MPEbeling
Active Member
Hey all, I am working on improving my All grain set up...all of my family wants Christmas ideas and they all love the beer I make, so brewing stuff is always their favorite thing to get me.
Here is what I have so far...a Blichman beer stand with 2 10 gallon coolers for my MLT and my HLT and a 15 gallon Blichman Brew kettle. I use a 3 tier set up and I have a March pump that I have not been able to figure out how to use given that it has to be primed and be x distance away from the flame. I brew in my garage with a natural gas line and I ferment in glass carboys/plastic buckets in my basement. I keg all my beers and bottle with a Blichman beer gun from the keg should I need bottles of anything.
here are the Questions I have...any advice would be helpful.
1) And advice/photos on how to set up my tower so I can use the pump to pump the water from my BK to the HLT/MLT?
2) I wanted to do a big 10 gallon batch of a big IPA I make and all the grain wont fit in one cooler...can I do 2 separate 5 gallon batches in the MLT, and gather both pre boil and then do one 10 gallon boil?
3) or can I get another false bottom and use the HLT as a MLT and do two simultaneous 5 gallon MLT batches and use the liquid from the top HLT to sparge the bottom mlt, and maybe cycle the water out of the BK to the top using the pump while draining from hlt to mlt to bk with gravity? Maybe I am over complicating it?
4) currently I use glass carboys and plastic buckets to ferment my 5 gallon batches in my basement where the temperature is a little hard to control at times and ferm temps will fall to the low 60's which has stalled a few batches. What is the best way to manage that? I see there are different belts and wraps etc, and digital regulators that can be used to set the ideal fermenting temp...anyone had success with any of this stuff?
5) I would like to start doing larger (10 gallon batches) and was thinking about getting a large conical fermentor, but I would have to keep it in my garage (I live in OH) which poses a problem in the winters. Is there a way to manage the temps of these with out spending $2k on a temp controlled stainless conical? Is there a preference bt plastic and stainless? What size should I get?
6) what other gear would be helpful to add to my set up? A hopblocker? A counterflow chiller (therminator)? Anything else that is really helpful to take my brewing game to the next level?
I realize this is a lot, but any advice, opinions, suggestions, diagrams, etc would be helpful.
Happy Holidays!
Here is what I have so far...a Blichman beer stand with 2 10 gallon coolers for my MLT and my HLT and a 15 gallon Blichman Brew kettle. I use a 3 tier set up and I have a March pump that I have not been able to figure out how to use given that it has to be primed and be x distance away from the flame. I brew in my garage with a natural gas line and I ferment in glass carboys/plastic buckets in my basement. I keg all my beers and bottle with a Blichman beer gun from the keg should I need bottles of anything.
here are the Questions I have...any advice would be helpful.
1) And advice/photos on how to set up my tower so I can use the pump to pump the water from my BK to the HLT/MLT?
2) I wanted to do a big 10 gallon batch of a big IPA I make and all the grain wont fit in one cooler...can I do 2 separate 5 gallon batches in the MLT, and gather both pre boil and then do one 10 gallon boil?
3) or can I get another false bottom and use the HLT as a MLT and do two simultaneous 5 gallon MLT batches and use the liquid from the top HLT to sparge the bottom mlt, and maybe cycle the water out of the BK to the top using the pump while draining from hlt to mlt to bk with gravity? Maybe I am over complicating it?
4) currently I use glass carboys and plastic buckets to ferment my 5 gallon batches in my basement where the temperature is a little hard to control at times and ferm temps will fall to the low 60's which has stalled a few batches. What is the best way to manage that? I see there are different belts and wraps etc, and digital regulators that can be used to set the ideal fermenting temp...anyone had success with any of this stuff?
5) I would like to start doing larger (10 gallon batches) and was thinking about getting a large conical fermentor, but I would have to keep it in my garage (I live in OH) which poses a problem in the winters. Is there a way to manage the temps of these with out spending $2k on a temp controlled stainless conical? Is there a preference bt plastic and stainless? What size should I get?
6) what other gear would be helpful to add to my set up? A hopblocker? A counterflow chiller (therminator)? Anything else that is really helpful to take my brewing game to the next level?
I realize this is a lot, but any advice, opinions, suggestions, diagrams, etc would be helpful.
Happy Holidays!
