good deal?

[crazyseany]

well I picked up some stuff off of craigslist this weekend...

I spent $75 and Got

6.5 gallon ale pale with lid and airlock (now I have 2)
6.5 gallon bottling bucket with valve
racking cane with a bucket clip
5 cases of crown top 22oz bottles
1 case of grolsh bottles & lids
small brewers scale
red bottle capper
200 or so bottle caps
beer hydrometer
looks to be 25' immersion cooler
3... 5 gallon glass carboys (can you say Edwort's Apfelwein)

3 cans of sealed liquad malt extract... Expiration date of May 2003
bag of corn sugar (4 lbs)


does all that sound pretty reasonable? I was hoping to use the LME but don't think I'll chance it!

sean

 

[beninan]

wow that's a hell of a deal!

I could see myself spending over $75 on the 3, 5 gallon carboys alone

 

[shamrockdoc]

holy hell you got an awesome deal! Good job buddy!

 

[Justibone]

LME might be fine. Try a brew with it, all you'll lose is the water, yeast and some time. *shrug*

 

[crazyseany]

holy hell you got an awesome deal! Good job buddy!

I thought I did but was starting to have buyers remorse! Lol

gonna start a batch of apfelwein this weekend and maybe a stout of some sort... (it'll be week two weeks in primary for my german wheat)

 

[crazyseany]

LME might be fine. Try a brew with it, all you'll lose is the water, yeast and some time. *shrug*

seriously? Would anyone else recommend trying the 3 cans of 8 year old malt? (its older then my kids!)

 

[beninan]

seriously? Would anyone else recommend trying the 3 cans of 8 year old malt? (its older then my kids!)

why not? You already have the most expensive ingredient. just make a simple batch with it in case it doesn't end up good.

 

[rj0715]

open it and smell it you'll know if you want to try using it or not ;0

 

[crazyseany]

I'm scared! Lol

 

[beninan]

I'm scared! Lol

RDWHAHB! Just try it. Buy some cheap hops, some cheap yeast, and make some beer! Just make sure the first thing you open on brewday is the LME. If it smells bad, then you have some hops and yeast for a future batch. If it smells good, MAKE BEER!

 

[Justibone]

RDWHAHB! Just try it. Buy some cheap hops, some cheap yeast, and make some beer! Just make sure the first thing you open on brewday is the LME. If it smells bad, then you have some hops and yeast for a future batch. If it smells good, MAKE BEER!

+1 to this plan.

 

[AnOldUR]

why not? You already have the most expensive ingredient.

It could be argued that the most expensive ingredient in brewing is time. Personally I'd rather put it toward something with a greater chance of success.




edit:
Great deal on the glass, but I'd toss the plastic.

 

[BrookdaleBrew]

If it were me and I came across some LME that old, I'd get a pound of chocolate malt, a pound of roasted barley, a pound of special B, 2 ounces of magnum or warrior and 2 packets of US-04, then make a kick ass imperial stout.

Even if it's old and a little off, you're going to cover most of that up with all that dark malt and you've got the 5 gallon carboy to bulk age it for a few months. I say go for it!

 

[beninan]

Does anyone know what old LME tastes like? Maybe it would fit well in a Lambic/Sour beer. Just a suggestion

 

[Justibone]

Or in graff.

But it's getting complicated. He just has to taste it and see if he wants to brew with it.

 

[crazyseany]

If it were me and I came across some LME that old, I'd get a pound of chocolate malt, a pound of roasted barley, a pound of special B, 2 ounces of magnum or warrior and 2 packets of US-04, then make a kick ass imperial stout.

Even if it's old and a little off, you're going to cover most of that up with all that dark malt and you've got the 5 gallon carboy to bulk age it for a few months. I say go for it!

would I just steep the grains mentioned?

 

[crazyseany]

edit:
Great deal on the glass, but I'd toss the plastic.

why am I tossing the plastic?
there are no signs it's ever been used before... Very clean & can't see any scratches... Looks like ,y new one did befor I put my wheat beer in it.....

 

[beninan]

why am I tossing the plastic?
there are no signs it's ever been used before... Very clean & can't see any scratches... Looks like ,y new one did befor I put my wheat beer in it.....

I wouldn't toss the plastic if it were mine, If it looks ok (new) like you said then I would use it. If it didn't look so new, use it as an equipment storage bucket, or a grain bucket, or a back woods toilet.

 

[AnOldUR]

why am I tossing the plastic?

I would . . . use it as . . . a back woods toilet.

This guy might have had it before you. :cross:

 

[crazyseany]

nothing a little soap and water won't fix... Right?...lol

yea lets not get to complicated! I don't even know what a graff or lambic is!


while I have a post going... & I did read/search some posts on the subject... Is a 5 gallon mash tun made from a cooler able to be used for most 5 gallon batches? .... Also will this ruin the cooler? Will I be able to switch it back if need be?

 

[beninan]

nothing a little soap and water won't fix... Right?...lol

yea lets not get to complicated! I don't even know what a graff or lambic is!


while I have a post going... & I did read/search some posts on the subject... Is a 5 gallon mash tun made from a cooler able to be used for most 5 gallon batches? .... Also will this ruin the cooler? Will I be able to switch it back if need be?

Search HBT for lambic and graff.
A Lambic is essentially a beer fermented with wild yeast and has some sour flavors, sometimes it has some fruit in it to compliment the wild yeast flavors.
A Graff is somewhat of a hopped apple cider/beer mix I believe.

Yes you can use a regular 5 gallon cooler as a mash tun. Again, with a quick search on HBT I'm sure you can find tons of build projects with pictures . A lot of coolers have a drain in the bottom side where you could easily install a manifold or stainless steel braid on the inside, and a valve and drain tube on the outside, without destroying the cooler's use as a cooler.

 

[crazyseany]

I did do a search on the cooler tun.... I was more worried I wouldn't be happ with a 5 gallon one... But I already have the cooler... So it would ave $

 

[beninan]

Correct me if I'm wrong (I don't do all grain, I'm an apartment dweller...), But isn't a 5 gallon all you need for a 5 gallon batch? After mashing and sparging, I would think that you could easily get 7 gallons of wort.

 

[Justibone]

The size of the cooler affects how many pounds of grain you can use, from what I understand.

That's one apartment-dweller to another.

When I AG, I do it at a buddy's house, or I do it Deathbrewer-style.