So i have a 10g pot and Santa brought me some good gift cards to the LHBS. I want to eventually go to electric and ditch the gas. In the infinite wisdom of this wonderful forum what would yall upgrade next? I was thinking about a pump so i can recirc the wort during mash and whirlpool. Any opinions??
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titansvol
Well-Known Member
Do you have a way to control fermentation temperature? if not, that is where I would go next.
You asked for opinions and I'm pretty opinionated so I'll give you an earful (eyefull?). With BIAB you can mill the grains fine. That's a major feature of BIAB, right? With the finely milled grains your conversion will be over in just a few minutes. Why then spend money on a recirculation system? Also, whirlpools are a waste of good beer in my opinion. Any wort left in that whirlpool is total waste. Dump everything into the fermenter and let it have time to settle out when the fermentation is done, then rack above it to the keg or bottling bucket. You'll get more of the beer you worked for that way.
Spend the money on grains, hops, and yeast. They are what is required to make beer. Try some new varieties or new techniques. Make a Belgian quad, an RIS, an English mild. Mess with recipes, use the wrong hops in a recipe or make an RIS with a saison yeast.:rockin:
Yes i have a fermintation chamber already!
Awesom that is why i love this forum!#!#!
I'm at the point where my purchases are to make my brewing life easier, faster, or more enjoyable. I have a fermwrap chamber, RO system, ph meter, and the like.
So what next? I'm looking at a Blichman Hellfire burner, a jaded brewing Hydra immersion chiller, or an upgrade to my garage sink to better accommodate my RO system and allow me to clean up faster and better.
I'm on a kick to improve time and process efficiency.
So what next? I'm looking at a Blichman Hellfire burner, a jaded brewing Hydra immersion chiller, or an upgrade to my garage sink to better accommodate my RO system and allow me to clean up faster and better.
I'm on a kick to improve time and process efficiency.
I too thought about these things.
chickypad
lupulin shift victim
I guess we'd need to know what you have, besides the fementation chamber. IMO a grainmill would be top of the list for a BIAB brewer if you don't have one. If your water isn't great for brewing an RO system makes sense, and/or a pH meter would be good. What about yeast starter stuff?
Ashevillain
Level 3 Potions Master
You said you were interested in ebiab. Me too! I have a thread going right now about it and its making me think that a pump would not be an initial upgrade. Do you keg? This is a great upgrade but I also wouldnt use giftcards on most of that gear because you can find it way cheaper on craigslist depending on your location. One thing that has always helped me brew more often is having a lot of ingredients, say why not and brew something tasty whenever you can. i suggest a balanced el dorado/simco ipa, its quite the fire.:rockin:
DSP-brasseur
Member
I love my wort chiller. But you can DIY easily and cheaply to fit perfectly in your pot.
I'm going to throw this in here as ideas for others who are pondering.
Between some money I had squirreled away, Christmas gift money, and selling off the items these have mostly replaced, I am upgrading:
1. Jaded Brewing Hydra Chiller. Expensive, yes, but less expensive than a plate or counterflow chiller plus all the hoses and fittings. My old chiller has been sold to help pay for it.
2. Spike Brewing 10-gallon kettle w/ valve and thermometer, horizontal couplings. My previous kettle, a Northern Brewer Megapot 1.2 8-gallon w/ valve and thermometer, has been sold.
The Spike kettle--which I've been lusting after for a while--is large enough to accommodate the Hydra. The Hydra would not fit in the Megapot with the thermometer protruding. I could have gotten a custom version of the hydra, but it would have entailed some compromises. Don't like compromising if I can avoid it.
Fortunately this was on sale.
3. Thermapen Mk IV. I've been lusting after one of these as well. Everything I read about it is positive. Not cheap, but as a scientist the idea of measuring accurately is burned into me.
4. Taprite secondary regulators (4). The ability to easily servie different beers at different carbonations been lacking; oh, I can change the regulator pressure, turn off the gas to the other kegs, and deal with one keg that way, but elegant it is not. Now I can serve at and maintain different pressures, even force carb one keg while serving the others.
This was also on sale, and I've not seen a setup like this for as reasonably-priced as this was.
I've sold off a lot of extra equipment to help fund this; it's one argument for buying good quality stuff when you start, so if you choose to move up, you can recover a lot of your cost in sales of used equipment.
There's one more thing I want/need/lust after, and that's a Blichman Hellfire burner. I'll have to squirrel away money, sell off stuff, dance a jig in order to come up w/ the money, but it's next on my list.
Between some money I had squirreled away, Christmas gift money, and selling off the items these have mostly replaced, I am upgrading:
1. Jaded Brewing Hydra Chiller. Expensive, yes, but less expensive than a plate or counterflow chiller plus all the hoses and fittings. My old chiller has been sold to help pay for it.
2. Spike Brewing 10-gallon kettle w/ valve and thermometer, horizontal couplings. My previous kettle, a Northern Brewer Megapot 1.2 8-gallon w/ valve and thermometer, has been sold.
The Spike kettle--which I've been lusting after for a while--is large enough to accommodate the Hydra. The Hydra would not fit in the Megapot with the thermometer protruding. I could have gotten a custom version of the hydra, but it would have entailed some compromises. Don't like compromising if I can avoid it.
Fortunately this was on sale. 3. Thermapen Mk IV. I've been lusting after one of these as well. Everything I read about it is positive. Not cheap, but as a scientist the idea of measuring accurately is burned into me.
4. Taprite secondary regulators (4). The ability to easily servie different beers at different carbonations been lacking; oh, I can change the regulator pressure, turn off the gas to the other kegs, and deal with one keg that way, but elegant it is not. Now I can serve at and maintain different pressures, even force carb one keg while serving the others.
This was also on sale, and I've not seen a setup like this for as reasonably-priced as this was.
I've sold off a lot of extra equipment to help fund this; it's one argument for buying good quality stuff when you start, so if you choose to move up, you can recover a lot of your cost in sales of used equipment.
There's one more thing I want/need/lust after, and that's a Blichman Hellfire burner. I'll have to squirrel away money, sell off stuff, dance a jig in order to come up w/ the money, but it's next on my list.
Murphys_Law
Well-Known Member
I am in the same boat. I got a $100 gift cert for my LHBS and a $100 check...they're burning a hole in my pocket!
A secondary reg may be a good idea or I may retire all my brew buckets and go with a few fermonsters.
And/or just stock up on ingredients. What a problem to have...how to spend $200 on brewing!
A secondary reg may be a good idea or I may retire all my brew buckets and go with a few fermonsters.
And/or just stock up on ingredients. What a problem to have...how to spend $200 on brewing!
Radboud
Well-Known Member
Invest in yeast health stuff (stir plate etc) and water chemistry (RO system and salts, pH meter etc). My beer improved tremendously when I started doing those things.
Update :
I purchased a chugger pump and a yeast starter kit.
I am going to use the pump to recirculate my wort during mashing. Those two items took care of the $200 burning a whole on my pocket.
I have ordered an inkbird pid setup and will be getting a hot rod stick to start with then will decide where to go with next. I have two kegs waiting for conversion in the shed!!!!
I purchased a chugger pump and a yeast starter kit.
I am going to use the pump to recirculate my wort during mashing. Those two items took care of the $200 burning a whole on my pocket.
I have ordered an inkbird pid setup and will be getting a hot rod stick to start with then will decide where to go with next. I have two kegs waiting for conversion in the shed!!!!
.............
2. Spike Brewing 10-gallon kettle w/ valve and thermometer, horizontal couplings. My previous kettle, a Northern Brewer Megapot 1.2 8-gallon w/ valve and thermometer, has been sold.
The Spike kettle--which I've been lusting after for a while--is large enough to accommodate the Hydra. The Hydra would not fit in the Megapot with the thermometer protruding. I could have gotten a custom version of the hydra, but it would have entailed some compromises. Don't like compromising if I can avoid it.
If you haven't ordered that kettle, I'd go for the 15 gallon for just $40 more. I have had no problem doing 5 gallon batches in mine, so win win when it comes to 5 or 10 gallon batches. Awesome kettle!
Murphys_Law
Well-Known Member
I have a 15G Bayou sitting in retirement after I bought a 10G Spike. 10G is perfect for 5G BIAB!
I got the 15 for those 10G batches but I've only brewed 1 in the last year and for beers with a large grain bill I hold back a gallon or two and pour this over the bag after mash so I've never had a space issue.
My mash temp control is a lot better since I have very little dead space, too.
I'm your polar opposite apparently. My tried and true 10 gallon Bayou is slowly slipping into retirement.
I don't BIAB, but I agree my 10G Bayou was perfect when I was still BIABing. The Bayou has been a great kettle.
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