Just starting out, equipment advice needed

[tjnowak]

Equipment list I plan on purchasing:
Blichmann Boilermaker 10 gallon pot with thermometer
False bottom (should I bother with this?)
Some sort of burner (might just go with Blichman’s&#8230
6.5 gallon glass carboy
Large funnel
Long slotted spoon
Glass air-lock & stopper
Sanitizing solution
Tubing or siphon to transfer to carboy (can anyone recommend what’s best here, especially with the Blichmann?)
Brewing kit with grain, hops, malt, sugar, yeast, etc…

I plan on brewing my first batch of home brew, 5 gallons worth, sometime within the next 2 weeks. I’ve watched some videos and think I have a good idea of what is going on, but I still have a couple of questions along the way. One problem with all of the kits I saw was that I constantly found myself wanting to upgrade many things. I wanted to stay away from plastics, even if they are food-grade good quality and wanted to stick with better materials. I plan on staying with this for quite some time, hopefully lifelong, therefore I wanted better equipment so I wasn’t repurchasing better supplies next season. I don’t mind shelling out some extra money up front to make this a rewarding investment.

1. Can anyone see any supplies that would be beneficial or that I am missing? What’s the best or most accurate method/instrument for measuring specific gravity?

2. When cooling can I just submerge the Blichmann in a cold water bath with dry ice to rapidly bring the temp down or can anyone see problems with this? I know I won’t want to overshoot and go too cold.

3. I’m trying to decide if I want to go the route of bottling vs kegging. Keg seems like what might just be easier or more convenient. Thoughts?

Sorry for all the questions, but I’ve never done this before, nor do I know many who do. I want to get this right the first time and turn some of my friends onto it as well. Thanks in advance for all your help!

 

[govner1]

Nice starting list. I'd go w/ the Blichmann burner w/ legs, too. You'll obviously need a bottle of propane unless you pls on using NG. In that case, you'll need an adaptor for any burner.
Additionally, you'll need B-Brite or similar cleaner along w/ the sanitizer.
Also consider:
Hydrometer
Chiller- immersion or CFC
Mash tun
Plastic airlocks not glass- too easily broken
Better Bottles vs glass carboys- lighter & more durable
Thermometer
Scale
Bottles
Bottle capper
Bottle washer

There's always more!

 

[torso]

I started out similarly to you. I knew I would upgrade to an all-grain setup which happened recently so I would consider investing in some sort of mash tun. I use a converted keg which works great and like you said, there is no plastic. I also use 2 burners, one for the mash (getting water/tun to temp and heating during mash if needed) and one burner for the boil. I have both going sometimes and since I use gravity one burner is higher than the other.

As far as kegs/bottles are concerned: You will save time and energy with kegs, but ultimately will still bottle some of your beer so you might want to start with bottles. Also, the kegging system I just got is the most expensive thing I've purchase by far (2 kegs regulator etc.) and I got the fridge for free. It also takes up a ton of room and uses energy. But with 2 kids totally worth it for me. It's so easy and great. But I'd start making beer and bottling at least a few times before worrying about kegging because it's another thing to learn and you should probably concentrate on brewing first, then move on to cO2 but thats just my opinion.

Good luck!

 

[headwall]

If you plan on brewing from extract, then you don't need a false bottom. If you plan on brewing all from grain, then you'll need a separate vessel for a mash tun with a false bottom or some sort of manifold or braided tube to filter the grain. Many people use modified coolers, but as you want to stay away from plastic, you may consider purchasing a second boilermaker, a modified keg, or a kettle w/false bottom from a different vendor.

For measuring specific gravity, I'd recommend going with the old faithful hydrometer and test tube. Cheap and accurate.

For cooling, I'd recommend either buying or making an immersion chiller. An ice bath will work if you really don't want to spend the money for an immersion chiller, but for 60-70 bucks you could make a pretty nice one yourself.

Kegging is definitely easier and more convenient in my opinion, but that will increase your startup costs pretty significantly. You may be able to find used 5gal kegs for $30-40 each and then you'll need a CO2 tank and regulator (which can be spendy) plus all the keg fittings which aren't that much but can add up.

 

[tjnowak]

Thanks so far guys. As far as the mash tun goes, can I just do that in the 10G pot, or is there a reason for using a separate specific container?

For Better bottles vs glass carboys, has anyone ever had noticeable difference or any off flavors possibly contributed by the container leaching? I know they're not suppose to, but I still wonder.

 

[headwall]

If you only have a single vessel, you will need to run off your wort into some other container or containers, then clean all the grain out of your kettle and fill it back up with your wort from wherever you drained it. This will take a long time and I haven't heard of anybody doing it this way. It would be very inefficient. With two vessels, you can start heating your wort to a boil as you are still draining it off from the mash. This will save a lot of time and you'll then be able to clean out your mash tun during the boil. If you are doing 5 gallon batches, you'll need a 5 gallon container to store your wort in while you clean out your boilermaker, so you might as well just buy a second kettle of some sort to use as a mash tun.