Trying to Build First All Grain Home Brewery

[MrBlonde720]

Hello fellow brewers! I am fairly new to homebrewing and have dove into the craft absolutely obsessed. I've only been doing it for a few months, but I'm moving fast. I have already purchased a temperature controlled fridge that works perfect as a fermentation chamber. I have started messing with yeast starters and using a stir plate as well. And my most recent project has been my kegerator. Now, I know that beginners need to start somewhere, and you gradually build up. I am of the opinion that if I am investing money and time into a system, I don't intend on just using if for a few batches and then upgrading. If I'm going to build/invest in something, it has to be worth it and something that I'm going to use for a long time to come. For example, my kegerator that I just built is big enough to fit 4 corny kegs, and I bought 4 corny kegs in order to take full advantage of the space. I have set it up with three taps, and a four way secondary regulator. That was I can have three kegs set at 10-12 PSI for serving and the fourth line for force carbonating my fourth keg inside of the fridge. I feel like this kegerator will last me a long time and was a great investment as I absolutely hated bottling my beer. I didn't cut any corners and the only used equipment I used were the 4 corny kegs (and I replaced all gaskets immediately), the CO2 tank (since I'll be swapping it out anyways) and the fridge itself. Everything else is new because I plan on using it for many more years. I love it. So, I know that I skipped a step and just straight into kegging before I moved to all grain. So now, I want to set up an all grain system. But here is my situation:

-I live in San Francisco. I live in a good sized apartment on the third floor here in SF. I don't have a backyard or access to any kind of hoses. This means I can't hook anything up to an outdoor water hose of any kind, like a wort chiller. This also means I can't use an outdoor burner to get a 10 gallon pot up to a full boil.

-I have a built-in vent above my stove that works great with doing partial mash boils and 3-4 gallon boils. But, this vent is only slightly higher than my 5 gallon pot I'm using now, so I don't think a larger 10-15 gallon pot will fit on my stove. Secondly, I'm not sure my burners could handle a boil of that size as it already takes a while to get 4 gallons to a full boil.

-I don't have many tools, and no power tools at all. I bought the kegerator fridge with the holes already drilled in, so I didn't need to worry about that. So I will not be able to convert a pot myself. I need to buy the majority of my equipment already ready to go.

-I'm not the best handyman. I would not feel comfortable taking apart or doing any electrical work myself that isn't basic or elementary. Cutting wood or things like that is not as big of a deal, I have Home Depot cut for me. But I don't want to punch holes or drill into a pot to make my own kettle or mash tun. Again, mostly pre assembled equipment will work.

-I plan on doing primarily 5 gallon batches, and don't plan on moving up to 10 gallon batches anytime soon. And if I do, I'll buy new equipment then.

-I brew a lot high gravity beers. I do mostly IPAs (single, double and triples), American Strong ales, high gravity stouts/porters and barleywines. So I need a large enough space to mash up to 20 lbs (or even more) of grains.

-I would like to keep the price down. Now, I don't mind spending good money on a nice kettle or mash tun, but I don't have $5,000 to invest in a top of the line all electric brew system, or else I gladly would. I would like to keep my limit around the $1,000-$2,000 range and feel like I can build a fantastic system in this price range. But I only want to spend the whole $2,000 if the system is absolutely worth it. And I would like to buy durable and quality equipment. I want it to last me years, and I brew once or twice every week or once every two weeks tops. This set up will be used a lot.

So, here is what I was thinking, but I would like to hear your guys' thoughts before I drop the dough. So here we go!!

First and foremost, the HLT. For this, I was just thinking of buying a nice 5-8 gallon pot with a ball valve at the bottom. This I'm not so picky about. To the best of my knowledge, this is just a pot that is used to heat up water, and then use the valve to move it into another vessel, so I don't see the need in splurging in top of the line HLT. I'm sure I'll be able to fit this on my burner with out many issues. Might get a used one if the price is right. But I was thinking about one just like this.


http://www.morebeer.com/products/8-gallon-hlt-stainless-hot-liquor-tank.html?gclid=CjwKEAjw3_ypBRCwoKqKw5P9wgsSJAAbi2K90NcHmprzZ0KL2C7TNqkkJZXo9RbtKKrLsaoKPQYNZBoCtRbw_wcB

I just figured I could heat my strike and sparge water with this one kettle. And since I’ll be using an electric kettle and a SS mash tun with a temp controller, I’ll still be able to reach my mash temp within a degree or two without a problem.

I was thinking and pretty set on getting an electric brew kettle since it doesn't seem like I will be able to boil that much on my kitchen burner. I was thinking about getting a 10 gallon Blichmann BoilerMaker with a Boil Coil as my kettle. This one to be exact:

http://www.blichmannengineering.com/products/boilermaker

Blichmann is a no brainer if you want to up your brewing game, from what I've read and heard. This electric kettle should be great to conduct my boils in without having to use my kitchen burners. For an electric kettle, I don't mind shelling out a good amount of cash for quality and especially if it'll last, and they have a lifetime warranty.

As an accessory to the kettle, I was thinking about buying this:

http://shop.greatfermentations.com/product/blichmann-hopblocker/blichmann-boilermaker-brew-pots

Seems like a good investment. Not too expensive but seems valuable. I want to know if anyone else has had any experience with this and if it’s worth the $60, which isn’t to bad.

To go along with the electric kettle, I need an electric temperature control module. I was just thinking the Blichmann’s because I’m already using a Blichmann kettle, why not? But they are super pricey, more than the kettle. I know I get what I pay for, but does anyone else have any other suggestions on this? If I have to rig one myself, I’ll just buy this one.

http://shop.greatfermentations.com/product/2322/blichmann-tower-of-power

If this system is worth the $900-$1,000 to all you seasoned home brewers, then I’ll buy it now and enjoy it for years, no questions asked. But I just need reassurance that this is worth the cash before I shell it out.

Next, I’ll need a way to cool the wort before I transfer into a fermenter. I have a 20 gallon plastic bin that I load with ice and throw my pot into now that cools my wort in 10 minutes. It works really well. I would like to use a plate chiller, and feel like I could make one work. Even though I don’t have a hose line in my apartment, I feel like using the 20 gallon plastic bin filled with ice water (and some salt) with a pump circulating the ice cold water from the 20 gallon bin though the plate chiller should cool my wort easily. Thinking of this plate chiller (Blichmann’s like the the rest of the equipment):

http://shop.greatfermentations.com/product/blichmann-therminator/blichmann-chiller-and-accessories

I was thinking since the kettle will have the Boil Coil inside, that an immersion chiller wouldn’t work all that practically. I have never used a plate chiller and think this should work well.

Lastly, a nice mash tun. I don't like the idea of putting hot liquid into a plastic container. I know that it's perfectly safe and has been done a million times in a 10 gallon Gatorade cooler. But, again, if I'm shelling out the money, I'll buy a nice and stainless mash tun. I love the stuff SS Brewtech has out, because it seems quality and reasonably priced. They have a new mash tun they released:

http://www.ssbrewtech.com/collections/mash-tuns/products/infussion-mash-tun

It’s a 10 gallon mash tun and they will be releasing a temperature controller/heater kit sometime this summer (which is when I plan to purchase all this). This seems to me like it would do the job perfectly. They will also be releasing a sparge arm for the mash tun around the same time as the heater kit. I will be buying this as well to ensure an even sparge volume.

Now I just have a few last questions. Will this system work? Should I be expecting to upgrade any of these components in the near future after purchase? Are these quality items? Are there any other products out there that are of the same efficiency but less money? Is there a way for me to make my own electric system without dropping over $1,200 on Blichmann products? Is there anything else I should be expecting to purchase in the near future? (not including tuning and fittings, etc) Any advice you want to give is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Also: I have considered a BrewEasy system as well, but personally, I would rather have a full brewery than one that cuts corners. Space is an issue, but I’m not a fan of easy brew systems like that. I may someday want to consider a career in the field of professional brewing and have a puristic outlook on brewing. I don’t want an easy brew system or a turnkey system where I just sit there and watch it.

Thanks!!

 

[jCOSbrew]

If space is a concern, you should consider brew in a bag (i.e. single vessel all grain).
For an electric kettle, you will need 2x 120v 15Amp circuits or 220V GFCI power source in the kitchen to boil several gallons for a full 5 gallon batch. You might be able to insulate the kettle or other tricks to increase your max volume or top off with DME for higher gravity beers.

 

[madscientist451]

You are in a rented apartment, so I'm thinking you're not going to be doing any electrical upgrades? The Blichtmann pot and control module are a great choice, but don't they run on 220 volts?
Blichtmann does sell a 110 volt electric brew pot, but you need a 20 amp circuit to run it. I doubt your apartment has any 20 amp circuits already installed.
For your apartment, I'd get a 110v electric HLT from williams brewing. You can plug it right in, it comes with temp control and holds 7 gallons.
Its a little pricey at $300, but its plug and play so you are paying for not having to build it yourself.
http://www.williamsbrewing.com/BREWERS-EDGE-MASH-WATER-HEATER-WITH-MASH-HEAT-CONTROL-P3707.aspx
I'd put the HLT on some milk crates so it would gravity drain into a cooler/mash tun, then gravity drain that into your BK, then put the kettle on the stove.
For your Brew ketttle, I'd use your kitchen stove, an 8 gallon pot of your choice and an electric "heat stick". The heat stick will work in tandem with your existing stove, once the wort is boiling, you can pull the heat stick out and just use the stove. Using your stove means you can also use the vent hood to get rid of the steam from boiling.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BDB4UG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Here's a video about using a heat stick, but its a home made one:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQRrSK4Tr9w[/ame]

You should be able to get everything below your lower budget of $1000.!
If you ever get a house and want a different set up, all these items are easily sold on craigslist.
Good Luck!

 

[sowoah]

+1 for the BIAB recommendation. This will make your budget a lot easier to work with.

So I just built an electric brewery for ~2000, and I want to warn you you should be very careful before you start buying parts, you're going to go way over budget. I originally planned to spend about $1000. This is also with me doing things as cheaply as possible, buying cheap $70 Bayou kettles, buying hundreds of individual parts and doing all of the work myself. Granted I built a Kal clone with a herms, control panel, pumps and what not, but you're talking about buying expensive premade/blichmann stuff.

It looks like you're running low on budget already with the items you listed, you still need to consider:
1. how are you moving water from HLT to the mashtun and from the mashtun to the BK? Gravity? Not likely if your HLT is on your stove. Moving 40lbs of really hot water is also pretty dangerous. Pumps are $150 each. Then you need hoses to connect them. Don't forget a ball valve for each pump.
2. You need to make sure your strike and sparge water are the right temperature. A hand held thermometer and the dial on your stove aren't the best way, but they'll do (you'll have to sit and wait for the water to hit the right temperature)
3. If your stove/vent won't accommodate your boil kettle, you need another source of ventilation. It needs to be directly over the boil kettle. Boiling off 1-2 gallons of water into your apartment isn't good.
4. already mentioned, but electrical requirements. They make 120v boil coils, and your kitchen probably has 20A "t-blade" plugs, but you should check it out. Look at your breakers, see what kind of sockets you have. You need GFCI outlets. You can boil 5-7 gallons on 1 20A outlet, but you're going to dim the lights. You shouldn't have anything else plugged into this branch.

In general I don't think "I'd like to keep the price down" and looking for most of your stuff on Blichmann's site is the way to go. I'm sure it's great stuff, and it's plug and play, but you're just not going to be able to do it on your budget. It'd be cheaper to buy some tools and learn to do some stuff yourself. There are so many resources for any home brewery related stuff you want to do, anyone can do it.

Again, I think in your price range you're better off with a BIAB system.

If you're set on a 3 vessel I would look at lots of builds here, but also check out theelectricbrewery.com. There is excruciating detail there on every single component of his all grain system. You at least need to be able to go through each build step and rationalize why you don't need each thing (in both the build instructions and in the "using your brewery" parts list, otherwise you're going to wind up with a lot of unexpected expenses.