Equipment

[schmeek]

I've been trying to figure out what to buy next, wondering if someone can help. Been doing half batch all grain, 2.5-3 gal and have yet to buy a wort chiller. I usually get to 65 with an ice bath in less than 45 minutes, but a chiller is def on my list. Also, I've been considering an oxygen system like the one from homebrewstuff as I'm interested in getting into slightly higher gravity brews, >1.070. Those are at the top of my list at the moment, but I can't afford both, so just trying to get some opinions on which would be more effective for me to start out with. Also, any other equipment that is recommended would be appreciated. I know a stir plate would be beneficial at some point but I'm a poor college student.
On a separate note, my beers are tasting ok but not great. Having a hard time getting the malt character to come thru. Mashing around 150-152, maybe I should bump it up? I'm hoping a better fermentation with use of an oxygen stone will help, I know my sanitation is on point, but just getting some imperfections in the final product. Fermentation temp is ok, starting at 65 and going with the billy brew swamp bucket at first and just letting it warm up naturally. Never above 74 for ales, the room I have it in stays around 68-70. Again, thanks for the help.

 

[kh54s10]

If you are looking to do 5 gallon boils I would get the wort chiller first. Your 45 minutes will turn into 1.5 hours+. I have been brewing for 2+ years and have yet to get any oxygen system. I feel that most of my brews are pretty equal to commercial craft brews. If you are looking for a maltier taste raising your mash temperature will help some. DIY your IC and you can save some $$.

 

[LandoLincoln]

Things that made my beers taste a whole lot better:

1) Fermentation temperature control. THIS IS CRUCIAL. Find a $50 refrigerator off of Craigslist and get a single-stage temp controller and use that to keep your fermentation temps under control. Those swamp coolers are a real pain and the temps fluctuate too much.
2) Getting a water report done on my tap water and adjusting my water with calcium chloride and lactic acid. I also found out that my city uses chloramines, so I use campden tablets to neutralize it. My beers no longer taste medicinal.
3) Making starters for my batches on a stir plate. Yes, pitching the right amount of yeast does help a lot.
4) Shaking the carboys for 90 seconds to aerate the wort before pitching.

Things that made my beers look prettier:
1) Built a counterflow chiller to get rid of chill haze.
2) Got some whirlfloc tablets to get rid of proteins.

I don't really make big beers, so I haven't felt a need for the extra oxygen. Yet. But that too is on my list.

 

[nmenninga]

For malt flavor, add Munich or Vienna malt. They also have melanoiden and some other strong malts, Munich is plenty.

Aerate only at pitching after wort is cool. I just shake it in a sanitized milk jug before dumping into the fermenter, works great. Any other aeration will make yer beer taste like cardboard. Try using a yeast starter, go ahead and shake that stuff in a quart mason jar to aerate and promote growth.

Go to home depot for wort chiller parts, make your own. They sell this nice flexible copper tubing and fittings, cheap and minimal tools needed to assemble. Just wrap the pipe in a coil around a pitcher or something, POC.

 

[schmeek]

Honestly, I looked into making an IC and the price of copper tubing was not really worth the trouble IMO. I can pick one up w free shipping from homebrewstuff on eBay for $50. But thanks for the suggestion. +1 on the campden tabs, I just got some for the last batch which i used 50% RO and 50% tap w campden tab added. I add some CaCl and CaSO4 somewhat blindly, as I do not have a water report (another thing on my list) I have a bottle of tap water I'm about to sent to ward labs, but I heard tap water will change over the course of the year, so I was hesitant, but maybe that will at least get me an initial idea of what my tap water is like. I DO use whirlfloc tabs, and I enjoy the result, but it's still not commercial grade clarity.

 

[nmenninga]

Maybe score some pH paper to check the pH in yer mash. Not precise, but it will let you know if you are way off. Higher pH will deaden yer flavors.

 

[LandoLincoln]

I've built my copper-pipe-in-a-garden-hose counterflow chiller for about $45 and it chills the beer down to pitching temps in a single pass. Can't say the same about immersion chillers.

If you're wanting commercial-grade clarity, I've used one of the following two methods for that:

1) Whirlfloc tablets plus cold-crashing the carboys for 48 hours before bottling
2) Filtration kit