what to buy next? im honestly lost

[snowtires]

10 gallon mash tun to complete a 3 tier gravity rig

Flask/stir plate to start using liquid yeasts

Grain crusher as I order all my grains are crushed right now

Not sure which path to take. Oh yeah and I need to decide today so I can put it under the tree

 

[butterpants]

Plate chiller and pump?

 

[snowtires]

< $150

 

[butterpants]

Ph meter, lab grade thermometer

 

[snowtires]

I was having effiency problems in the spring. A pH meter could be handy. Effiency is good now.

Crusher is about $140
Converted 10 gal mash tun is $100
Stir plate and flask is $100
A pump is $70 (no march or chuggar)

The pump and mash run would have to go hand in hand so one would be useless to me without the other as my current 5 gallon mlt would become the hlt. Plus I would need a sparge arm and tubing etc

I order all my barley pre crushed right now $.15 a lb. Gambrinus malts is only a 1.5 hour drive from here and I can get 55lb for about $25

I use dry yeast right now. Have never tried liquid yeast

If these prices seem steep its because I am in Canada

 

[snowtires]

Ooh. Or a refractometer

 

[SEABrewer]

10 gallon mash tun to complete a 3 tier gravity rig

Flask/stir plate to start using liquid yeasts

Grain crusher as I order all my grains are crushed right now

Not sure which path to take. Oh yeah and I need to decide today so I can put it under the tree

You're asking which of the 3 above options you should go with next?

I'd probably put the grain mill last on the list, assuming you're getting decent efficiency out of the grains that your supplier is crushing for you.

I'd probably have a slight preference for the 10 gallon MLT over the yeast starter setup, but I don't think you could go wrong with either option.

 

[b-boy]

If you're looking to go AG, I'd say the mash tun makes the most sense. Otherwise, I'd say flask/stir plate.

 

[jakeasaur]

^

 

[snowtires]

Already have a mash fun and do ag. But its only 5 gallons and I have to sparge twice.

 

[jakeasaur]

I upgraded from a 10 gal tun to a 70 quart Colman extreme this summer. Best brewing decision i have made. Well other than going all grain and 10 gallon batches

 

[snowtires]

This is hard. I'm defrosting my kegerator and cleaning those sticky taps right now. Mmm perlicks

 

[Cyclman]

+1 on stir plate, and if you can get a flask cheap (if you can't there are lots of flat bottomed jars cheap). Yeast propagation and proper pitch is foundational to fermentation, as are O2 and temp control.

 

[insanim8er]

You should DIY your stir plate. It's way cheaper...

Other than that the luxury things I love having are:

Refractometer
Oxygen regulator and stone
Kegging gear
Plate chiller
Barley crusher
Temp controlled fermentation chamber (wine cabinet and stc-1000)
False bottoms in my mashtuns

20gal Blichmann boiler maker with false bottom....oh right under $150


Btw what pump is $70 that isn't march or chugger that is magnetic driver. If it's not, it's not food safe. It can put oil in your beer, so be careful.

 

[Trox]

I would say a grain mill so you can save money by buying your grains in bulk which you can then use that money saved to buy all your other items.

 

[snowtires]

You should DIY your stir plate. It's way cheaper...

Other than that the luxury things I love having are:

Refractometer
Oxygen regulator and stone
Kegging gear
Plate chiller
Barley crusher
Temp controlled fermentation chamber (wine cabinet and stc-1000)
False bottoms in my mashtuns

20gal Blichmann boiler maker with false bottom....oh right under $150

Btw what pump is $70 that isn't march or chugger that is magnetic driver. If it's not, it's not food safe. It can put oil in your beer, so be careful.

Pump
http://greatbreweh.com/Beer_Pump.html

I actually started DIYing a stir plate and I got frustrated so I decided I would just buy one when I was able

 

[insanim8er]

Pump
http://greatbreweh.com/Beer_Pump.html

I actually started DIYing a stir plate and I got frustrated so I decided I would just buy one when I was able

Thanks... I haven't seen that one before.

What was the issue with he stir plate? I made one out of random spare parts. It works great... Only paid $18 for the 2L flask and stir bar.

 

[snowtires]

Bought the wrong kind of magnets then the case I made didn't have enough room. Then the power knob I used wasn't proper and I just threw it all in the garbage

 

[snowtires]

I would say a grain mill so you can save money by buying your grains in bulk which you can then use that money saved to buy all your other items.

Yes thats a good point, a bag of grain is $46 plus $.15/lb to crush
thats $54.25 if i have a crusher i would be buying my bags of grain for $25, that is a huge savings.
I ordered this one
http://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/OBKrusher_Grain_Mill_with_7_lb_hopper_p/grain-mill-obkrusher.htm

 

[Brewmex41]

Yes thats a good point, a bag of grain is $46 plus $.15/lb to crush
thats $54.25 if i have a crusher i would be buying my bags of grain for $25, that is a huge savings.
I ordered this one
http://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/OBKrusher_Grain_Mill_with_7_lb_hopper_p/grain-mill-obkrusher.htm

They charge to mill?
I emailed the owner of my lhbs asking if I were to buy unmilled two row, smoke it at home, and bring it back in to be milled he said no problem.

 

[tommyguner03]

i say get a grain mill and a cooler to DIY your own mash tun

 

[snowtires]

I don't have a local hbs. I got hopdawgs ontariobeerkegs, ihomebrewing or something and a couple others. So they have to do the extra work I guess. Gambrinus malting corp is in Armstrong so its not too far from here. I will still buy my specialty grains from hopdawgs bit at leased I can mill them fresh instead of having milled carafa 2 for a year

 

[Darwin18]

Do you have temperature control? I'd get that before anything else.

 

[Newsman]

10 gallon mash tun to complete a 3 tier gravity rig

Flask/stir plate to start using liquid yeasts

Grain crusher as I order all my grains are crushed right now

Not sure which path to take. Oh yeah and I need to decide today so I can put it under the tree

Build yourself a stir plate. Amazon has 2L Erlenmyer for under $25 and stir bars in a variety of sizes and prices. There's a couple threads on here about building your own stir plate. It's not hard... You can even do it 100% solderless (I did.)

 

[ny101]

1) Stir Plate (40 bucks including flask)
2) Temp control (50 buck for craigslist fridge, 30 for temp controller).

Next up:

3) Oxygen Kit (40 bucks or so)
4) Mash Tun (60+ depending on how fancy you want to get)
5) Water PH kit + minerals + scale (40)
6) Crusher (dont spend less than 100 on this. I did and I regret it every day I mill)

 

[snowtires]

Ain't no $40 stir plate here in Canada. And forget about a flask can't even find one

 

[ny101]

Hm, I didn't take into account Canada $s, but you should be able to find a flask on Amazon for 25 bucks no? Figure 8 bucks for a cpu fan and 8 bucks for a stir bar.

 

[insanim8er]

Ain't no $40 stir plate here in Canada. And forget about a flask can't even find one

Ya his numbers were a little low, but you can get a lifetime warranted stir plate for about $40 here doesn't come with the flask and shipping is probably involved.

I paid $18 for my 2L Pyrex flask at my LHBS, but obviously on line is your best option. Ebay has some cheap stir bars. I got a packet of 20 for about $1 ea shipped.

 

[snowtires]

I just got my OBKrusher in the mail. It looks good and its pretty heavy. I'm driving out tomorrow to the malting house to pick up 4 sacks of barley for myself and 2 for someone els

 

[Chia]

I did a DIY stirplate, bought a flask and never use it..... i would go with the mash tun

 

[snowtires]

So I took a little trip today and came home with this.





I think the grain crusher was a good choice. This is going to save me a lot of money. Thanks for the suggestions as I will keep these in mind with the money I save as my next purchase

 

[insanim8er]

I think the grain crusher was a good choice. This is going to save me a lot of money.

Nice! Now you can get baseboard moulding and an outlet installed

 

[snowtires]

Nice! Now you can get baseboard moulding and an outlet installed

Lol you noticed that did you. That's our new downstairs bedroom/ensuite. Were expecting a baby soon and that's been my project the last while. Almost done tho!

 

[insanim8er]

Lol you noticed that did you. That's our new downstairs bedroom/ensuite. Were expecting a baby soon and that's been my project the last while. Almost done tho!

Congrats... Mine just turned 2. He's awesome as hell... They're so much fun at this age. They're even more fun when they're potty trained! We got him started early. He was 90% before two. Now he only sleeps in a diaper.

For his bedroom, i made him a full on legit pirate room. Like you're in the captains quarters. I found everything on Craig's list or random garage sales and modified it. Took these just before it was 100% done...

I bought a wine barrel and cut the doors turned it into a cabinet for his aquarium.

[/IMG]

the fireplace works (it's a heater with lights) I also built the top part and wired those sconces with flickering bulbs.

The fireplace was that honey oak color. I painted it black and gold

Equipped with a parrot cage. It was white. I painted it to look like wrought iron

Stained this to be darker... Perfect toy chest. I just needed to add hinges

My next project is to make him a fort bed with slide... I want it to look like a ship

 

[Doctor_M]

^
Impressive!

 

[snowtires]

That's insane. I was going to maybe paint my sons room blue? Lol and I ordered some big dusty and skipper wall decals (Disney planes)