Upgrade-Order of importance.

[Sudstud]

I thought it would be helpful to have a list of upgrades in order of importance for the new brewer looking to make better beer, without wasting money on unnecessary equipment (like investing in a grain mill before controlling fermentation temps). Feel free to explain why you feel one is more important than the other.

Example (just to get things started)

1) Fermentation temp control
2) Making yeast starters
3) Wort Chiller
4) Full boil volume kettle
5) Brewing software

 

[kh54s10]

Of those I would switch 3 and 4.
You can cool in an ice bath for smaller batches.

Those are the basics and after getting those procedures down then you can expand.

 

[rhamilton]

My $0.02 based on my experience:

1. Water conditioning
2. Fermentation temp control
3. Switch to mini-mash kits if doing extract
4. Wort Chiller


If you are using tap water, water conditioning may be your #1. It's insanely easy, cheap, and has improved my brews across the board. My 'extract twang' actually ended up being from my water quality.

My #2 is fermentation temp control because my winter beers were clearly better than my late summer beers simply because my house wasn't 80° all day. Flavors were cleaner and better developed. My ferm chamber is under construction in anticipation of this spring/summer.

If you are doing extract kits, make the move to mini-mash kits. It adds about another hour to your brew-time but the flavor additions from the steeping grains is well worth the end product improvement. It's also a hair cheaper so really this is a no-brainer.

I did not notice a change in beer quality after getting a wort chiller. While it speeds the process up and makes me feel good on the inside, I can't confidently claim my IC improved my end product, so it'll be at the end of my list for now.

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

+1 to this! That's actually the order I followed (except I bought BeerSmith before I upped my BK, but the first all grain was hard using the cajun 7 gallon cooker, just upgraded to a keggle over the weekend!)

 

[Teromous]

Yeah I would say that brewing software should be #1 if you're doing all grain. Based on your equipment and setup, the amount of water, temp of water, etc will change. Brewing software makes it a lot easier than doing it all by hand, and reduces the learning curve overall. Most all-grain recipes will just give you a general mash temp, which isn't much for a new brewer.

Making yeast starters really doesn't require much. People like to sell fancy flasks and stir bars...etc. If your grocery store or farmers market sells cider in jars, just get one of those. You'll get some delicious cider and have the jar you need. Just put some DME and water with some yeast energizer in the jar, and wait two days.

 

[unionrdr]

I think temp control & water quality should be at the top of the list. Along with a cheap digital scale for weighing priming sugar,hops,& other additions which are always done by weight anyway. Not to mention getting & using a hydrometer. And a timer if your stove doesn't have on or you're brewing outside. An Ice bath will do for partial boils. Just fill the sink with Ice,then top that off with water,it'll chill down faster. Also,go to the cheapy store for spray bottles,measuring cups & spoons,etc. Then you have your own measuring things dedicated to brewing,so no food stains or odors.
I also save 1 gallon Sunny-D jugs for my PBW & starsan solutions. I also used a 2C pyrex measuring cup to mark graduations on a 3rd one for measuring water with. No more guessing with filling the BK,etc.
Just a few things I've learned in the last year...

 

[speeddemon11L]

I would say...

1) Fermentation temp control
2) Brewing software
3) Full boil volume kettle
4) Wort Chiller
5) Making yeast starters

 

[Homercidal]

I'd say temp control first, but there is something to be said about water quality.

First you really need to know if your water is suitable for ANY kind of brewing. If it has Chloramine or Chlorine, you should treat it or use other water.

Otherwise, you can generally brew *some* kind of beer with the water you have.

BUT - Once you have a water report the next small step is using a spreadsheet and figuring out how to make your water suitable for ANY kind of beer.

If your water doesn't taste bad, then maybe temp control first. Maybe water first if you aren't happy with your water (basic temp control is not expensive or hard to do anyway.)

 

[TheCatman]

My upgrades will be in order of what I can find for cheap. I just scored a 30-qt SS pot and propane burner (with fill tank) for $50.

 

[tom_gamer]

I would say to make the chilling and full boil kettle the same priority. Its a pain to cool 5 gallons without it. I have done it but its not something I would enjoy doing again.

Edit: yeast starters are great but depend on the starting gravity of your beers. I have made great beers without it. For me it was after the kettle/ chiller. I got one when I did my first big stout.

 

[weirdboy]

You can get away with a lot of mistakes on brew day if you pitch healthy amounts of yeast and ferment at the right (consistent) temperature.

I've got no problem with the list ordering the way you have it.


Regarding brewing software, I absolutely use it, but just like with math, if you first learn to do that stuff by hand, you will have a much better understanding of how it works than if you start out depending on a calculator to do the work for you. Understanding the elements that make up a consistent recipe that hits the targets you are trying to achieve is an important skill, IMO.

 

[Sudstud]

Thanks for the discussion, everybody! I just started all grain, so water conditioning is going to become a factor soon, I just wanted to do a few with filtered tap water first to see what they come out like. And I completely forgot about the digital scale, I couldn't make it through a brew day without that!

The list I presented was just to get the discussion started, not necessarily set in stone or, for that matter the way I started. I got the larger kettle first and realized what a pain it was to cool 5 gallons of wort with ice... I do agree that brewing software might need to be higher on the list, especially if you are making your own recipes or doing all grain.

What other things would you add to the list?

 

[Homercidal]

I would start with those. There are NUMEROUS upgrades possible. They are mostly convenience items IMO.

Temp control is so easy and cheap that I think that should be first. A swamp cooler might cost almost $10 and gets you in the ball park. You can upgrade to a fridge/freezer with a $25 temp controller later.

A wort chiller is not hard to make and not very expensive and if you are doing full boils now, it's a huge time saver and can improve the beer as well.

A water report costs less than $20 and can be a huge help in at least understanding what you might need to do.