Hallo, und danka, meine brauer

[catmandu1999]

No, I'm not from Germany, and don't speak German, just like playing with Google.

Just decided to join the forum because every question I typed into Google today brought me here for the answer.

I've been brewing stock recipes from stores across this great land for 15 years, but have had some lapses. Up until this week, plastic pails and bottles was all I did. Decided to look into corny kegs, scored $400 worth of keg equipment and carboys off Craigslist for $65 this week. Decided that was a nice windfall, headed to the local home brew store to get some more equipment with my 'found money'.

Today was brew day, for a couple of AHB kits that had been sitting for a while. Many bumps (where the hell did my brew pot go? Oh well, the back up crab pot worked good enough), but tonight I have a Texas Bock in a plastic pail and a Mexican Pilsner in a carboy (custom flavored with rubber stopper, DOH!).

Simply amazed how well the homemade copper chill coil I made twelve years ago works (winter temps help for sure).

Anyway, thanks for the answers to questions, hope to contribute some day.

Now, to talk myself into a proper brew kettle vice a standard stock pot . . .

 

[barrooze]

Welcome to the forum and back into brewing! That CL score sounds pretty great. Do you have anything set up for fermentation temp controlling? How about a kegerator/keezer? You need to keep those kegs cold once they're filled. Regarding the bk vs stock pot, I used a 10g standard AL stock pot for years before getting a 15g SS brew kettle. Had I not wanted to do larger batches, I don't think I would have changed my AL kettle. Just saying, if you stock pot works, why change it? (Unless you can't do full wort boils... Then YES, upgrade!)

 

[lumpher]

welcome, and good luck. sounds like you're starting off good with the craigslist finds. "texas bock"? never heard of it, and i've been in texas 16 years. (and it's danke, not danka...)

 

[barrooze]

welcome, and good luck. sounds like you're starting off good with the craigslist finds. "texas bock"? never heard of it, and i've been in texas 16 years. (and it's danke, not danka...)

You haven't heard of Shiner Bock? Are you sure you live in TX? AHS sells a kit named Texas Bock which is similar to Shiner Bock.

 

[catmandu1999]

Welcome to the forum and back into brewing! That CL score sounds pretty great. Do you have anything set up for fermentation temp controlling? How about a kegerator/keezer? You need to keep those kegs cold once they're filled. Regarding the bk vs stock pot, I used a 10g standard AL stock pot for years before getting a 15g SS brew kettle. Had I not wanted to do larger batches, I don't think I would have changed my AL kettle. Just saying, if you stock pot works, why change it? (Unless you can't do full wort boils... Then YES, upgrade!)

This time of year, there are select locations in the house that gets me pretty close to the temperatures needed. But, I'm looking at my CL options for a chest freezer right now! Doubt I'll find a controller there, though. So I think that's where I'll spend the next 'serious' money. Still have a $100 gift card from Christmas, so that will probably help me upgrade from the crab pot, even though it did a decent job.

welcome, and good luck. sounds like you're starting off good with the craigslist finds. "texas bock"? never heard of it, and i've been in texas 16 years. (and it's danke, not danka...)

Bach, bock. Danka, danke. Whatever, I told you I don't sprikin that kraut stuff!

Thanks for the welcomes!

 

[barrooze]

Doubt I'll find a controller there, though. So I think that's where I'll spend the next 'serious' money.

Definitely take a gander at this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ebay-aquarium-temp-controller-build-163849/

Save some of that money for ingredients! If you do go the aquarium controller method, make sure it says "STC-1000". If it doesn't, it'll be a single-stage controller, which is fine for a kegerator, but not ideal for a ferm chamber since sometimes you might need heating AND cooling to maintain your ferm temp.

 

[unionrdr]

Sounds like you're doing great jumping back in! Welcome home...

 

[patthebrewer]

Wie Gehts! Und Wilkommen! Was haben sie Gemacht?
Sie sprechten deutsch mit uns?

Sorry I actually do speak fluent german courtesy of Dad being deployed to germany for quite a few years when I was growing up....I just don't get a chance to use it much anymore.

 

[catmandu1999]

Definitely take a gander at this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ebay-aquarium-temp-controller-build-163849/

Save some of that money for ingredients! If you do go the aquarium controller method, make sure it says "STC-1000". If it doesn't, it'll be a single-stage controller, which is fine for a kegerator, but not ideal for a ferm chamber since sometimes you might need heating AND cooling to maintain your ferm temp.

Whoa, that is some serious mad science just looking at the first page. Exactly the kind of thing I like! But, holy yeast pitchers, Batman: 328 pages on that thread! Gonna take a serious sit down in the throne room to get through that.