So, I want to brew, but I'm on a broke ass budget...

[plankbr]

Seriously, for $40, you can get a 70 qt Coleman Xtreme cooler for your MT and be ready for 10 gallon batches when you start expanding.

 

[Crafty_Brewer]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/mash-tun-build-brew-day-464167/#post5969897

My mash tun build. Bought my igloo off of Amazon for cheap. And 2 day prime shipping. And the manifold and valve were spare parts. Hard to beat a good cheap DIY tun.

 

[Puddlethumper]

The other thing is, I know a couple guys who bottle in twist caps and have had no problems whatsoever. What's the general consensus on pop-top vs twist-caps ?

Neither one. Kegging is the final answer. Why bother with bottles in the first place?

Suck it up, refi your house and do it right, y'know?

 

[Jonthewizard]

It's in the plans rest assured. Fall or winter. But for now I'll make due with my twisties. Can't imagine it's bad...

 

[Facinerous]

BIAB is a really good way to go when first starting, and doing so on the cheap. I would stray away from HERMS and RIMS systems for the time being. Although they are helpful IMO those systems are not necessary.

Look at what is necessary first. It sounds like you already have some equipment on hand and your goals for how you want to brew is fully up to you.

I would recommend doing a few extract batches first. They require very little money up front to get a finished product, and as long as your extract equipment can expand to all grain setup then your are looking in the right direction.

You could be brewing beer for less than 200 bucks to start if you were so inclined. There are many brew supplies which have starter kits that at least get the ball rolling, then look into expansion.

Then there is a list of priorities.
Brewing setup should probably be number one, but HERMS and RIMS systems should not be considered necessary.

Fermentation control! After you have a good brewing setup this should be your next step. A simple STC-1000 temp controller at $20, and a fridge from craigslist will do the job. There are tons of other ways of doing this, but the fridge/temp controller is probably the simplest way.

Thats really it. If you have a brewing setup where you can heat 6.5 to 7 gal of water fairly quickly, and a copper coil to cool fairly quickly plus a MLT. You don't even really need the copper coil, as you can cool the wort in a sink or bathtub in an hour or so. Then your set. Fermentation control is big. These two things will have you making great beer, and could be done for less than $500 bucks. You don't need temp control, but I can assure you if you do a few batches without you will be looking into it soon.

I wouldn't worry about kegging right off the bat. Nor some of the nice things such as pumps and automation. Those things are not necessary for good beer.

 

[Puddlethumper]

It's in the plans rest assured. Fall or winter. But for now I'll make due with my twisties. Can't imagine it's bad...

So, just out of curiosity, have you actually ever brewed a batch of beer?

 

[fearwig]

Neither one. Kegging is the final answer. Why bother with bottles in the first place?

Suck it up, refi your house and do it right, y'know?

I think this guy is investing enough for not having started a brew yet! But hey, if he gets in over his head I guess that's more secondhand kegging stuff on the market, why not?

 

[Puddlethumper]

I think this guy is investing enough for not having started a brew yet! But hey, if he gets in over his head I guess that's more secondhand kegging stuff on the market, why not?

That's what I am concerned about. IMO he needs to brew some beer.

 

[Jonthewizard]

Right you are.
The internet is a funny place where people get misunderstood often.

What I aim to do is this :

1- Invest 100$ (approx) on basic equipment and start brewing batches. Simple manual work, heat water, dough-in, refill HLT and heat again, vorlauf, batch sparge, boil, rack, ferment, drink. This is what I'm almost ready to do.

2- Invest a few more dead prime-ministers and use what I have to grow. I just don't want to buy anything that's not going to be part of the bigger picture, which is why I was asking if what I have in mind for the rest of the summer makes sense. I'm thinking bigger brew pot, copper IC and as cheap a pump as I can find.

Luckily, you guys made me realise that before I move on to bigger, I'll need to figure out a way to control my fermentation temps. Probably through a Swamp cooler for now, but used freezers at 40-50 bucks are a common sight on the classifieds here. So I'll make that my first step-up.

I guess I just can't start brewing until a few weeks still and I'm just anxious to start, so I want to talk about it. I researched this a lot and I just want to confirm what I've found. Is it that bad to want to have a clear plan ?

 

[passedpawn]

Right you are.
The internet is a funny place where people get misunderstood often.

What I aim to do is this :

1- Invest 100$ (approx) on basic equipment and start brewing batches. Simple manual work, heat water, dough-in, refill HLT and heat again, vorlauf, batch sparge, boil, rack, ferment, drink. This is what I'm almost ready to do.

2- Invest a few more dead prime-ministers and use what I have to grow. I just don't want to buy anything that's not going to be part of the bigger picture, which is why I was asking if what I have in mind for the rest of the summer makes sense. I'm thinking bigger brew pot, copper IC and as cheap a pump as I can find.

Luckily, you guys made me realise that before I move on to bigger, I'll need to figure out a way to control my fermentation temps. Probably through a Swamp cooler for now, but used freezers at 40-50 bucks are a common sight on the classifieds here. So I'll make that my first step-up.

I guess I just can't start brewing until a few weeks still and I'm just anxious to start, so I want to talk about it. I researched this a lot and I just want to confirm what I've found. Is it that bad to want to have a clear plan ?

The best way to get started VERY cheaply is to join a club, introduce yourself, state your case, and borrow equipment. Believe me, brewers who have been around a while have lots of spare equipment.

For example, in my attic I have a 10g Gott cooler mash tun with ball valve, copper immersion chiller, propane burner, 8g stainless pot with ball valve, 2 spare hydrometers, extra carboys, about 10 cases of german wheat bottles (16oz), caps, capper (I don't bottle anymore), a bottling bucket, bottling tree, vinator, etc.

All that stuff is spare and waiting for a local person to say they want to get started.

 

[Puddlethumper]

I guess I just can't start brewing until a few weeks still and I'm just anxious to start, so I want to talk about it. I researched this a lot and I just want to confirm what I've found. Is it that bad to want to have a clear plan ?

Nope, not bad to have a plan at all. Probably what most of us, if we look back on our learning experience in this hobby, realize we should have done.

My concern is that it's easy to overthink something (essentially over-planning it) and find that if you'd had a little more experience you might have made another decision - maybe moved in a different direction.

If you follow the threads here for long you'll see that there is no single "right way" to set up a brewing system. I'll bet that every person involved in this thread has a slightly different brewing rig and their procedures might be quite a lot different. Why? Because that's just one of those quirky things about home-brewing. There are a bunch of different ways to end up with a really nice glass of homebrew in your hand.

I would suggest that you set up your mash tun (if that's the direction you want to go) or go to Home Depot and get a paint strainer bag and do a batch of BIAB in the boil kettle you already have. If you have a room that will stay in the 60'sF you can get by without a fermentation freezer. Brew up a batch of something simple and easy and see how it goes.

I think that once you've got several batches under your belt you'll come onto the forum and start asking a bunch of different questions than you are now. That is when you will start figuring out what makes sense to you and how you want your brew kitchen to be set up.

I do wish you well.

 

[rocketsan]

If the OP listed his location, Montreal, it would takes the suggesting game to a whole different level.

I don't want to sound snippy, but not revealing your location before being able to post is a major flaw on this board.
Very counter productive, and not the OP's fault, per se.

Get a grip...


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[sikkingj]

The best way to get started VERY cheaply is to join a club, introduce yourself, state your case, and borrow equipment. Believe me, brewers who have been around a while have lots of spare equipment.



For example, in my attic I have a 10g Gott cooler mash tun with ball valve, copper immersion chiller, propane burner, 8g stainless pot with ball valve, 2 spare hydrometers, extra carboys, about 10 cases of german wheat bottles (16oz), caps, capper (I don't bottle anymore), a bottling bucket, bottling tree, vinator, etc.



All that stuff is spare and waiting for a local person to say they want to get started.

+1 I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I probably have enough "spare" parts to setup two additional Kegging systems. Join a good club, people are always willing to help and you could brew on someone else's system before committing to your own.


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