Looking to build out 1st brewing setup

[McKnuckle]

Extract brewers commonly boil less than full volume and top up with plain water in the fermenter. All grain brewers can do that, but usually do not.

A 5 gallon batch - meaning 5 gallons into your fermenter - will typically require a 6 to 6.5 gallon boil, subject to boil-off rate and whether you try to filter out your kettle trub.

 

[marjen]

How do you know if you need 6 or 6.5 gallons?

 

[McKnuckle]

How do you know if you need 6 or 6.5 gallons?

Experience!

But you can plan a little bit. Do a boil-off test with plain water, using the kettle and the same heat source, boil for 60 minutes. Accurately measure your starting and ending volumes, and note the difference, which is your hourly rate. Wait for the water to cool to measure the post-boil volume, or divide the result by 1.04 if you measure right after boiling (volume expands by ~4% at 212F).

 

[marjen]

Thanks for the advise! Man there are a lot of things to think about and remember. I am taking notes and will probably write up all the steps before i start my first brew so i can check them off as i go.

 

[broadbill]

Experience!

But you can plan a little bit. Do a boil-off test with plain water, using the kettle and the same heat source, boil for 60 minutes. Accurately measure your starting and ending volumes, and note the difference, which is your hourly rate. Wait for the water to cool to measure the post-boil volume, or divide the result by 1.04 if you measure right after boiling (volume expands by ~4% at 212F).

You could do this, or you could add malt and hops and actually make wort to ferment into beer instead of a bunch of hot water! Just a thought...

Just go with a SWAG of 1 gal/hr boil off rate...

 

[bleme]

You could do this, or you could add malt and hops and actually make wort to ferment into beer instead of a bunch of hot water! Just a thought....

This is what I would do (and did) with the exception that I started with a 5 gallon boil, added extract and hops, chilled and transferred to my fermentor that I had carefully marked 5 gallons on. Then I topped off with a gallon jug of water and measured what was left in the jug to see how much boiled off.

If your fermentor has pre-marked measurements, don't assume they are accurate. You need to measure for yourself before you get started. Also, make sure you turn off the flame when you add the extract. Make sure it is mixed in completely before the flame comes back on. Leaving the flame on is a sure way to turn a Kolsch into a Porter.

We've all made mistakes and even if you learn from ours, you are still sure to make your own. Just try to pass on some of that wisdom to the next generation.

 

[marjen]

Ok I think I have all my starter gear ordered. This is what I got:

1. Midwest supplies starter kit - Kit include the following:
5 gallon carboy plastic
Universal carboy bung
6.5 gallon fermentor and lid
Fermometer Dual-scale liquid crystal thermometer
Airlock
Herculometer™ - Triple Scale Hydrometer and test jar
2 oz Midwest Oxygen Wash
Instructional step-by-step DVD
5/16” Auto-Siphon
5/16” siphon tubing
Small tubing clamp
Bottling bucket with spigot
Bottle filler
Bottle Capper
60 gold bottle caps
Bottle Brush

2. 10 gallon Tallboy Kettle
3. 12" SS thermometer
4. 21" Spoon
5. Wort chiller
6. digital kitchen scale
7. Room thermometer
8. brewing gloves.
9. 2 cases 22oz bottles.

Did I miss anything? I think I have everything i need to brew my first batch.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

Looks good, whatcha gonna brew?!?!

 

[Sadu]

Did I miss anything? I think I have everything i need to brew my first batch.

If you are serious about brewing you need to address temp control one way or another, so make this part of your plan from the start.

To do this properly you want an old fridge or freezer large enough to hold the fermentor. And a temp controller (STC-1000 or Inkbird). And you need some sort of heating device, a brew heat belt works good.

If you don't have space for a fridge, you need a swamp cooler. This is a large tub that can hold the fermentor. You can add an aquarium heater (which usually have a thermostat on them) to prevent temps dropping too low. You will need to manually add ice bottles to the water, or drape a wet towel over the fermentor to keep it cool.

 

[BitterSweetBrews]

If you are serious about brewing you need to address temp control one way or another, so make this part of your plan from the start.

To do this properly you want an old fridge or freezer large enough to hold the fermentor. And a temp controller (STC-1000 or Inkbird). And you need some sort of heating device, a brew heat belt works good.

If you don't have space for a fridge, you need a swamp cooler. This is a large tub that can hold the fermentor. You can add an aquarium heater (which usually have a thermostat on them) to prevent temps dropping too low. You will need to manually add ice bottles to the water, or drape a wet towel over the fermentor to keep it cool.

While temp control will help with consistency and give you generally better beer, go ahead and get started with what you have. Do not feel like you absolutely have to have everything right from the start.

If you have a cool space that stays around 70 without a lot of fluctuations you will be just fine. Lots of brewers make great beer without all of the frills. If you have an old fridge and can make yourself a cheap fermentation chamber by all means do it. But don't think your beer will suck if you don't have it right from the start.

 

[marjen]

Well I purchased a stir starter as I hear it really helps with the yeast. Also looking at building my own keezer and kegging as the style of beer I am primarily looking to brew (NE IPAs) dont seem to do well bottled. Might as well jump in with both feet.

 

[McKnuckle]

This thread was started only 4 days ago. I'd say you're veering close to analysis paralysis, going overboard before even brewing a single drop of beer. This seems to happen from time to time - there are a couple of recent epic threads from similar beginning brewers. The forum loves these threads; they have tons of replies and go on for pages.

Pot, bag, grain/hops, spring water, bucket, dry yeast, bunch of bottles/caps and a way to get the caps on. Sure I'm leaving a few things out, but you probably already have them. My point is that there are a hundred small tasks you need to learn how to do before complicating things so much. It's not rocket science and doesn't need to be approached that way.

Brew 2-3 gallons of beer using a simple recipe and get some experience under your belt. You can buy new stuff every week and keep planning for more, but you can also brew weekly while doing so and learn what you're getting into.

 

[BitterSweetBrews]

This thread was started only 4 days ago. I'd say you're veering close to analysis paralysis, going overboard before even brewing a single drop of beer. This seems to happen from time to time - there are a couple of recent epic threads from similar beginning brewers. The forum loves these threads; they have tons of replies and go on for pages.

Pot, bag, grain/hops, spring water, bucket, dry yeast, bunch of bottles/caps and a way to get the caps on. Sure I'm leaving a few things out, but you probably already have them. My point is that there are a hundred small tasks you need to learn how to do before complicating things so much. It's not rocket science and doesn't need to be approached that way.

Brew 2-3 gallons of beer using a simple recipe and get some experience under your belt. You can buy new stuff every week and keep planning for more, but you can also brew weekly while doing so and learn what you're getting into.

Well said. Start small and easy until you really have an idea what you want/need. Half the fun is planning for and implementing the next new item.