getting started equipment question

[Inkdoggy]

Sorry for a redundant post. I thought this would be a better place.

New thought. I have some money coming in next month that will allow me to purchase an all grain set up from the get go with multiple kegs. I love beer and cooking so I'm sure I'll stick with it. I have VERY particular beer tastes (crisp, very hoppy double IPA). Should I start slow and add on or do it right from the beginning?

 

[wyzazz]

Start slow and do it right by adding on! You can make GREAT beer with Extracts & Partial Mashes. Get a large pot, I've had a boil over on a 5gal batch with a 15gal pot so bigger is definitely better when it comes to pots. You can even do All Grain with the BIAB method when it comes time to jump in to that. I'd pick up the pot, a propane burner, kegs, some fermenters, maybe a beginners kit, some ingredients for a few batches, and start from there. Get your technique down, get used to the process, then move to PM/AG.

Even after having gone AG I still make just as many Extract and PM batches as I do AG. Sometimes it's just easier and quicker!

Just my $.02...

 

[Inkdoggy]

Thanks wyzazz... So plan on not cookin on the flat top electric range?

 

[wyzazz]

No worries! Yeah, it's so much nicer brewing outside with more power, not to mention the SWMBO doesn't get so pissed about the destruction of the kitchen.

Or you could go electric with a 240V Water Heater Element.

 

[Inkdoggy]

Dude, I rule the kitchen. I do 95% of the cooking and 100% of the cleaning in the kitchen. Originally, I am a really good cook, who enjoys it immensely, who likes particular beer...

 

[wyzazz]

I'm the same way, but the first time you get wort all over in the kitchen she'll have a fit! That stuff is the worst thing in the world to clean up!

Either way, if you're doing 5gal batches with a full boil you'll have to have bring around 6.5-7gals to a boil. Your stove just isn't going to put out the BTU's required to get that to a boil (if at all) and keep it there. You could build a heatstick to supplement it but that's an awful lot of liquid (heavy) sitting on a stove. If you've got the money get a burner for outside, I use my turkey fryer burner with a keggle and it works great!

 

[rcreveli]

I agree with the start slow school of thought. Brewing is like any hobby, it's easy to buy the same thing multiple times because you bought the crap version without realizing it. I have several camera lenses that I bought twice due to the but it was a good deal way of thinking.

If you're the primary cook like me then you know after you get your initial setup you buy individual pieces of good (maybe not the best) quality so that the tools work for you.

I'm on batch #6 I started with the middle of the road kit from Midwest Brewing and my 5gal canning pot. I've bee doing partial boil extracts and am getting ready to jump to full boil. Now I get to pick out a nice burner and pot after doing research and understanding the process instead of what someone put in my hand/said was the best.

It's hard to know what will be the best tools for you until you develop a workflow.

 

[Inkdoggy]

Wyzazz and rcreveli: your post have been a TREMENDOUS help. Makes sense. I will get a decent beginners kit...

 

[surreal_trip]

It seems like most of the guys who brew do a lot of the cooking at home. I think it goes hand in hand.

I've helped on a handful of brew days and the process once down pat is easy though time consuming. You are definately making the right choice with a good beginners setup.

P.S. Make sure you buy some bottling equipment. Heaven knows when you may decide to share some of your brews around and they tend to make great gifts for the beer lovers we all (hopefully) know. Other than ourselves of course!!!

 

[rcreveli]

I'm actually beginning to enjoy the bottling process. I am a big fan of the Vinator and bench capper. Read Reavy's treatise on bottling, you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll swear less then you would otherwise.

 

[haplo]

I can get gas stoves to boil 6 gallons because my pot fits over 2 burners, but the electric in my apartment will not. Still, trying to scrub the scorched stove after boiling 6 gallons of water is a ridiculous pain.

 

[wyzazz]

I wouldn't do a full boil on my stove unless I was doing a 2.5 gallon or smaller batch, I'd be afraid of it collapsing! I've read stories on here about guys cracking their new glass stovetops doing stuff like this...

 

[surreal_trip]

The best way to clean scorch marks... Rub the spots down with straight clear vinegar... let it settle for a minute(wet).. mix a 2:1 bakingsoda:water. slab that on the spot and contain the foam if their is any... let it sit for 10-15 minutes wipe off the scorch with warm water... I sometimes do this inside a sink or outside altogether because if its a bad scorch the vinegar sets into the marks and u get a cutesy volcanic eruption off the bottom of the pot... some kind of awesome!

 

[haplo]

The best way to clean scorch marks... Rub the spots down with straight clear vinegar... let it settle for a minute(wet).. mix a 2:1 bakingsoda:water. slab that on the spot and contain the foam if their is any... let it sit for 10-15 minutes wipe off the scorch with warm water... I sometimes do this inside a sink or outside altogether because if its a bad scorch the vinegar sets into the marks and u get a cutesy volcanic eruption off the bottom of the pot... some kind of awesome!

Awesome! Thanks. That has been one of my biggest time consumers.

 

[dale1038]

I would start with half batches on the stovetop if you want to go AG. I've made my best beers that way. Look at Deathbrewers method. It's a sticky somewhere. Plus you only have to bottle half batches. It's what got me very comfortable with the process. Just my 2 cents.