourself. So bigger pot equals more flexibility.

Even if you do decide to go smaller on your kettle. Bayou classic makes a nice 36 qt one which is $75. You can use it sans ball valve or drill it. I originally bought this one and I use it for sparge water. I moved to a keggle eventually.

 

[RM-MN]

ok, a couple basic suggestions.

1. Don't waste your time with a 10g rubbermaid. Just go an buy a 72qt coleman extreme it will be the same or cheaper than the rubbermaid and then you'll be set to do 5-10 gallon mashes without having to ever worry about space. Get the cooler kit from bargain fittings along with a 3 piece ss ball valve.

2. You will definitely need a burner.

3. I second the suggestion of going big on kettles. I'd just go and grab a 15 gallon pot. A 10 gallon ($150) pot with a welded couple is only 40 bucks cheaper than a 15 gallon one ($190). These are even cheaper if you're willing to drill holes yourself. So bigger pot equals more flexibility.

Even if you do decide to go smaller on your kettle. Bayou classic makes a nice 36 qt one which is $75. You can use it sans ball valve or drill it. I originally bought this one and I use it for sparge water. I moved to a keggle eventually.

Dang, you people sure are quick to spend someone else's money. How can you tell that he "needs" a big cooler? He hasn't even made up his mind if he wants to use a conventional mash tun or BIAB!

He "definitely needs a burner"? How do you know that? I do 5 gallon batches quite successfully on my kitchen stove.

Big kettle? I can do 5 gallon batches in my 7.5 gallon turkey fryer pot and I certainly didn't spend $190 on it either. At some point in the future he might want to go bigger but there could be a lot of paychecks in that time and he could save up for that bigger system while in the meanwhile he could be pushing out 5 gallon batches with that extra money he didn't spend on the equipment you say he "needs".

 

[Cottonmouth]

I BIAB 6 gal batches on my stove with a $22 8 gal tamale pot and a $5 voile curtain. I also brew no-chill so no need for a chiller.

Harvest your yeast. Buy in bulk if you can. Keep your eye out for sales. I just bought 4# of hops for $34 delivered. You might luck out on craigslist if you monitor constantly. I prefer not to rely on luck. Where I live people want top dollar for junk on craigslist.

 

[dzlater]

Cheap 'n' Easy Batch Sparge Brewing
http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/

 

[govner1]

I'd advise a 12-15 gal SS BK. you'll avoid boil overs & you can easily do the occasional "big" beer. You can use an 8-10 gal HLT since you can get plenty of strike water & heat more for sparging.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[40watt]

The 72 at Coleman extreme cooler is not very expensive. I never need to worry if my grain and water will fit.
Unless you already have a 10g laying around, may as well get the Coleman Extreme. Stainless toilet hose. Some fittings. Boom.

 

[theck]

Definitely get off the stove.
Go big on your kettle.
Look into building your own mash tun cooler.
Eventually, having a grain mill is a really nice thing.

Exactly what I did thus past year. Keggle on camp stove, cooler tun, and just purchased the cereal killer... Found a shop that sells 2 row 50# sacks for $42 too. Now to get some buckets and better weather. The only downside to brewing outside, plan on going with a recirculating pump next year so I don't have to use the hose.

Sent from my SGH-T769 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[40watt]

I personally am not a fan of a keggle, but I know it works for a lot of you guys.

 

[theck]

I personally am not a fan of a keggle, but I know it works for a lot of you guys.

I picked up 2 for $40, already top cut off and drilled on the side... guy used it to make wine in, can't get a kettle for that ha... I would probably rather have one but on a serious budget. It works very well but think a proper kettle would be more efficient.

 

[wtfDean]

death by information. seriously though, you need to look around at the methods of brewing and decide how you want to do it, which may affect your equipment purchases. obviously there are differing opinions on what KIND of cooler you should use, but obviously one way to do it includes getting a large volume cooler. you can research why people use which brands.

BIAB and no chill methods require you to use less gear.... if that's what your'e into.

don't get overwhelmed with everyone's various preferences and find your own.

edit: fat finger