Need to upgrade equipment. Advice?

[odie]

immersion chiller is a must. you can make for super cheap too from Lowes or Home depot.

Fermonsters are nice. I have a couple. But I also regularly use my original 6.5 gal plastic bucket with spigot from 1994...nothing touches it but wort , hot water and a soft cleaning cloth (maybe some Oxyclean on occasion)...

 

[Day-Day]

I agree... 70 F ambient is way to warm for my liking. Like others have mention there will swings throughout the day. You could build a swamp cooler ( I have a mop sink in my basement that I use) and that will do well to hold the temps down and deal with temp swings.

A good comprise between price and conical are the stainless steel buckets... they are reasonably priced and they would be easy to control temp with a little effort.

 

[Alex4mula]

I don’t trust any equipment that wort runs thru that I can’t see or disassemble to clean. For me a plate chiller (or CFC) is no bueno. ....

No trust yes anyone can. No bueno without using it? What do you think breweries use? Good cleaning and sanitation practices for zero issues in 24 brews.

 

[brewbama]

No trust yes anyone can. No bueno without using it? What do you think breweries use? Good cleaning and sanitation practices for zero issues in 24 brews.

Cool. I’m not a commercial brewery. I don’t like using devices I cannot disassemble and clean.

 

[brewdude88]

Don’t waste your money on glass and plastic. Anvil brew buckets are very affordable, have plenty of headspace and allow for closed transfers. I would be far better off if I had just invested in SS from the start of my brewing. Just one mans opinion.

 

[tellyho]

Thanks I appreciate it! I live in SoCal is it’s basically 70 degrees here year round so temp control isn’t an issue at all, and going into winter it’s gonna be around 60-65 so I won’t really have any issues with temp. Obviously a chest freezer would be nice. I’ll look into some of your suggestions thanks

You could make kveik your house yeast and not worry about temp control.

Actually, you'd still want to be able to run it cool for clean beers. Some temp control is a bonus.

 

[kh54s10]

Don’t waste your money on glass and plastic. Anvil brew buckets are very affordable, have plenty of headspace and allow for closed transfers. I would be far better off if I had just invested in SS from the start of my brewing. Just one mans opinion.

Define affordable!! I have 7 Better Bottles and 2 plastic buckets. I got half of the Better Bottles on BOGO sales so I have about $15 each in them. I have had beer and wines in all 7 Better Bottles at one time. If I had to buy 7 Anvil Brew Buckets??????

 

[brewdude88]

Define affordable!! I have 7 Better Bottles and 2 plastic buckets. I got half of the Better Bottles on BOGO sales so I have about $15 each in them. I have had beer and wines in all 7 Better Bottles at one time. If I had to buy 7 Anvil Brew Buckets??????

fair enough, if someone is looking for lots of fermentation space, SS might not be the answer. I just eventually decided I was fine with 2 primary fermenters with a couple of 5 gal carboys that are only used for secondary of wine. My reasoning was longevity of equipment over volume of equipment, not to mention it’s all oxygen impervious and can take a good, hard cleaning without worries of scratches.

 

[Alex4mula]

After 24 brews I think conicals are overrated unless it is a true one you can harvest yeast and you actually do it. I have 2 glass carboys and one Anvil brew bucket. Both take me exactly the same amount of time to clean but the Anvil I also need to disassemble. I also loose more beer on the bottom of it. Only use it when the carboys are full. Also I like to see the activity. But some like the brewery look of the SS ones. I’m adding a 4th one and it will be a glass one.

 

[Transamguy77]

This question always has a ton of answers all based on everyone’s separate needs and wants.

My 2 cents, a lager immersion chiller 50’x1/2” that way if you decide later that you want to make bigger batches you won’t have to buy another one. And super simple to clean, just hose it off, no pumps needed.

Temp control, I used to live in cen cal and something to keep temps low was a must. And now being back on the east coast I need something to heat and cool.

Yeast starter equipment, good to have a big healthy pitch, you can make a stir plate pretty inexpensive.

And I’m in the no glass camp, to dangerous in my opinion. I’ve been brewing for 10 years and I still use the same buckets I started with, cheap and easy to clean with a large opening. You could have 4 brews going and still be cheaper than 1 stainless vessel.

And of course kegging, it was a few years in before I started and I didn’t mind bottling I had a good system (and kids to help) but when I started making 10 gallon batches it was a lot of work. And I had planned on kegging half and bottling half but that never happened I just bought more kegs to keep beer in.

 

[Saunassa]

I use 6.5 gal big mouth bubblers. Love how easy to clean and when dry easy to put up out of the way. Two biggest things was buying a 25' immersion chiller and the fermwrap with inkbird control or is that three?

 

[kh54s10]

fair enough, if someone is looking for lots of fermentation space, SS might not be the answer. I just eventually decided I was fine with 2 primary fermenters with a couple of 5 gal carboys that are only used for secondary of wine. My reasoning was longevity of equipment over volume of equipment, not to mention it’s all oxygen impervious and can take a good, hard cleaning without worries of scratches.

I have had fermentations going for several months (on the yeast). No evidence of oxygenation or autolysis... I am also using all of my fermenters that I have ever bought. I would say that the newest of them is about 6 years old. I have no intention of retiring any of them soon. I take care cleaning and haven't had any worries about scratches...

 

[odie]

Like I said. My 25 year old bucket is still rockin good [emoji481]. Love your equipment well and it will love you back

 

[odie]

I have had fermentations going for several months (on the yeast). ...

Do tell...what u got going for that long??? Seriously high OG?

 

[kh54s10]

Do tell...what u got going for that long??? Seriously high OG?

Once or twice but mostly just plain old procrastination. "I'll bottle or keg (I do both) this beer tomorrow... next thing I know it has been as many as 9 months. Got into fixing a house up for sale and kept putting off the bottling.....

My usual plan is to package just after 2 weeks, most often it is at 3-4 weeks and a couple per year have been left for about 2-3 months.

 

[speavler]

Key word is "invest". I don't regret any of my big ticket cold side purchases. It hurt at the time, but now I look at what commercial beer kegs are going for at BevMo these days....these ss brewtech fermenters have long since paid for themselves, and they'll last forever.

 

[PaleRider76]

Either way OP, whatever you choose to upgrade, don’t worry too much. It takes the fun out.

Did you bottle? Do you hate it yet?

 

[Soulshine2]

I know starting off, usually the cheapest option is the best way to go, as you don't want to dump money into something when you have no idea what you're doing.

BUT

I'm the type of person where if I decide to do something, I like being great at that thing, therefore after 1 batch of homebrew I'm now looking to upgrade my equipment. Was using 6.5 gallon glass carboy, but not a fan because of how small the opening is on top it makes life harder than it needs to be. I love the idea of a conical, but probably looking for a plastic for now rather than stainless. Also, used a sink ice bath to cool wort, but that took an hour and im looking for a better solution for cooling the wort faster, as I've heard that can have an effect on the quality of the beer.

So moral of the story, I'm looking for advice on plastic conical fermenters that have a wide opening on top, potentially a spout. I've seen the BrewDemon that looks great but has mixed reviews, but same goes for the Fermentasaurus and the Catalyst. I also like being able to see the beer so having a clear fermenter is preferred. As for my cooling problem, I'm assuming just go with an immersion chiller?

Lastly, any other equipment that I probably don't know about yet, but might make life easier or make my beer turn out better? or more clear etc

Thanks ahead of time!

I was using 5 and 6.5 gallon glass carboys then this last spring got a 7 gallon fermonster . i like it a lot. its not glass , so its both safer and a lot lighter. and with the spigot in it I dont have to use the racking cane , less to clean. The one upgrade I am so glad I did . If you get one, get a stick on thermometer too.