New Brewing Gear question

[OmegaRed]

So I just finished my order to complete my keezer. Current setup:

3 Taps
Dual Reg - one with 3 way distributor to cornies, other is going to a sanke connector for the few big parties I throw a year and roast a pig etc. Taps will usually be hooked up to cornies, except during parties were I'll run 2 cornies and 1 half barrel.

That being said, I have lots of freezer space for expansion should the need ever arise. I've read a few brewing books. I currently make wine, and after gearing for "basic" winemaking, then having to rebuy stuff because it was more of a PITA than a fun hobby, I'm trying to avoid the same mistake.

I don't (think I) need a 3 tier setup like I've seen. I was planning on either starting with stove top batches, or using one of the few turkey fryer bases I have. What are some of the biggest hassles you have doing it small time like this? What gear do you have that makes it troublesome? What are must haves that pretty much any brewer upgrades to once they make a few batches?

 

[k1ngl1ves]

For small kettles or turkey fryers, I'd suggest building an immersion chiller. Makes life easier.

 

[OmegaRed]

For small kettles or turkey fryers, I'd suggest building an immersion chiller. Makes life easier.

Ok, was planning on that. So is this still the way that ppl cool when brewing extracts?

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

Ok, was planning on that. So is this still the way that ppl cool when brewing extracts?

When doing extract I usually cool with frozen top off water. Helps bring the temp down quick.


Sent from somewhere to someone

 

[vinylrooster]

Extract or all grain, I still chill the same way......homemade copper wort chiller. Gets the job done in under 15 minutes every time.

 

[andy6026]

immersion chillers are very efficient. I was surprised how fast it cooled down a 5-6 gallon batch - inside of 10 minutes. I recommend 50' of 1/2" copper rather than 25' of 3/8".

If you want to do things 'right' the first time so you don't have to re-buy, and of course that depends on what is 'right' for you, I'd recommend you go All-Grain (I've done both and I consider AG to be a lot more satisfying AND cheaper) and consider the following. These are all based on an ideal world where money is no object, haha:

A 20-25 gallon kettle so that you can do 10 gallons batches. 5 gallon batches are great, but I'm having trouble keeping my 'pipe line' going, especially with the friends that I have. I wish I had gone bigger. Get one with a built in thermometer, a ball valve spigot, and ideally a volume gauge. A screen or false bottom is also very useful.

Build yourself a large enough mash tun to do 10 gallon batches. I'm not sure the size requirements for that, but I'm sure there's plenty info on this site about it. Be careful of the components you use, as some metals (such as galvanized) can be poisonous and/or rust.

I recommend the blichmann burner. Others claim just as good results with less expensive burners, but this burner is indeed a beast. It feels good to use something really well made, and it's quiet.

I don't use a 3-tier brew stand, nor is it anywhere up there on my list of priorities. However, I'm a healthy 38 year old doing 5-6 gallon batches. If I were to step up to 10 gallon batches and/or become not so healthy then maybe such a device would become a lot more important.

Find a way to motorize your grain mill. Turning the mill by hand has been a big pain in the ass - hurts the back after a while and takes up time. I have an old style grain mill that was donated to me by a friend. I've tried out a few contraptions to motorize it, but none has successfully milled grains for more than 3-4 minutes.

Build yourself a nice shed for storing your equipment as close as possible to where you want to brew. Every brew day I have to haul my equipment out of the basement and out to the back yard and at the end haul it back down again. Not so bad when I have a helper, but when alone it has deterred me a few times. It can make brew day exhausting especially if you've been doing some sampling.

Build yourself a wash-station close to where you're brewing, complete with hot and cold taps. As you probably know from making wine, brewing involves a lot of washing. You'll get wet a lot, and depending on where you live the hose water can get pretty damned cold. Hauling things in and out of the house to clean them can be a pain. In an ideal world you could wash things up with warm water and put it right in the shed after a brew day.


That may be a big wish-list, but you'll have to decide for yourself what is priority and feasible for your situation.

 

[OmegaRed]

immersion chillers are very efficient. I was surprised how fast it cooled down a 5-6 gallon batch - inside of 10 minutes. I recommend 50' of 1/2" copper rather than 25' of 3/8".

If you want to do things 'right' the first time so you don't have to re-buy, and of course that depends on what is 'right' for you, I'd recommend you go All-Grain (I've done both and I consider AG to be a lot more satisfying AND cheaper) and consider the following. These are all based on an ideal world where money is no object, haha:

A 20-25 gallon kettle so that you can do 10 gallons batches. 5 gallon batches are great, but I'm having trouble keeping my 'pipe line' going, especially with the friends that I have. I wish I had gone bigger. Get one with a built in thermometer, a ball valve spigot, and ideally a volume gauge. A screen or false bottom is also very useful.

Build yourself a large enough mash tun to do 10 gallon batches. I'm not sure the size requirements for that, but I'm sure there's plenty info on this site about it. Be careful of the components you use, as some metals (such as galvanized) can be poisonous and/or rust.

I recommend the blichmann burner. Others claim just as good results with less expensive burners, but this burner is indeed a beast. It feels good to use something really well made, and it's quiet.

I don't use a 3-tier brew stand, nor is it anywhere up there on my list of priorities. However, I'm a healthy 38 year old doing 5-6 gallon batches. If I were to step up to 10 gallon batches and/or become not so healthy then maybe such a device would become a lot more important.

Find a way to motorize your grain mill. Turning the mill by hand has been a big pain in the ass - hurts the back after a while and takes up time. I have an old style grain mill that was donated to me by a friend. I've tried out a few contraptions to motorize it, but none has successfully milled grains for more than 3-4 minutes.

Build yourself a nice shed for storing your equipment as close as possible to where you want to brew. Every brew day I have to haul my equipment out of the basement and out to the back yard and at the end haul it back down again. Not so bad when I have a helper, but when alone it has deterred me a few times. It can make brew day exhausting especially if you've been doing some sampling.

Build yourself a wash-station close to where you're brewing, complete with hot and cold taps. As you probably know from making wine, brewing involves a lot of washing. You'll get wet a lot, and depending on where you live the hose water can get pretty damned cold. Hauling things in and out of the house to clean them can be a pain. In an ideal world you could wash things up with warm water and put it right in the shed after a brew day.


That may be a big wish-list, but you'll have to decide for yourself what is priority and feasible for your situation.

Great post. Covered a lot of the topics I was worried about. What size (I'll probably do 5 gallon for a while, but doing larger batches with no change in gear would be preferred)

So really you could get away with a big brew pot and an igloo for mash tun and be relatively efficient?

 

[Goolsbymd]

I started with a 5 gallon pot to do 2.5g batches, and I should have just stuck with full 5 gal batches. Thats my only regret was buying that mini stock pot. Now I have a 15 gallon kettle that I can do full volume boils in when I do 5g biab batches. I also use the blichmann burner, but I bought a garage metal shelf unit from Lowes for $75 and a sheet of fire restistant com creat board to put under it so it's now elevated a good 3 feet before the burner and kettle are placed on. Also if you elevate anything invest in a drain valve, so much easier than dumping it into a funnel. I also use 50' 1/2" copper chiller and it works like a charm.

 

[andy6026]

I think a good general rule of thumb is to have a pot at least twice the size of the batch you are brewing. So for a 5 gallon batch you'd want a minimum 10 gallon kettle to be comfortable. That said there are plenty of brewers that brew 5 gallon batches in 8 gallon kettles, but I don't know how they do it without a lot of intervening to avoid boil overs at the hot break and each time they add hops. I use a 15 gallons kettle for usually 6 gallon batches and I've had the froth dripping over the side on multiple occasions. In case you don't know, with AG batches that boil for 60-90 minutes the pre-boil volume is considerably larger than the end batch size, and there are moments throughout the brew that everything in the pot comes rushing to the top. Extra space is required if you don't like cleaning up sticky messes. The bells and whistles on the kettle (thermometers, volume gauges, etc) to me are all distant second to the size and quality of the pot, but are useful in themselves.

For me (and you later should you decide) to upgrade to 10 gallon batches wouldn't be tremendously difficult. I'd needed a bigger cooler for mashing, but I could easily unscrew the components I use in my current one and transfer them over to the new larger cooler. I could still use my current kettle to heat strike and sparge water while buying a new kettle for the boils. My current one would be a bit over-kill for that, and not the route i would have gone starting out. But it's by no means a complete disaster.

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

That said there are plenty of brewers that brew 5 gallon batches in 8 gallon kettles, but I don't know how they do it without a lot of intervening to avoid boil overs at the hot break and each time they add hops. .

Fermcap S is your friend. I only have a 7.5 gallon turkey fryer pot and do full volume boils in it with 6.5-6.75 gallons a few drops of fermcap s and no boil overs. :rockin: