First brew almost done - tons of questions

[espringm]

First batch of beer is conditioning in the bottle and 1 week away from being ready and I have officially caught the bug and have grandiose plans for brewing. To let you know where im at I did my first extract kit approx 2 months ago (bottle conditioning now) and have a caribou slobber kit from northern brewer to do this weekened so this will be an extract with steeping grain and after I plan on doing a partial mash and then finally an all grain and from there different styles and types of all grain. Does this sound like a good progression. I want to jump to all grain but i figure this helps me pay my dues and ease my way in.

The two long term projects I want to do is get a freezer for lagering and build a kegerator. Here are my initial questions I have:

Anyone want to run down the basics of lagering (from what I know its normal breweing process and then basically lagering at around ~55 degrees at first then bringing it down to around ~34 degrees). What equipment am I going to have to buy? Is this the very basic general gist?

Since I want to do this for the long term, is it worth it to save up money and invest in a 15 cu ft fridge instead of around a 7 cu ft freezer so I can lager more at once, which seems handy because of the time it takes to complete the lagering process?

Okay and for the kegerator, ideally I want to develop a stout, porter, ipa and dopplebock four a 4 tap system as the main staples. Is the dopplebock the only one that would be considered a lager?

For kegerator materials is this a good general materials list:

Fridge
5 5 gallon ball lock kegs (one extra to have some on tap and some conditioning)
5 picnic taps
5 dual gauge regulator
#5 CO2 tank
A couple towers or dispensers
Tubing
Temperature regulator

I’m sure I’m missing a couple other parts to connect the kegs to the tubing etc.

Thanks in advance
Eric

 

[Bensiff]

If you are eager to go AG I would skip the partial mash brew...if you have the equipment and are comfortable with the process that is.

Lagering is pretty easy, you just need a fridge or some other means to keep it cold. Get a digital temp controller and it will even be easier and set you up to brew all your beers with temperature control.

Yes, doppelbock is the only one that is a lager of those four. I would get more than one extra keg personally. You will soon find that cleaning kegs is a pain and it is hard to find time to setup to clean one keg at a time. Eventually you will wait until you have multiple dirties and clean them all in one session. In all honesty your kegerator list is pretty well wrong for what you will need. I would first start with determining what type of fridge or freezer unit you will be using. With that decided do some research on setting that unit up.

 

[McGarnigle]

I can't answer most of your questions as I don't have any of that stuff. There's something to be said about taking on one new thing each batch, i.e., don't have your first all-grain also be your first lager.

Possibly you should try a higher alcohol beer next. Have you done a starter yet? Lagers require tons of yeast and starters. And there's issues like oxygenation that become a bigger deal with bigger batches.

Anyone want to run down the basics of lagering (from what I know its normal breweing process and then basically lagering at around ~55 degrees at first then bringing it down to around ~34 degrees). What equipment am I going to have to buy? Is this the very basic general gist?

The first stage might be a little lower (45-50) and the second can go higher if that's the best you can do. I've only ever lagered au naturel in a garage storage area in November with no electricity. It worked well.

If you use a fridge or freezer for lagering, keep in mind you won't be able to do both stages for separate batches at the same time due to temp differences. Also, a fridge or freezer can really help for ales in the summer. But you obviously can't use the same one to keep your Kolsch at 62 and your lager in secondary at 35.

Do you have an auto-siphon yet? That was my *Big Purchase* after my first couple of batches. You seem to be working on a more aggressive timeline

 

[espringm]

Here is the equipment I currently have (It’s the Northern Brewer Delux Starter Kit):
• 2 glass carboys
• Six gallon bottling bucket with spigot
• Fermentation lock
• Siphon tubing
• Bottle filler
• Bottle brush
• AutoSiphon
• Bottle capper
• 144 bottle caps
• Hydrometer
• 8 oz. Easy Clean Sanitizer
• Extra fermentation lock
• Carboy dryer
• Bottle capper
• Test jar
• Beer thief
• 10 gallon stainless steel pot (not kit, just mine)

What else would I need to go all grain?

And I was planning on doing a couple all grain ales before I attempted lagering. Lagering would be down the road b/c I’m in Dallas for an internship for 4 more months and would not want to buy a fridge/freezer for lagering and then have to hall it back up in my car when I have to move back to college. I do plan on having more kegs eventually too, its just a college budget thing.

 

[KevinW]

You could brew-in-a-bag with your kettle otherwise you will need a mash tun for all grain!

 

[McGarnigle]

For all grain there are several different methods. Some people just use a big bag (like a paint strainer) and big pot, other use coolers modified with screens or false bottoms, etc.

Two things to look at would be a Wort Chiller and propane burner in case your stove isn't strong enough to boil a full batch. This is where partial mash can come into play. You can do it with few extras -- possibly just a second pot and strainer bag -- to get the feel of it.

 

[sammy33]

I have found that fermentation temperature control is one of the biggest improvements/investments you can make in home brewing. I would suggest getting about 4 refrigerators...LOL!

No seriously...look at the temperature controller options and invest in a good fridge/freezer that you can use for fermentation (do your carboys or buckets fit?). The main problem that I have run into is that the various stages of lagering (55F, 35F) and fermenting ales (65F) all require different temps. Being in the south and with summer coming I would look at controlling ferm temps.

 

[espringm]

Is there a temperature control gauge that you you recommend? How difficult is it to hook one up? I have room in my fridge now but soon ill be done with my internship and back in my college apartment and i will need a fridge for then so i will probably just buy one relatively soon so i can use a fridge specifically for fermenting

 

[unionrdr]

Just as a point of interest,Paulaner's Salvator doppel bock is an ale in the old tradition of the Salvator brews. I think that one goes back to the 1300's. Not sure if there's a clone kit,though.

 

[sammy33]

Is there a temperature control gauge that you you recommend? How difficult is it to hook one up?

I have a Ranco dual stage that allows cooling and heating control. I simply plug the fridge into the cooling side of the the controller and place the temp probe in a jar of water inside the fridge to control temps at around 65F or so for ales. I could not get my "dorm fridge" above 45F without a controller. I set the fridge thermostat all the way cold and let the controller turn the fridge on/off to keep temps.

This setup is pretty much plug and play.

 

[RichmonS]

I am still doing extract brewing but I would suggest the freezer for kegs and the fridge or standup freezer for lagers. It could be tough to move buckets or carbons into a chest freezer. If you are handy you might be able to build a fermentation chamber with multiple chambers.

 

[integrator]

First batch of beer is conditioning in the bottle and 1 week away from being ready and I have officially caught the bug and have grandiose plans for brewing. To let you know where im at I did my first extract kit approx 2 months ago (bottle conditioning now) and have a caribou slobber kit from northern brewer to do this weekened so this will be an extract with steeping grain and after I plan on doing a partial mash and then finally an all grain and from there different styles and types of all grain. Does this sound like a good progression. I want to jump to all grain but i figure this helps me pay my dues and ease my way in.

The two long term projects I want to do is get a freezer for lagering and build a kegerator. Here are my initial questions I have:

Anyone want to run down the basics of lagering (from what I know its normal breweing process and then basically lagering at around ~55 degrees at first then bringing it down to around ~34 degrees). What equipment am I going to have to buy? Is this the very basic general gist?

Since I want to do this for the long term, is it worth it to save up money and invest in a 15 cu ft fridge instead of around a 7 cu ft freezer so I can lager more at once, which seems handy because of the time it takes to complete the lagering process?

Okay and for the kegerator, ideally I want to develop a stout, porter, ipa and dopplebock four a 4 tap system as the main staples. Is the dopplebock the only one that would be considered a lager?

For kegerator materials is this a good general materials list:

Fridge
5 5 gallon ball lock kegs (one extra to have some on tap and some conditioning)
5 picnic taps
5 dual gauge regulator
#5 CO2 tank
A couple towers or dispensers
Tubing
Temperature regulator

I’m sure I’m missing a couple other parts to connect the kegs to the tubing etc.

Thanks in advance
Eric

Do you not like ales? I have a small dorm type fridge that will hold 2 cornies. I consider that plenty for lagering. I have a 17 cubic foot freezer for kegging/dispensing.

I'd go with a 10-15 pound C02 tank. 5 will work but you will like the bigger tank with 5 kegs going. I got a 15 pound tank for like $20 more than a 5 pounder.

I'd go with a dual primary and then go to manifolds. This will give you the ability to dispense at a high and low pressure depending on style.

If you put on a collar you won't need a tower (cheaper). Get perlick faucets.

 

[KingKegII]

Welcome to the hobby. As others have mentioned, especially being in Texas, a fridge or freezer and temperature controller is a must for fermentation temperature control. Do a search on the DIY forums on here for how to make a mash tun when you're ready to go all grain, I made one using Flyguy's instructions as found in this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/cheap-easy-10-gallon-rubbermaid-mlt-conversion-23008/

Cheers

 

[espringm]

Do you not like ales?

I mostly drink ales but my first beer not named coors light, bud light, etc was a shiner bock so for sentiment's sake i want to be able to do a bock. Also i would like to do a dopplebock but i was talking with a guy at the local homebrew store and he said it would take a year and a half to be ready. Is this true?

Thanks for the suggestion on the kegerator equipment though.

Also since it only took one brew for me to be tired of bottling i went ahead and got a kegging system at my local homebrew store and got an extra keg and equipment so i can have two on tap. The guy at the store said i could use one of the corny as a secondary. Here is my question, on my first batch even after I racked to a secondary, there was still some trub in the bottom when i bottled, if i racked into a keg for a secondary will the trub just stay at the bottom and i will have to just keep an eye out for the keg to get real low to avoid the sedement?

 

[KingKegII]

Whether or not you even bother to secondary is a personal choice. After my first few batches I stopped doing it (I won't get into the reasons of using a secondary or not, just search the forums here to see the pros and cons of each side), you just need to be careful when racking from your fermenter into the keg to avoid picking up trub. Even when careful, once you chill your keg you'll get yeast and proteins settling to the bottom. Since the liquid-out dip tube in the keg goes all the way to the bottom, you may get a bit of sediment in the first pint you pour, but after that you should be good to go.

BTW, I'm in Katy too, we should swap some beers sometime.

 

[integrator]

As far as the dopplebock, I don't know a lot about them but I'm going to guess that it is similar to the Tripel I did. It will taste unreal after sitting for a year, but it was damn good after a few months also.

I'd only secondary something you are trying to get really clear, if you even care about that. Ferment in primary then carefully rack to the keg. You will get some sediment in the first pint or two but thats it. It works REALLY well.

You will get better racking as you go too. and the less you move the fermenter, the better.