What are your "can't live without" equipment items?

[Inkleg]

Him....

 

[BuddyWeiser]

kegs and airlocks

 

[patthebrewer]

Why my Mash Paddle of course

 

[grimstuff]

Are thermapen's that good?

This is the one you need... only $20. You don't need the Thermapen model.
http://www.thermoworks.com/products/low_cost/rt301wa.html

And yes I'd say my digital thermometer is a must-have tool, I use it at every stage of the brew and ferment process. Actually I have two of them, one for the garage and one for the kitchen.

Also: Two digital scales. This one for measuring hops and spices: http://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-Black-Digital-Pocket/dp/B0012N1NAA/ref=lp_289787_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1368714624&sr=1-2

And this one for measuring grains and everything else, it is incredibly useful in the kitchen for baking, etc.: http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-Service-22-Pound-Digital-Portion/dp/B001U1W1FK/ref=pd_sim_hg_2

 

[Livaleos]

I would have to go with HBT. With out this place I wouldnt even know what goodies and gadgets to look into.

 

[Nicegirl]

My immersion wort chiller. It's one of those "gotta have" things that make brewing so much easier and quicker. I'm also quite fond of my beer filtering system which I built.

 

[KurtB]

What are some things you own that you just can't live without?

Whatever the next gadget I am about to buy is the one thing I just cannot live without.

Considering I started the obsession with not much more than a 7.5 gallon pot and a bucket, and I am now planning a single tier system and watching Craig's list for a third chest freezer...I guess there was a lot of stuff that I "can't live without" (though probably 90% of it was not really needed to make beer).

 

[mikescooling]

I started using a wheelbarrow to move my spent grains. I like it.

 

[JediMeister]

Vinator Bottle Rinser + bottle tree
The bottle tree alone was nice but when combined with the bottle rinser for sanitizing it makes bottling so much easier. I no longer dread bottling day. Submerging bottles was such a pain and took forever. Since it fits on top of the tree you can have a bottle in each hand and fly through what was the worst part of bottling day.

Oh and fill bottles over your dishwasher door. I know this is a widely used technique but for those that are married it will make bottling day that much easier to get through.

 

[royal1911]

My King Kooker!

 

[freshhoarse]

Hate to admit it, BeerSmith. I could work out my recipies by hand, but it makes it so much easier.

 

[Travestian]

Hate to admit it, BeerSmith. I could work out my recipies by hand, but it makes it so much easier.

I just got Beersmith a couple of weeks ago and even though I've only got 4 batches under my belt I don't know how I did without it before.

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

Copper Manifolds for MT and Copper Immersion Chillers for BK

Best investment (DIY) ever.

 

[passedpawn]

Pump.

 

[Colorowdy]

Everything I own. I really love my new stir plate right now.

 

[Cider123]

My pint glass. How I love my pint glass

 

[fk27bob]

Brewers Friend subscription. Just bought a one-year today. It's really nice to have all those calculators, notes, and recipe right there on my iPad next to me. I only hope the Internet never gets unplugged!

An understanding wife and great brewing buddies too.

 

[texcan2000]

Inkleg, HIM looks pretty awesome!!!

 

[SusieBrew]

My 1 gallon aluminum pitcher from NB. Indispensible.
Susie

 

[Travestian]

Just as another find/gadget I regularly use... Over the last several months I've been using a site called http://homebrewfinds.com. It regularly has a bunch of items you might not think of as well as a bunch of deals you might not otherwise know about. It is bookmarked as a site to pop up when I launch my browser.

 

[JeffD1]

An indoor outdoor thermometer that I sanitize and put right into the carboy. It provides the beer temp and the air temp. It also records the highest and lowest temps so you can monitor the temps overnight or when you are not there. Its cheap too:

https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...X&ei=Zy6hUZeDFpXb4AP2_oCgCA&ved=0CGQQ8wIwAjge

 

[SKuyken]

Bottling wand and autosiphon. My first bottling session ever didn't use these. There never was a second session without them. Also, I think my new propane burner will become one soon.

 

[Dirty25]

My 1 gallon aluminum pitcher from NB. Indispensible.
Susie

Agreed what a simple but amazing tool

 

[neckbeardbeer]

Thermapen (actually bought it for BBQ, use it more for brewing) and a powerful outdoor burner (I have an electric stove that sucks)

 

[freshhoarse]

StarSan!!!

 

[BeerGrylls]

StarSan!!!

I was reading the whole thread before saying StarSan, but you beat me to it! I could get by with just a brew kettle and some starsan.

 

[Pickettj]

I just bought a refractometer, and although it's not like I'm going to throw out the hydrometer, I will probably next-to-never use it again. 3 drops of liquid vs several ounces needed to take a gravity reading, auto temperature correction, easier-to-read numbers. It's no contest.

Yeah, but the thief makes for a great sample! I'd still take a thief sample, at least for the first one, to see what my wort tastes like. After that, it would be nice to have the refractometer. I just can't justify the cost when I'm only on my 5th batch of beer. So I guess if you have a refractometer, you'll still want a thief if you want a good sized sample.

 

[Travestian]

Yeah, but the thief makes for a great sample! I'd still take a thief sample, at least for the first one, to see what my wort tastes like. After that, it would be nice to have the refractometer. I just can't justify the cost when I'm only on my 5th batch of beer. So I guess if you have a refractometer, you'll still want a thief if you want a good sized sample.

I second that thought. My hydrometer just broke recently and I'm in the market for one or the other. I'm not entirely certain which one I want to get. Any suggestions on a good refractometer for not too much?

 

[BeerGrylls]

I second that thought. My hydrometer just broke recently and I'm in the market for one or the other. I'm not entirely certain which one I want to get. Any suggestions on a good refractometer for not too much?

I think almost all of the ones I've seen are the same. Most I've seen only have a Brix scale, and you need to be careful to get one that's in the range of beer. The only variation is that there are some multi-scale units that have Brix, balling, plato, gravity in some combination. Those are usually more expensive and might be harder to find. I have a unit that only does Brix, and I have a sheet of paper that does the conversion to gravity.

Keep in mind that refractometers aren't as exact later on, because they only take dissolved sugars into account, but when you're partially or fully through the fermentation, you will have some combination of alcohol and sugars. There are calculators that will do some best estimates, but the algorithms are polynomials that have been crafted to best suit some empirical data. At some point there's no getting around it, hydrometers will make a more accurate reading for late stages.

 

[Travestian]

Keep in mind that refractometers aren't as exact later on, because they only take dissolved sugars into account, but when you're partially or fully through the fermentation, you will have some combination of alcohol and sugars. There are calculators that will do some best estimates, but the algorithms are polynomials that have been crafted to best suit some empirical data. At some point there's no getting around it, hydrometers will make a more accurate reading for late stages.

This is EXACTLY the advice I was looking for. Sounds like the hydrometer route is the way to go for me. I've got a sample taker from here that works quite well. Just another nice thing I'd rather not live without.