Psst... Buy a choc stout get a Le Petite' Orange for a 1.00

[Bubbles2]

NO affiliation, just an email and a heads up....No pun.
Northern Brewer sale till midnight Choc stout reg price 42. add Le Petite Orange for a 1.00...Till midnight tonight. Got two kits for 67. with pitch yeast, delivered. PASSIONFRUIT is the Code.

 

[aprichman]

The kit prices at these places baffle me - here's what I typically pay for a stout shopping at my LHBS and buying hops in 8oz packages from Yakima Valley Hops:

10 lbs base malt - $12.90
1.5 lbs specialty malt - $2.60
1 package yeast - $7.00
1 ounce hops - $1.25

Total: $23.84 (~$4.75 per gallon)

Even brewing an IPA with 8oz of hops only pushes the total up to a little over $30 per batch.

If I was buying my base malt by the sack at my LHBS (they will sell you 50lbs worth of base malt for $50 and let you deduct from the sack as needed) it would knock the price down to almost $20 per 5 gallon batch.

 

[ancientmariner52]

The kit prices at these places baffle me - here's what I typically pay for a stout shopping at my LHBS and buying hops in 8oz packages from Yakima Valley Hops:

10 lbs base malt - $12.90
1.5 lbs specialty malt - $2.60
1 package yeast - $7.00
1 ounce hops - $1.25

Total: $23.84 (~$4.75 per gallon)

Even brewing an IPA with 8oz of hops only pushes the total up to a little over $30 per batch.

They are paying wholesale prices, so cost of material is even less. But then they have to recover cost of packaging, advertising, and most of all labor to measure and package everything. Throw in a reasonable profit margin, and I don't think kit prices are unreasonable. But I haven't used a kit since I went AG, so what do I know?

 

[aprichman]

They are paying wholesale prices, so cost of material is even less. But then they have to recover cost of packaging, advertising, and most of all labor to measure and package everything. Throw in a reasonable profit margin, and I don't think kit prices are unreasonable. But I haven't used a kit since I went AG, so what do I know?

True but my LHBS has to recover the same things and their buying power has to be considerabley less than a place like Northern Brewer.

 

[Bubbles2]

Aprichman, looks like you won't be getting any of these. Also you are all grain correct? I checked my LHBS and priced out using powdered extract and it was about 8.00 cheaper then the web and shipping, but local is about 40 minute drive one way.... So for 35.00 a batch with the extras, muslin bag, prime sugar, shipped, and extract. Works for me...I guess once I get a feel for it I too will be AG and buying a false bottom and putting a spigot on my stainless boil pot.

 

[aprichman]

Yup I brew all grain - didn't even think that these were extract prices which are probably in line with my LHBS.

I started brewing extract but after looking at the cost savings I moved to a cheap "2.5" vessel approach. I used a 10 gallon kettle for my HLT, 8 gallon insulated mash tun with a false bottom, and 6.5 gallon bucket to store the first runnings in. I batch sparged which allowed me to add the first runnings back into the 10 gallon kettle after all the water was in the mash tun and then drained the second runnings straight into the 10 gallon kettle. Later I switched to two 10 gallon kettles and fly sparging. These days I BIAB with the same 10 gallon kettle I started with. I'm limited to beers under ~1.065 using all grain but outside of IIPAs and Russian Imperial Stouts I don't really drink any beers stronger then that. Typically the beers I drink are around 5-6% ABV American styles (pale ales, ambers, stouts, etc.). I really wish I would have just started all grain with a 15 gallon kettle using BIAB - for 5 gallon BIAB batches a 15 gallon kettle is the perfect size but the cost of getting a 15 gallon kettle with 2 welded ports and a sight glass is a lot when I already have a 10 gallon kettle with these features that works for 90% of the beers I want to brew. I'd rather invest in moving to multiple kegs right now.

Kegging, temperature control, and moving to all grain were all good upgrades and now I feel like I'm finally making consistently good beer that's on par or even better than most craft breweries in Oregon.

 

[Griffin495]

I've been brewing about 4.5 years now, and if memory severs me correctly, Northern brewer offers this same deal at this time every year. Just in time to get it brewed for Valentine's Day. I guess its supposed to be romantic beers? IDK and I could be wrong.

 

[Bubbles2]

Indeed it is all about love, drinking beer tax free.

 

[RM-MN]

Aprichman, looks like you won't be getting any of these. Also you are all grain correct? I checked my LHBS and priced out using powdered extract and it was about 8.00 cheaper then the web and shipping, but local is about 40 minute drive one way.... So for 35.00 a batch with the extras, muslin bag, prime sugar, shipped, and extract. Works for me...I guess once I get a feel for it I too will be AG and buying a false bottom and putting a spigot on my stainless boil pot.

If your pot is big enough give BIAB a try before you invest in a false bottom. By the time you have the second batch in the fermenter you may forget about the false bottom altogether.

 

[aprichman]

If your pot is big enough give BIAB a try before you invest in a false bottom. By the time you have the second batch in the fermenter you may forget about the false bottom altogether.

Yeah with BIAB you really don't even need a spigot on the bottom of your vessel - you can dump straight into a bucket or funnel it into a carboy.

 

[Bubbles2]

So it is just another sparge to create (what I am using as an extract now?) The only challenge is the temp and PH is that correct? OR is there more to it then that?
30qt. Concord Stainless.

 

[Tarpon87]

You are lucky to have a lhbs with good prices, i can get grains from several online retailers (not NB) with shipping included for less than from my lhbs

 

[flars]

So it is just another sparge to create (what I am using as an extract now?) The only challenge is the temp and PH is that correct? OR is there more to it then that?
30qt. Concord Stainless.

Considering BIAB? There is a free version of Bru'n Water online for down loading. Great to use once you've read the instruction pages. This calculator from Priceless Brew will definitely help out.
https://pricelessbrewing.github.io/BiabCalc/#Advanced

 

[RM-MN]

So it is just another sparge to create (what I am using as an extract now?) The only challenge is the temp and PH is that correct? OR is there more to it then that?
30qt. Concord Stainless.

When you buy extract, someone else has done the mash and then concentrated the wort, either into LME or DME. With all grain you do the mash yourself and don't bother to concentrate it and then rehydrate it as your wort is ready to go.

For a good percentage of us brewers, the pH isn't terribly critical, at least not enough to worry about for your first few batches. Later on you may decide to get real serious about the pH as it can affect the flavors and that difference in flavors can make a difference in whether your beer wins awards in competition.

That leaves just the temperature and the milling of the grain to worry about. If your LHBS has a mill you could ask them to double mill the grain for BIAB. The quality of the milling makes a difference in how much of the possible sugars you can get extracted from the grain. The temperature for mashing is not a single temperature but a range of temps that help you control the fermentability of the wort. For your first couple batches, just get the mash temperature in the range of 150 to 158F. You will learn later what conditions it takes to get within a degree of the desired temp. I use a strike water temperature program like this one to hit my mash temperature. http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/infusion.html

 

[Bubbles2]

Flars, I guess that will make a bit more sense once I delve into all grain.

Rm-MN, Thanks for the details, I am learning the 'lingo', so I guess that calc will make sense once I get a book and delve in as mentioned.

Appreciate the tips, and links, I've bookmarked them.

 

[aprichman]

BIAB is pretty much like making a giant pot of tea but instead is steeping the tea at 200°F for 3-4 minutes you "steep" the grains at ~155°F for 40+ minutes. This allows the enzymes to convert starch into fermentable sugars that the yeast convert into CO2 and ethanol.

 

[Bubbles2]

So no special pot...You think a 30qt can handle a 5gal batch? Boil for enzymes then add other grains 20 minutes out?

 

[azmark]

10+ gallon kettle makes for very easy BIAB for 5 gallon batches. You could do a dunk sparge in a secondary bucket and fill your kettle up with the sparge. Makes for a very full boil so watch for boilovers. Or you could do a condensed boil of a smaller volume, and top off once you hit the fermentor.

 

[Bubbles2]

Azmark,
Yeah I am gonna have to wait on that then. I may have a 10 gallon but it is aluminum, my large pressure cooker. My Primary is only a 6.5 Gal Glass... and then I have a 30qt Stainless.(7.5 Gal)

 

[RM-MN]

So no special pot...You think a 30qt can handle a 5gal batch? Boil for enzymes then add other grains 20 minutes out?

It's possible but it is tight. Plan on a dunk or pour over sparge so you don't overflow the pot during the mash. Watch it closely as it nears a boil or it will spill over. I use a whisk to stir down the foam when it nears boil on my pot.

If you scale down the recipe to 4 gallons instead of 5 it will be a piece of cake to do.