2drunk2
Well-Known Member
I've had a lot of fun learning to brew beer, and I'm slowly upgrading equipment and trying techniques that I've learned here. I thought I'd chronicle a few.
About ten batches in, I'm still using my 20 qt kettle on the stove top. Two new pieces of equipment have allowed me to do my first solo brew this weekend.
An auto-siphon with a bucket clip made for an easy transfer process. I push the limits on boil size, and pouring 4 gallons of wort by myself was always possible, but I didn't want to risk it.
I made a wort chiller using 20 ft of 1/2" copper tube. This saved ice, time and sanity. It's probably the best $28 I've spent on this hobby. In the past I had to carry the hot kettle outside and babysit the kettle making ice additions to the ice bath and make sure the lid didn't vacuum seal itself to the kettle. If I took the lid off, I had to keep the dog away.
Now, I have 25-30 minutes to clean while it chills. I like to run some Star San one last time through my equipment while I wait.
I've also evolved from extract with steeping grains to mini or partial mash. I like to use a BIAB, and as much water as I can handle. The ingredient list is cheaper than all extract, it's a step toward all grain and I enjoy it. I've found that 6-7 pounds of grain and 4 gallons of water yield a gravity similar to one 3 lb bag of DME or a 3.3 lb can of LME. My first attempt only achieved a 55% efficiency, but this weekend I stirred more, squeezed the bag and used a small dunk sparge to achieve 84%.
From there it's just like extract brewing, except I save the grains for making breads and pretzels. That's my wife's area of expertise.
Finally, I've started using a swamp cooler to control my fermentation temps. If you're new like me (started in June), don't fear the swamp cooler. It's really easy. Saturdays batch has been in the low 60's and chugging right along. I swap out frozen bottles in a cooler of water a couple times per day. The amount of liquid is large enough that the temp stays fairly consistent. So, don't panic if you can't be there to monitor it 24/7.
PS- If you're new, invest in a blow of tube now. You'll most likely find a need for it between 10 PM and 4 AM. Murphys Law. It is cheap, and will save hours of panic.
About ten batches in, I'm still using my 20 qt kettle on the stove top. Two new pieces of equipment have allowed me to do my first solo brew this weekend.
An auto-siphon with a bucket clip made for an easy transfer process. I push the limits on boil size, and pouring 4 gallons of wort by myself was always possible, but I didn't want to risk it.
I made a wort chiller using 20 ft of 1/2" copper tube. This saved ice, time and sanity. It's probably the best $28 I've spent on this hobby. In the past I had to carry the hot kettle outside and babysit the kettle making ice additions to the ice bath and make sure the lid didn't vacuum seal itself to the kettle. If I took the lid off, I had to keep the dog away.
Now, I have 25-30 minutes to clean while it chills. I like to run some Star San one last time through my equipment while I wait.
I've also evolved from extract with steeping grains to mini or partial mash. I like to use a BIAB, and as much water as I can handle. The ingredient list is cheaper than all extract, it's a step toward all grain and I enjoy it. I've found that 6-7 pounds of grain and 4 gallons of water yield a gravity similar to one 3 lb bag of DME or a 3.3 lb can of LME. My first attempt only achieved a 55% efficiency, but this weekend I stirred more, squeezed the bag and used a small dunk sparge to achieve 84%.
From there it's just like extract brewing, except I save the grains for making breads and pretzels. That's my wife's area of expertise.
Finally, I've started using a swamp cooler to control my fermentation temps. If you're new like me (started in June), don't fear the swamp cooler. It's really easy. Saturdays batch has been in the low 60's and chugging right along. I swap out frozen bottles in a cooler of water a couple times per day. The amount of liquid is large enough that the temp stays fairly consistent. So, don't panic if you can't be there to monitor it 24/7.
PS- If you're new, invest in a blow of tube now. You'll most likely find a need for it between 10 PM and 4 AM. Murphys Law. It is cheap, and will save hours of panic.
