Equipment upgrade

[Cjtabares]

I am looking to take the next step and buy some more equipment. I am going to do mainly partial mash brews. What I have right now for equipment is;
6 gal carboy
7.5 gal fermentation bucket
20qt stainless stell pot
Floating thermometer
Auto siphon
Corona grain mill

I am just wondering what everyone thinks I should get next. I want to get a pH probe but after that idk what will help most. Should I get something to help control temps, or a better boiling pot, some different kind of fermentation container, I was thinking of getting a 2nd carboy. Any tips would help

Thank you
Chris

 

[WrongCoastBrewery]

Well, from the looks of it, you could go any direction you want. But that really isnt going to help you since you could easily get lost in the addiction of buying new brew toys. However, I would go with another, larger brew pot. I just bought a 9gal SS pot off of Amazon for dirt cheap....$75 with shipping. Doing full boils will really help out to improve your beer. Plus having two pots for brewing is always nice with partial mashes (think Deathbrewer's easy partial mash).

This is my brewpot that I got. Its awesome!!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009JXYUA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[Cjtabares]

I also have a refractometer from when I had a saltwater aquarium, would this work to get my sg?

 

[WrongCoastBrewery]

I also have a refractometer from when I had a saltwater aquarium, would this work to get my sg?

I would assume that it reads in plato? If so, there are many ways to convert that to specific gravity. Plus programs like beersmith have a calculator/converter built in. There is another thing you should get....Beersmith or equivalent program.

 

[lpdean40]

There are definatley many directions you could go. I know in my case, the only thing limiting the amount of brew toys I buy is my wallet. A bigger ticket item you might want to consider is kegging or stepping up to all-grain, seeing how you already have a mill.

 

[avibayer]

I do all grain batches, and order my grain from northernbrewer. Each shipment, they throw in the catalog. I have a 7 gal brew pot, but i fantasize about having a 15 gal pot with a false bottom, spiget, sight glass, and thermometer.

The point i'm trying to make, is go middle ground. Dont get the smallest, cheapest item, cause you will want to upgrade again one day. But then again, folks like me that can't afford the thousand dollar rolls royce brew pots, can be happy for now with a decent kettle.

 

[Cjtabares]

http://www.marinedepot.com/Marine_D...quariums-Marine_Depot-MD2101-FITEOPRF-vi.html

This is what I have, to be honest all I now is it will read solids in the water so inturn I would know how much salt was in the water. It reads in ppm or sg so idk if that would help in the brewing world.

 

[Cjtabares]

I took down my aquarium a few weeks ago and if decide to sell all my equpment from that I will have a grand or so to spend on brew stuff . I just don't have time for the fishtank right now and figured I can brew beer when ever I feel like it don't have to do it if I don't have time.

 

[maida7]

I highly recommend focusing on the fermentation side of the process. Depending on your environment, a temp controlled fermentation fridge is a very good upgrade. and/or a stirplate, flask and scale for making yeast starters.

All the other equipment upgrades will make you better wort. Better wort will still make sucky beer if your ferment is bad. A good ferment will make awesome beer even if you wort is so-so.

 

[maida7]

http://www.marinedepot.com/Marine_D...quariums-Marine_Depot-MD2101-FITEOPRF-vi.html

This is what I have, to be honest all I now is it will read solids in the water so inturn I would know how much salt was in the water. It reads in ppm or sg so idk if that would help in the brewing world.

No that's the wrong type for brewing. For brewing you need one that reads sugar content in Brix. But really a refractometer is not a must have upgrade. I'd focus on fermentation, then get into kegging and/or full volume boils.

 

[avibayer]

I highly recommend focusing on the fermentation side of the process. Depending on your environment, a temp controlled fermentation fridge is a very good upgrade. and/or a stirplate, flask and scale for making yeast starters.

All the other equipment upgrades will make you better wort. Better wort will still make sucky beer if your ferment is bad. A good ferment will make awesome beer even if you wort is so-so.

I agree. Yeast starters will improve the beer a whole bunch. There is a great DIY stirplate thread. For ~30 bucks, you can make one, and its a fun project.

 

[maida7]

I agree. Yeast starters will improve the beer a whole bunch. There is a great DIY stirplate thread. For ~30 bucks, you can make one, and its a fun project.

If you are handy and have a computer recycling place near you, you could probably build a stir plate for under 10.00. I did. I made a simple box from plywood. Then wired up a used a computer fan, a cell phone charger, a switch and a speed control knob. I mounted used hard drive magnets to the fan and bang I'm spinning wort.

If your making starters a stir plate will make the sizes much more manageable. A flask is not a must have but it's really nice to be able to go from the stove top to the ice bath without fear of contamination. A scale makes figuring the DME a snap. 1 g per 10ml of water. Don't forget the fermcap

 

[WrongCoastBrewery]

If you are handy and have a computer recycling place near you, you could probably build a stir plate for under 10.00. I did. I made a simple box from plywood. Then wired up a used a computer fan, a cell phone charger, a switch and a speed control knob. I mounted used hard drive magnets to the fan and bang I'm spinning wort.

If your making starters a stir plate will make the sizes much more manageable. A flask is not a must have but it's really nice to be able to go from the stove top to the ice bath without fear of contamination. A scale makes figuring the DME a snap. 1 g per 10ml of water. Don't forget the fermcap

Indeed. I just did this myself. Only thing I would say is be mindful that certain cell phone chargers dont have enough voltage to start spinning certain fans. Thats what happened to me. However, since it is Christmas, I have a few HD magnets laying around if you want me to send them to you.

 

[Cjtabares]

Thanks everyone. I think I am going to get a new boiling pot, a chest freezer, found a few free/cheap ones on craigslist, and a stir plate. I may also build a mash tun but idk yet.

 

[maida7]

Thanks everyone. I think I am going to get a new boiling pot, a chest freezer, found a few free/cheap ones on craigslist, and a stir plate. I may also build a mash tun but idk yet.

If you have money to burn the Blichmann pots are top notch. If you want the most bang for your buck, look for a heavy duty (thick walls) aluminum pot of amazon or ebay.

Chest freezers have some good and bad points. The good is that they have tons of space for kegs, fermenters, etc... The bad is that access is a PITA. Getting heavy kegs and fermenters in and out is a back breaker. Also, moisture and mold become a real issue. I've done both fridge and chest freezer and I prefer the fridge. You give up some interior space but IMHO they just work better for brewing. Don't forget the temp controller. If your plan is to ferment in it, get the dual out put ranco. It's kinda pricey but you will have the ultimate in fermentaion temp control. Dial in any temp and your fermenter will be within 1 degree of the setting.

 

[HeyNoPie]

If you get a larger boiling pot, I'd recommend a wort chiller. I made my immersion chiller using a copper coil, vinyl hose, and a garden hose pressure adapter which acts as a barb for a connection. There are more effective types of chillers, so you may want to think about that.

 

[Cjtabares]

I did plan on making a immersion wort chiller, it slipped my mind thank you. I usually do 5 gallon batches and was wondering if it is possible to make to big of a starter. I was going to buy a stir plate with a 2L flask. Would this be to big or can I still do smaller starters in a 2L flask?

 

[HeyNoPie]

I use a 2 liter flask for my starters with 1 cup DME and around 1.3-1.4 liters of water. This is without any calculations, but I can say my fermentations have been better since using this method (lower final gravity).

 

[maida7]

a 2L flask is the perfect size for 5 gallon batches. With a stir plate you can make the proper sized starters for just about any gravity of Ale. For Lagers you will need to go bigger and/or do a 2 step starter. Lagers require twice the yeast as ales.

PS: have a look at the Mrmalty.com site. There is a great yeast calculator on there. It's considered the homebrew standard for calculating starter size.