What equipment should I get, dazed and confused.

[OakIslandBrewery]

Hotbeer, thanks for the info,

OK so I'll probably order this: Amazon.com
Commercial 23 Tips Jet Burner. It produces 160,000 BTU's. I'll tap into my gas line under my outdoor kitchen and hook it up with a regulator and quick disconnect with flex hose so I can remove it easily when not in use. I have a welder friend that owes me a favor or three that builds bbq smokers. I'll ask him to fab me up a stand for it. Going to wait until I've made my first extract batch to place the order to be sure it's what I want. There's no hurry.

All great advice from the folks here. I started out on the kitchen stove brewing extract kits and after 20+ years of brewing I now have a dedicated spot in the basement to brew all grain. I have a natural gas wok burner at 100,000 btu that works fine for 15 gallon batches but I've settled on ten gallons now. Make sure you have some quality gloves to handle hot things and a good fire extinguisher. Safety can't be stressed enough during your brew day. If you can brew outside that's a great option. Since brewing indoors I have large exhaust fan and open windows to bring in fresh air. I also have a carbon monoxide sensor in the brewery and throughout the basement/house. Brewing is a great hobby, lots of fun to connect with others as you're finding out here. Start out simple and hone your skills with every brew. After brewing for all these years I'm still learning, take good notes with every batch. Good luck, be safe and have fun!

 

[JerryMc]

I've read so many post it all seems to blur together at times. I want to fill a five gallon keg each time I brew after I do a few smaller batches to learn how. I've seen all sorts of sizes listed everything from 10 gallons and up to 15 gallons seems to be the general consensus. I want to buy the best one for the job the first time. So how big of a kettle do I need for BIAB?

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

I've read so many post it all seems to blur together at times. I want to fill a five gallon keg each time I brew after I do a few smaller batches to learn how. I've seen all sorts of sizes listed everything from 10 gallons and up to 15 gallons seems to be the general consensus. I want to buy the best one for the job the first time. So how big of a kettle do I need for BIAB?

Information overload, yup, that happens when asking good questions. I'm no help with BIAB but I see lots of posts here from folks. I started out at five gallon batches then bottling. It didn't take long to get into kegging. There's are smaller keg sizes available; 2.5 gallon being real common to have two kegs for a five gallon batch. Even when you upgrade those smaller kegs are useful to transport beer to parties as well as serving at home. My brew kettle is 25 gallon which was custom made but there's lots of them out there to be purchased with many ports for valves, thermometers and such.

 

[faithie999]

I've read so many post it all seems to blur together at times. I want to fill a five gallon keg each time I brew after I do a few smaller batches to learn how. I've seen all sorts of sizes listed everything from 10 gallons and up to 15 gallons seems to be the general consensus. I want to buy the best one for the job the first time. So how big of a kettle do I need for BIAB?

I only do 5-gallon (nominal) batches. I usually have about 6 1/2 gal of wort at the start of the boil. I use a 10-gallon kettle. that gives plenty of headroom for the hot break foam. I bought the 10 because I determined that I would never brew anything larger than a 5-gallon batch.

a good heavy-duty 10-gallon brew kettle and lid is on the order of $100 (of course more for a 15), so you'll only want to buy one for the foreseeable future. if you think you'll ever be doing 10-gallon batches, you should buy a 15-gallon kettle now. the 15 will be fine for 5-gallon batches.

 

[RM-MN]

I've read so many post it all seems to blur together at times. I want to fill a five gallon keg each time I brew after I do a few smaller batches to learn how. I've seen all sorts of sizes listed everything from 10 gallons and up to 15 gallons seems to be the general consensus. I want to buy the best one for the job the first time. So how big of a kettle do I need for BIAB?

Need or want. You could brew a 5 gallon batch in a 7 1/2 gallon turkey fryer. I've done it. It isn't real easy, requires sparging as there isn't sufficient room for all the water and grain during the mash. Then as the boil starts, the wort is too close to the top of the kettle and boil over is likely.

10 gallons gets you away from most of the limitations. You still may have problems if:
1. If you want to make really big beers you may still be limited with the water and grain taking too much space.
2. If your mash efficiency is low you may need more space.

15 gallons gets you away from the limitations for space. However, it may take a better burner to heat up the wort for the boil.

 

[JerryMc]

I received my brand new 5 lb co2 bottle yesterday and found out I had the wrong connector on the regulator to fit the bottle. After further investigation I discovered that I had a nitrogen regulator. Sending it back free shipping so not all is lost. Then I went on Micrormatic website to get the right one and saw there are several to choose from. I know to get one with a check valve and I'll get one with 2 gauges but the low gauge, 0 to 15 or 0 to 60?

Never mind 0 to 60 because my secondary regulators can dial it down from there. Duh.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

I received my brand new 5 lb co2 bottle yesterday and found out I had the wrong connector on the regulator to fit the bottle. After further investigation I discovered that I had a nitrogen regulator. Sending it back free shipping so not all is lost. Then I went on Micrormatic website to get the right one and saw there are several to choose from. I know to get one with a check valve and I'll get one with 2 gauges but the low gauge, 0 to 15 or 0 to 60?

I'd go with the 0-60 range. 0-15 doesn't give enough adjustment and you might need to jack up the CO2 beyond 15 in many instances like pressurizing the kegs after they are filled. I have two cylinders, one for serving beer and the other for pressurizing the kegs once they are filled.

 

[JerryMc]

I decided on this one: Premium Plus CO2 Regulator - Primary - Low Pressure - 0-60 PSI - 2 Gauge

It has 2 outlets after reading the previous post it makes sense to have an extra port to pressurize kegs without disturbing my secondary setup. I'll make up a line to go directly from primary to ball lock. Thanks

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Looks like a fine choice for a regulator. Just remember the two outlets would be the same pressure; so if you set the regulator at 10 psi you'll have 10 psi at both outlets. A dual body regulator would allow you to have two different pressures from one CO2 cylinder. That type of regulator would have three gauges, high side and two low side. On my setup I have one regulator feeding a distribution block with six outlets, all at the same set pressure of the regulator and they supply the same pressure (minus any pressure drop) to six corny kegs for serving. There's a check valve at the regulator and inline check valves at each keg QD.

Buy good gas line and beer line for that matter. It'll cost a little more but will give you better results in the long run. You'll find ways to save money, like buying in bulk when you can. I try to buy 100' CO2 and beer line. CO2 will last a longer than the beer lines. Even after religious beer line cleaning they will need to be replaced at some point.

Happy 2022 and welcome to the rewarding hobby of brewing beer!

 

[JerryMc]

Thank you for the comments. I understand the pressures will be the same. So I'll set the primary high enough to pressurize the keg and dial it down at the secondary Micromatic 4 gang regulator where I can lower pressure to each keg individually. I'm thinking this will work?

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Ya, it'll work just fine and it's what I did for a long time till I could justify spending more. I don't have a dual body regulator yet, but I have two CO2 cylinders. Eventually you'll accumulate more equipment and remember you can always sell what you find you don't need.

 

[Jag75]

Thank you for the comments. I understand the pressures will be the same. So I'll set the primary high enough to pressurize the keg and dial it down at the secondary Micromatic 4 gang regulator where I can lower pressure to each keg individually. I'm thinking this will work?

Yes , you just use one outlet on that regulator to connect to a secondary regulator . That way you have the option of different psi to each keg. Just make sure your main regulator is set a few psi higher then your highest pressurized keg

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Yes , you just use one outlet on that regulator to connect to a secondary regulator . That way you have the option of different psi to each keg. Just make sure your main regulator is set a few psi higher then your highest pressurized keg

Thanks for clarifying!

 

[markjen214]

Planning to brew Hazy IPA something like Justice Juice the local brewery has on tap. This what I most like to drink so what should I buy to do this? Currently in anticipation of brewing I'm building a 4 keg 5 gallons each keezer. I have no other equipment yet. Would like to build a small footprint but have no idea what I'm doing. I've been reading many posts trying to decipher the brewing process and am more lost than when I started if that's possible. I don't want to go too cheap and end up dissatisfied and have to start over. I'd rather spend a little more up front and be happy about it later. Suggestions welcome.

Jerry

Clawhammersupply.com

 

[JerryMc]

One other thing that's been confusing me lately. I've read that you should keep oxygen out of your process. Stuff like "don't splash your wort during transfer". I've also read that you need oxygen to aid in fermentation. Some people even going as far as pumping it straight out of a pressurized bottle into the wort before closing up the fermenter. So if it's needed to feed the yeast why does it ever need to be avoided?

 

[3 Dawg Night]

One other thing that's been confusing me lately. I've read that you should keep oxygen out of your process. Stuff like "don't splash your wort during transfer". I've also read that you need oxygen to aid in fermentation. Some people even going as far as pumping it straight out of a pressurized bottle into the wort before closing up the fermenter. So if it's needed to feed the yeast why does it ever need to be avoided?

You don't need to avoid oxygen until you pitch your yeast.

 

[JerryMc]

OK so if I understand the process now, first pitch yeast into the fermentation, oxygenate, then close the vessel and avoid additional oxygen after that.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

OK so if I understand the process now, first pitch yeast into the fermentation, oxygenate, then close the vessel and avoid additional oxygen after that.

Correct. The yeast need oxygen for reproduction, but after that, you want to avoid introducing additional O2, as it will affect the taste of your beer.

 

[camonick]

OK so if I understand the process now, first pitch yeast into the fermentation, oxygenate, then close the vessel and avoid additional oxygen after that.

And to add more confusion, if you’re using dry yeast, you really don’t need to introduce any additional oxygen beyond what the transfer produces. Do your best to avoid it after fermentation starts.

 

[bwible]

One other thing that's been confusing me lately. I've read that you should keep oxygen out of your process. Stuff like "don't splash your wort during transfer". I've also read that you need oxygen to aid in fermentation. Some people even going as far as pumping it straight out of a pressurized bottle into the wort before closing up the fermenter. So if it's needed to feed the yeast why does it ever need to be avoided?

There are several large threads on here about oxygen. Its funny that it was never a thing when we were brewing 25 years ago. Back then people were homebrewing beer and nobody was writing about the evils of oxygen and devising entire brewing systems around oxygen avoidance. All this obsession over oxygen bad began with the New England IPA haze craze because oxygen is much more detrimental to those beers. Others may strongly disagree, but I would say if you plan to brew NEIPA you should maybe worry some about oxygen. If not, RDWAHAHB as the saying goes. There are plenty of other things to worry about more.

 

[JerryMc]

Ok so I made a 5 gallon fermenter out of a food safe home depot bucket. I have a 5 gallon extract kit from brewers best I want to try. I have read that there has to be space in the fermenter for expansion. So can I split the recipe and do half now and half later or would there be too much headroom? I did a search and didn't find the answer so I'm asking...

I also have the option of a 5 gallon keg with spunding valve.

 

[hotbeer]

More headroom isn't as bad as too little. IMO.

I think many of the pails that come with complete 5 gallon brewing kits are almost six gallon capacity. Or so I've read.

So that would would be an extra gallons worth of headspace or there bout's 20% more than the wort put in it. And 20% more volume for headspace is what I think I've read most recommend.

You can divide up your ingredients and store the rest. Or you could also go buy another bucket.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Ok so I made a 5 gallon fermenter out of a food safe home depot bucket. I have a 5 gallon extract kit from brewers best I want to try. I have read that there has to be space in the fermenter for expansion. So can I split the recipe and do half now and half later or would there be too much headroom? I did a search and didn't find the answer so I'm asking...

I also have the option of a 5 gallon keg with spunding valve.

A five gallon batch fermenter in a five gallon keg probably won't give you enough head space. There's no reason you couldn't do the five gallon kit as a four gallon batch and just have more flavor, alcohol. For you first batch I'd go with the advice from hotbeer and split your five gallon kit into two batches. If you had two pails as fermenters you could split the kit and brew the five gallons between the two then keg the two in to the five gallon keg. Just some ideas to get you started and thinking of what could be done with what you have. A 6 or 6.5 gallon pail is your best option for five gallon kits.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Also I wouldn't advise using a Spunding valve for fermenting. If it has a pressure gauge you could got risk getting fermenting beer up into it and ruining the gauge. I use a blow off tube but those fermentation locks work fine too.

 

[JerryMc]

I did make up another 5 gallon home depot bucket for fermenting but then I got a wild hair somewhere and took a different approach.
So I bought this. Kegmenter Fermentation Keg - 7.6 gal. | MoreBeer
Should be enough headspace to ferment under pressure and if needed I can fit it into my small beer fridge to keep it cool.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

I did make up another 5 gallon home depot bucket for fermenting but then I got a wild hair somewhere and took a different approach.
So I bought this. Kegmenter Fermentation Keg - 7.6 gal. | MoreBeer
Should be enough headspace to ferment under pressure and if needed I can fit it into my small beer fridge to keep it cool.

That's a great choice for a fermenter! If I didn't already own a Spike conical I would have gone the same route but in a 13.2 or 15.3 gallon version. Don't worry, those buckets will still be used for other tasks in your brewing adventure. I have a dozen or so buckets with Gamma seal tops to hold grain. Congratulations on a fine purchase that will give you years of use!

 

[RyPA]

I recently brewed my first NEIPA and I am very happy with how it came out. Having brewed many IPAs in the past that were dull and boring, I was considering giving up on homebrew since the beers, specifically IPAs were not enjoyable. Through the help of the forums I identified the most likely brewing process issues and addressed them:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/upcoming-single-hop-neipa-brew-day.697951/
The things I did differently with this batch:

1. No oxygen contact once you seal your fermenter. This is critical and I wish IPA recipe kits emphasized this more, as it's required to make an IPA taste the way that it should. To simplify this process, I fermented in a 6 gallon torpedo keg, and am now serving out of the same keg. I dry hopped using magnets to drop the hops in the beer when ready. The beer tastes and looks awesome, with no oxidation. My first successful IPA.
2. Fermentation temperature control. I don't have a fancy setup yet, so I filled a 5 gallon bucket with water, placed the keg in it, and used a fish tank heater, with built in thermostat, to warm up the water. I placed the bucket in an area that is 65F so cooling was not needed. I used a probe taped to the side of the keg to monitor temperature.
3. Not required but I also fermented under pressure, which allowed me to begin naturally carbonating my beer during fermentation, allowing me to begin drinking at 10 days from brew day.

Since you don't have equipment yet and not sure what your budget is, to keep this cheap I'd do the below:

- Ferment and serve out of the same keg. Doing this, you can avoid having to buy equipment to do a closed transfer. 0 risk of oxygen contact and less overall cleanup.
- Water in a bucket with fish tank heater for fermentation temperature control

 

[JerryMc]

@RyPA
In another post: Fermenting under pressure
"I've decided to purchase another Inkbird WiFi ITC-308 Digital Temperature Controller Thermostat Remote Monitoring Controlling Home Brewing Fermentation Breeding Incubation Greenhouse: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific to use with Amazon.com: iPower GLHTMTLX2 2-Pack Durable Waterproof Seedling Heat Mat 48" x 20" Warm Hydroponic Plant Germination Starting Pad, Black : Everything Else and stick the fermenter inside a small refrigerator I'll take my bottled beer out of and stick it in there. I don't want issues so this should be perfect, at least I hope so."

So I think I have the equipment side covered now except for the dry hopping without opening the keg part. I'll get some magnets and try that next time maybe. I've also been drooling over: The Dry Hopper from Brewers Hardware and it sure is pretty but I can't justify the price. LOL

 

[RyPA]

@JerryMc yup, that will work, looking to put together something similar except I'm going to use a chest freezer, if I can find one that can fit a keg.

How do you currently plan to dry hop?

 

[JerryMc]

1. release the pressure
2. open the keg
3. dump in the hops quickly
4. close
5. pressurize
6. purge
7. pressurize
8. hope for the best
Next time I'll have magnets of some way of doing the above without opening the keg. Things can only improve from here.