headfullahops
Well-Known Member
For me, weldless bulkheads/ball valves and silicone tubing. I could live without pouring a full pot of wort through a funnel into a fermenter ever again. (Ahh, the good ole partial boil extract days...)
What are your "can't live without" equipment items?
- Thread starter Travestian
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logdrum
Well-Known Member
Here is the Thermoworks reasonably priced alternative to the Thermapen:
http://www.thermoworks.com/products/low_cost/rt600c.html
Fast, accurate & priced right!
http://www.thermoworks.com/products/low_cost/rt600c.html
Fast, accurate & priced right!
headfullahops
Well-Known Member
logdrum said:
I had one of those for my kitchen before I bought my thermapen. The thing really don't like about that particular thermometer is the temp readout is TINY. But, the price is much more realistic for home brewing. Cheers!
CliffMongoloid
Well-Known Member
Thank you
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/water-fermentation-chiller-81501/ This is what I think he is talking about. I am going to be building one of these for lagering I think later this summer.
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PistolsAtDawn
Well-Known Member
Sure. First thing is to take a look at the thread on the controller here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ebay-aquarium-temp-controller-build-163849/
Then, for pictures of what I'm doing with the controller, have a look at Kai's blog post here (he's doing the same thing): http://braukaiser.com/blog/blog/2013/01/23/improvised-fermentation-temperature-control/
brewman243
Well-Known Member
my 2 latest purchases that I wouldn't want to brew without again:
#1) stainless hop spider from stainless brewing. Keeps my wort clear, and no more clogging up the CFC, and
#2)blichman burner. Easily supports a full keg, and gets up to temps much quicker then my old turkey fryer burner, and I don't have to clean a bunch of soot of the bottom of the BK anymore.
#1) stainless hop spider from stainless brewing. Keeps my wort clear, and no more clogging up the CFC, and
#2)blichman burner. Easily supports a full keg, and gets up to temps much quicker then my old turkey fryer burner, and I don't have to clean a bunch of soot of the bottom of the BK anymore.
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Travestian
Well-Known Member
I second that.
kombat
Well-Known Member
We just did this thread not that long ago, but my answer hasn't changed from March. My most useful item is:
A 2-quart plastic pitcher.
I use it at pretty much every stage of brewing.
When doughing-in, it helps me measure the right amount of strike water.
When mashing, it holds the spoon I use to stir the mash (so I don't have to set it on the counter).
When vorlaufing, I use it to, well, vorlauf.
During the boil, I fill it with sanitizer and use it to sanitize the spoon I use to stir while cooling.
I use it to scoop my spent grains out of my mash tun.
I use it to hold sanitizer while sanitizing taller, narrower items, such as my autosiphon or my turkey baster when taking gravity samples.
I use it to hold the excess beer after racking to a keg, then pour some beer in my hydrometer and sample the rest.
When taking the first pull from a keg that's been sitting for a while, I use it to hold that first few ounces that may be cloudy with yeast or sediment.
I use it to pour sanitizer over larger objects, or pour cleaning solution or sanitizer into containers like carboys or kegs.
It's just really handy to have kicking around during all stages of brewing.
A 2-quart plastic pitcher.
I use it at pretty much every stage of brewing.
When doughing-in, it helps me measure the right amount of strike water.
When mashing, it holds the spoon I use to stir the mash (so I don't have to set it on the counter).
When vorlaufing, I use it to, well, vorlauf.
During the boil, I fill it with sanitizer and use it to sanitize the spoon I use to stir while cooling.
I use it to scoop my spent grains out of my mash tun.
I use it to hold sanitizer while sanitizing taller, narrower items, such as my autosiphon or my turkey baster when taking gravity samples.
I use it to hold the excess beer after racking to a keg, then pour some beer in my hydrometer and sample the rest.
When taking the first pull from a keg that's been sitting for a while, I use it to hold that first few ounces that may be cloudy with yeast or sediment.
I use it to pour sanitizer over larger objects, or pour cleaning solution or sanitizer into containers like carboys or kegs.
It's just really handy to have kicking around during all stages of brewing.
Homemade hop spider thingy. No more hop pellet gunk.
Homemade hop spider thingy. No more hop pellet gunk.
do you find that you get the same hop utilization using this? that is the one reason why i have been hesitant to build one.
Since I've done different recipes than before (when I just tied bags to the side), I don't have a baseline to compare it with. It would be interesting to do 2 identical batches side-by-side to compare with regular drawstring bags.
Because I use fine mesh bags, it no doubt affects utilization some. It's the trade-off between utilization and minimizing hop debris. I will say that I haven't noticed a lack of hop bitterness/flavor/aroma when using the spider. My guess is it's probably about equal to the ordinary drawstring bag method. The spider just makes the process more tidy, IMO.
One thing nice about the spider is the ability to stick a spoon in there and gently stir from time to time. I can grab the hub with a pliers and teabag it in the wort. It also makes subsequent hop additions easy--no need to mess with drawstring bags each time you want to add another bunch of hops.
Because I use fine mesh bags, it no doubt affects utilization some. It's the trade-off between utilization and minimizing hop debris. I will say that I haven't noticed a lack of hop bitterness/flavor/aroma when using the spider. My guess is it's probably about equal to the ordinary drawstring bag method. The spider just makes the process more tidy, IMO.
One thing nice about the spider is the ability to stick a spoon in there and gently stir from time to time. I can grab the hub with a pliers and teabag it in the wort. It also makes subsequent hop additions easy--no need to mess with drawstring bags each time you want to add another bunch of hops.
wilceaser
Well-Known Member
Thermometer, Temp controller, fermentation fridge, corney kegs. Thermometer because with out one you won't know your mash temps. Temp controller and fermentation fridge has made a world of difference with my beers, and corney kegs because bottling sucks and pouring your own draft rules.
BBL_Brewer
Well-Known Member
pretty much everything I own and a few things I don't yet.
Hoppity
Just brew it!
Strainer:
Post-boil I strain from keggle to turkey fryer pot prior to pumping through my plate chiller. This traps any pellet trub from fouling chiller. When whole hopping, I bag and strain over bag. Never had a stuck chiller since taking this step. Big time saver and I think hops get a second chance with the wort.
Post-boil I strain from keggle to turkey fryer pot prior to pumping through my plate chiller. This traps any pellet trub from fouling chiller. When whole hopping, I bag and strain over bag. Never had a stuck chiller since taking this step. Big time saver and I think hops get a second chance with the wort.
urbanmyth
Well-Known Member
Subscription to the Brewing Network podcasts.
EZ Strainer, no need for hop bags or spiders or anything, all done post boil so no loss in hop utilization either.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/diy-bucket-filters-407123/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/diy-bucket-filters-407123/
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Travestian
Well-Known Member
EZ Strainer, no need for hop bags or spiders or anything, all done post boil so no loss in hop utilization either.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/diy-bucket-filters-407123/
Now THAT looks like a great find!
What size EZ strainer are you using? I use the paint strainer bags from Home Depot and they work fine but I have read some good things about the EZ strainer.
goodgodilovebeer
Well-Known Member
Ranco Dual-stage, fermwrap, & refrigerator. The leap from good to great took one batch.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/diy-bucket-filters-407123/
But to sum it up 600 400 and 200 are my recommendations, just stack them then you have a 3 stage filter.
Thanks for the information, there is a lot of reading to be done on the topic. It seems above my level of DIY (current ability: use a screwdriver) but I could probably get at least a basic version done
PistolsAtDawn
Well-Known Member
Yeah man, it's not too hard. Not as accurate or low maintenance as a dedicated fridge setup, but it works, and that's the most important thing.
I still haven't been able to lager anything yet, but my ales really improved once I had a dedicated way to keep the temperature within the yeast's ideal fermentation range.
There will be a bit of variation on your target temperature in both directions when using this method. One thing I've found is to try to use the right amount of ice / frozen bottles in your cooler. Too much and the swamp cooler's water temp drops faster than the temp inside the fermenter, which means that by the time the temp in the fermenter is at your target and your pump kicks off, the water surrounding it will be too cold, it will continue pulling heat away from the fermenter and you'll overshoot (or under, depending on how you look at it) your target.
So if you take temperature measurements of the water in the swamp cooler and your other cooler with the immersion cooler/ice, try to estimate how much ice you'll need in order to keep it from exchanging water that's way below your target fermentation temperature. Once the controller kicks the pump off, you'll likely want the swamp cooler water to be at most only few degrees below your target fermentation temperature.
Too little ice though, and you'll exhaust the heat exchange capacity too quickly which will keep your pump running since the temp controller will never hit its target. This will then actively ADD heat to the swamp cooler water (and by extension, your fermenter) even with a small submersible pump. Mine is only a 264 GPH pump, but it can heat up my swamp cooler pretty quickly if I don't watch it.
I've had both scenarios happen, so it'll take a little bit of fiddling before you get the feel for it.
In any event, it's cheap, easy and it works.
wife got me a steel mash paddle for christmas last year; http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/stainless-steel-mash-paddle.html
never knew what i was missing! also doubles as a kickass weapon
never knew what i was missing! also doubles as a kickass weapon
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Travestian
Well-Known Member
Those mash paddles do look good. I personally use a 24" stainless steel whisk I found on Homebrewfinds.com. It works great.
On a side note, that website has a great listing of items that go on discounts at various places. I've found quite a few things on that site that I wouldn't have thought to use otherwise. It's one of the websites that pops up every time I open my browser. Highly recommended.
bkl63
Well-Known Member
A good Mercury thermometer is needed first. Never trust a reading that you haven't backed up with a Mercury Thermometer. My last brew, my digital was off almost 10 degrees which will absolutely ruin a Mash.
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