What is your favorite piece of equipement that makes brew day easier??

[SisterThelonious]

It's gotta be my temperature alert thermometer/timer...it lets me know when to stop drinking beer and get back to making beer. But seriously, star san would have to be my top pick, no rinsing really cuts back on time...and I am crazy for the foam. Oh wait, I should through in my HWMBO, he helps me to stay on track and anwers all of my questions without taking over...although he does have his ways of distracting me from my mission .

 

[Malticulous]

For me it was the barley crusher. I stock up on grains and make something up on a whim. 1/2 auto siphon is nice too, maybe as nice as a valve on my 60 qt pot but cheaper.

 

[Brewin_CRAZY]

Other than my kegging setup (I HATE bottling) I would have to say a few beers really helps the brewing process!!!!

 

[EvilGnome6]

My HERMS rig. Perfect temperature control of my mash. Mashing out without infusions. The clarity of the wort after an hour of recirculating. It was totally worth the effort to put it together. That it converts to an ice water recirculation system with a pump for whirlpooling and added chilling through the heat exchanger makes it that much more useful.

 

[pnh2atl]

Wort chiller, but that is only due to the lack of much else.

Nick

 

[Zen_Brew]

I'd have to say the refractometer. Makes things so much easier to check the gravity on the fly without waining for several ounces or wort to cool.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

holds my hose when I siphon.

Sounds like the perfect SWMBO

 

[kappclark]

My thermometer

 

[hopsoda]

I would have to say my HLT - when I started doing all grain I transferred all the sparge water with a pan :cross:

 

[Edcculus]

Fermcap has been the best addition to my brewery in a long time. I haven't had a hint of a boilover or blowoff (except for the RIS) since I started using it.

Second on the list is my Thermapen. It doubles use as my brewing thermometer and cooking thermometer. It keeps my mind at ease knowing my thermometer is accurate.

 

[The Pol]

After reading all of these posts, I have to say... it is IMPOSSIBLE to pick one, or a few.

I recant what I posted earlier... everything in my garage is the most important tool.

 

[olllllo]

This as detailed here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114977

On the back side you have your pump switch and the GFCI outlet for my laptop, etc. On the top I placed the power in cord so I wouldn't have to worry about it dangling around. I can also plug it in and close the top to protect it from splashes.

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

Mine has got to be my laptop... Its so multifunctional so It helps me so much

 

[GroosBrewz]

I would have to add my immersion wort chiller to the list.. Before I got it, I used to have to fill a 50 gallon plastic drum with like 40 gallons of water and about 6 bags of ice and dunk my boil pot for like 45 minutes.. Now it's like ten minutes..... Huge time saver

 

[Bernie Brewer]

Gotta be my brewtree. It's cut at least an hour and a half, if not two hours, off of my brew day.


Back to the OP- I know I'll pi$$ off all of the autosiphon owners, but I just don't get it. I have never, ever, had any trouble starting a siphon and can't fathom why someone would need to spend ten bucks on a machine that does it for them. I know it's only ten bucks, but seriously- do you really need it?

 

[ghpeel]

Paint strainer bags: I use a 5gal one to mash in, and some 1gal ones for hop bags in the boil.

You can go from extract to all grain with a $20 igloo cooler and a $2 paint strainer bag. No recirculation or vourlaufing or grain beds or stuck sparges or anything. 80+% efficiency every time.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

My wife. She is cheap labor and perdy.

 

[EvilGnome6]

My wife. She is cheap labor and perdy.

WINNAR!

 

[GroosBrewz]

Back to the OP- I know I'll pi$$ off all of the autosiphon owners, but I just don't get it. I have never, ever, had any trouble starting a siphon and can't fathom why someone would need to spend ten bucks on a machine that does it for them. I know it's only ten bucks, but seriously- do you really need it?

Thats what I said too Bernie. I also didnt have much trouble starting a siphon (usually), but it was the plain fact that I didnt have to mess it with at all, ever again.. The siphon starter worked without any kind of hassle, no matter how brief.. Plus I find it very handy in my sanitizing bukcet as I can hook up my lines to the siphon starter in the bucket and pump santitizer into all the lines.. No more using a turkey baster to pump sanitizer into the lines.. It was very easily worth the $1o for me.. But as they say, different strokes for different folks.. Do I really need it? No.. .. But sometimes it's about convenience over need...

 

[skiingimpy]

The Palm Pre. It's going to make my brew days much less boring. It's got my email, instant messaging, internet radio, calculator and internet right there at my fingertips during those 5 - 15 minute wait times. Pic related.

I could even post on HBT right next to my brew kettle, take pics of the brew day, and upload them in almost real-time to HBT. All with this "phone".

+1 except Iphone.