rockytop714
Well-Known Member
Ok, I'm probably opening myself up for all kinds of opinions, conflicting or otherwise, but I felt this would be a good place to ask.
quick background/explanation of where I am, as a brewer;I still consider myself pretty much a new guy. I've been brewing for less than 2 years and my equipment is still pretty basic. Until about 6 months ago, everything I did was extract kits, but the last few beers I've made are all-grain 3 gallon BIAB and I've been really pleased with the results.
My gear/equipment is pretty simple. I got a starter kit in the beginning with all that you would expect from a basic starter kit (fermenter, bottling bucket, capper, tubes, bottling wand, hydrometer, etc.) and a 5 gallon stock pot. Since then my only upgrades so far have been to glass carboys (one 5 gallon and one 3 gallon), stir plate and flask for yeast starters, an immersion chiller, and an aerator... plus small stuff, mash paddle, mix-stir, brushes, etc.
I've been trying to add stuff little by little but we're also a single-income family... so my upgrades are pretty much limited to Christmases, Birthdays, and possibly (fingers crossed) father's day. So I need to weigh things out when it comes time to upgrade/add on and decide where I'm going to get the most bang for my buck.
so maybe that wasn't as short of an explanation as I'd expected but, at any rate, I'm going to be able to do a little upgrading in the fairly near future and I need to decide what to get.
First and foremost, I plan to get a refractometer. I like doing smaller batches. so sometimes it's hard to get a reading with a hydrometer and I don't really feel like wasting half a beer in a cylinder, any time I want to take a reading.
Beyond that, I am mostly considering 1 of 2 things; either to start picking up a few of the supplies I'd need to start kegging my beer (it's time consuming and a pain to bottle) or a 8-10 gallon brew kettle with a thermometer so that I can do 5 gallon BIAB batches, if I would choose to, and be able to monitor my temps a little better.
Which would be the better investment, at this stage? kegging or a good kettle? ...maybe you all have a better suggestion, that I haven't even thought of? any and all suggestions are welcome. Depending on what kind of feedback I get, I'm sure I'll probably have more questions, too.
Thanks!
quick background/explanation of where I am, as a brewer;I still consider myself pretty much a new guy. I've been brewing for less than 2 years and my equipment is still pretty basic. Until about 6 months ago, everything I did was extract kits, but the last few beers I've made are all-grain 3 gallon BIAB and I've been really pleased with the results.
My gear/equipment is pretty simple. I got a starter kit in the beginning with all that you would expect from a basic starter kit (fermenter, bottling bucket, capper, tubes, bottling wand, hydrometer, etc.) and a 5 gallon stock pot. Since then my only upgrades so far have been to glass carboys (one 5 gallon and one 3 gallon), stir plate and flask for yeast starters, an immersion chiller, and an aerator... plus small stuff, mash paddle, mix-stir, brushes, etc.
I've been trying to add stuff little by little but we're also a single-income family... so my upgrades are pretty much limited to Christmases, Birthdays, and possibly (fingers crossed) father's day. So I need to weigh things out when it comes time to upgrade/add on and decide where I'm going to get the most bang for my buck.
so maybe that wasn't as short of an explanation as I'd expected but, at any rate, I'm going to be able to do a little upgrading in the fairly near future and I need to decide what to get.
First and foremost, I plan to get a refractometer. I like doing smaller batches. so sometimes it's hard to get a reading with a hydrometer and I don't really feel like wasting half a beer in a cylinder, any time I want to take a reading.
Beyond that, I am mostly considering 1 of 2 things; either to start picking up a few of the supplies I'd need to start kegging my beer (it's time consuming and a pain to bottle) or a 8-10 gallon brew kettle with a thermometer so that I can do 5 gallon BIAB batches, if I would choose to, and be able to monitor my temps a little better.
Which would be the better investment, at this stage? kegging or a good kettle? ...maybe you all have a better suggestion, that I haven't even thought of? any and all suggestions are welcome. Depending on what kind of feedback I get, I'm sure I'll probably have more questions, too.
Thanks!