Equipment upgrade

[Estrada]

I'm new to homebrewing. Started off with the basic equipment found in kits (with a couple exceptions). All in all, the brews have gone well and haven't had to toss anything down the drain yet. As I dive further down the rabbit hold of home brewing, I'm curious as to what equipment, ideas, or anything really, has proved to be helpful in making good brews. If there is any particular equipment that, while not a necessity, has proven to be useful, that would be helpful! Thanks!

 

[chickypad]

What are you doing for fermentation temp control? That's probably #1, 2 and 3 on my list if you don't have a good method already. Next would be how you are handling your yeast pitch rates. Dry yeast or liquid, and if liquid are you doing starters?

 

[Onkel_Udo]

The big ones until you go all-grain are:

Better ways to bottle...which means either kegging or getting a bench capper, bottle tree/bottle sanitizer

Bigger/better pot...possibly with a valve (big enough to BIAB?)

Immersion chiller + cheap pond pump

Accurate thermometer!!!!

Bigger heat source...either propane or electric

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

really depends on how you brew and what direction you intend on going such as on the stove, brew in a bag, full 3 pot herms, tell us what you see your self doing in 5 years

 

[masaba]

I bought a wort chiller after doing an ice bath twice and thinking, wow, this takes forever. It's not necessary but if you are trying to chill the full five gallons of wort, it is really nice.

Oh yeah, another thing that I really like that is super inexpensive is the fermometer - the little stick-on thermometer for the side of your fermentation vessel (bucket or carboy). I have found these things to be really easy to read and very accurate. It really let's you know what is going on with your beer during fermentation, and, if you end up with off-flavors afterwards, it makes it a lot easier to troubleshoot because you know the exact temperature of the wort as opposed to ambient, http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/fermometer.html

 

[beergolf]

I'm with chickypad on this one.

First on the list is a way to control fermentation temperature. It can be as simple as a swamp cooler to cool the fermentation. Or it can be a freezer with a temp controller. For warming I use a big cooler that will hold water and the fermenter. Then I just use an aquarium heater to keep the temp up. Learning to control the fermentation temp goes a long way to making pretty good beers, to making great beers.

Second, if you are using liquid yeast, then a way to make starters. Again it does not have to be anything elaborate. A jug thet you put the starter in and you just shake it everytime you walk by. I use a stir plate for it's set it and forget it ease. A Stirstarter stir plate is not real expensive and a good investment.

These two things will really improve your brews. After that there are other things you can do. Going all grain can be as simple as going BIAB. Or getting a cooler for a mash tun is the more traditional way to go. Good brews can be made using extract, but all grain makes it possible to do some brews that are not possible using extract. It also gives you much more control over the process.( it also give you more chances to mess up)

There are thise that will suggest kegging, but I would do the things that will improve your beers first. Then If you want to keg, go for it.

 

[btbnl]

The biggest improvements to my beer quality came from:
(i) moving from partial to full boil, requiring a bigger pot and a propane stove (and if you're getting the bigger pot, being able to do 10G batches is nice)
(ii) moving from extract to BIAB, requiring a grain bag (and a hoist is handy for bigger brews)
(iii) moving from a swamp cooler to a fermentation chamber (though this was less significant for me since I have a cool/stable basement)
(iv) making yeast starters (again less important for me since I mostly use gigayeast which is sufficient for 5G batches)

The biggest improvement to my brewing enjoyment came from
(i) moving from bottling to kegging, requiring kegs, CO2 set-up, and a keezer/kegerator
(ii) moving from single- to multi-batch brew-days, requiring a second stove and a brew-stand.

 

[Estrada]

Thanks, chickypad. I'd be lying if I said my temp control was anything terribly scientific. I keep an eye on the fermometer (masaba), and the room I keep it in is generally easy to control temp. That's about it...

I've done mostly dry, and then one with liquid. What do you mean by starter?

Onkel Udo, I've largely been bottling in bombers to cut back on the whole process. How big of a pot with a valve? I'm doing 5 gal batches (btnbl) and have a pretty decent pot (24 qt Bayou Classic).

Ozarks Mountain Brew, I'll likely be relegated to the stove for the foreseeable future. I'd like to get a few more batches of the extract kits under my belt so I have a good handle on the basics for delving into anything too complex. Once I get a good handle on it, in such a way that I feel comfortable experimenting freely, I'd eventually like to get to BIAB.

beergolf, first, dig the handle. Can you (and / or btnbl) expand on the Swamp Cooler a bit?

Thanks all. Appreciate the help!

 

[chickypad]

Thanks, chickypad. I'd be lying if I said my temp control was anything terribly scientific. I keep an eye on the fermometer (masaba), and the room I keep it in is generally easy to control temp. That's about it...

I've done mostly dry, and then one with liquid. What do you mean by starter?

Liquid yeast loses its viability much faster than dry. A yeast starter is a way to help ensure that the yeast is viable and also to grow up enough yeast for your batch to ensure a healthy fermentation. You basically make a little mini-wort a couple days ahead then pitch that yeast into your beer.

A link to get you started (no pun intended )

mrmalty FAQ

 

[btbnl]

Swamp coolers use evaporative cooling. I would just put the carboy in a plastic box with a few inches of water in it, and slip an old t-shirt over it. The t-shirt wicks the water up, and the heat from the carboy evaporates it.

 

[aprichman]

If I had to buy all my equipment again I would get the following:

2 bottling buckets
6.5 gallon Plastic Big Mouth Bubbler
8+ gallon stainless steel pot
Propane burner
Auto siphon
Copper immersion cooler
Various tubes, bung adapters, airlocks, etc.

That equipment would be everything you need to brew extract, I would use the 2nd bottling bucket to store a 5 gallon batch of starsan made with RO/DI water. With another 5+ gallon pot and cooler mash tun you could go all grain, or get a 10+ gallon stainless steel pot and do BIAB.

 

[aprichman]

I also agree that a tub of water + tshirt is good temp control. My environment is a little warm so I use frozen water bottles in my tub of water to cool things down.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Oxygenation stone and regulator has been a great investment for me. Shaking around 5 gal of beer was more of a workput than I wanted. A minute of O2 is so much easier and more efficient. And the yeasties love it.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

things I cant do without, a good grain grinder, good home made fermentation chamber, a good chiller, a good pump, stir plate, 2 mil flask, # 1 thing I cant do without, 1/2" auto siphon, I wish there was a bigger version

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Onkel Udo, I've largely been bottling in bombers to cut back on the whole process. How big of a pot with a valve? I'm doing 5 gal batches (btnbl) and have a pretty decent pot (24 qt Bayou Classic).

That pot is plenty fine for boiling about 5 gal so if you are making 5-gal extract batches you have to add about 2-4 quarts at the end for full boil. Perfectly adequate.

If you to move BAIB, that size is marginal for 4-gallon batches. That being said, it probably is about the best you can do on a stove top without a little help...like a heat stick or immersion heater. Are you using and electric stove or gas?

Alternative to BIAB on the stove is a modified version in a cooler. So you get a 10 gal or better cooler. then replace the valve with a real valve. Add grains to bag, add about 4 gallons of water to at strike temp and allow to mash. Heat batch sparge water. Drain mash to 5-gallon bucket. Add sparge water to cooler. Stir like mad. Dump bucket into boiler. Drain sparge into kettle.

This last option leverages everything you have and adds a low priced item plus a bag...both can be re-used if you upgrade the pot later.

 

[Estrada]

Ahh, nice. Thanks! Makes sense...

 

[Estrada]

If only I had figured out how to respond to posts before creating a thread...baby steps towards figuring out the internet...

chikypad, thanks! puns are always a good thing.

btnbl, that looks easy enough. I'll give it a whirl.

BlueHouseBrewhaus, do you have a recommendation for the Oxygenation stone / regulator?

Thanks Ozarks_Mountain_Brew, aprichman and Onkel_Udo!