Brewing Master

Question:

  40 qt aluminum kettle   A cajun cooker burner   Nested bucket lauter-tun   Couple of 19 qt SS pots (For sparge water and other stuff.)   An assortment of racking canes and hoses (and auto-siphons!)   Bucket and three carboys (1 26L and 2 23L) for fermenting/aging   A capper Maybe somebody has some advice for myself and any other all grainers with equipment envy.

Chiller, corny keg equipment and a second propane burner for sparge water. Bob Scott — Posted with Mozilla running on Linux.  Certified MS virus free!

Response:

Where?

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Sorry, not phil’s philler, the philtap for the mini-keg. some places I shop online: — Success lies in achieving the top of the food chain. — Jubal Harshaw, 1904- I would get at a minimum:   o 10 gal Gott cooler with stainless or Phalse bottom   o the tap-a-draft or Phil’s philler/mini-keg and defer the large expense for kegging equipment   o If you are thinking about getting more carboys think about a conical instead   o do you have a wort chiller?  If not then make or buy one — Success lies in achieving the top of the food chain. — Jubal Harshaw, 1904- Greetings: I’m an all grainer with the basic equipment:   40 qt aluminum kettle   A cajun cooker burner   Nested bucket lauter-tun   Couple of 19 qt SS pots (For sparge water and other stuff.)   An assortment of racking canes and hoses (and auto-siphons!)   Bucket and three carboys (1 26L and 2 23L) for fermenting/aging   A capper I will soon have the space to upgrade my equipment.  I’m wondering what recommendations people would have to maximise my return in brewing enjoyment.  My choices seem to be to start kegging my beers or start modifying my brew-day equipment by converting some 1/2 barrel kegs I’ve got sitting around. My thoughts:  I’ll probably upgrade the lauter-tun and start kegging right away. Maybe somebody has some advice for myself and any other all grainers with equipment envy.                                      Mark A. Fox

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Greetings: I’m an all grainer with the basic equipment:   40 qt aluminum kettle   A cajun cooker burner   Nested bucket lauter-tun   Couple of 19 qt SS pots (For sparge water and other stuff.)   An assortment of racking canes and hoses (and auto-siphons!)   Bucket and three carboys (1 26L and 2 23L) for fermenting/aging   A capper I will soon have the space to upgrade my equipment.  I’m wondering what recommendations people would have to maximise my return in brewing enjoyment.  My choices seem to be to start kegging my beers or start modifying my brew-day equipment by converting some 1/2 barrel kegs I’ve got sitting around

<snip I’ve only got two all-grain brews under my belt so far, but in my limited experience the sparging can be tedious if you have to do it by hand. My first batch I sparged (fly-sparged?) using a ladle. My second I set up a kind of gravity feed system but I had to hold a plate under the sparge tank output to keep the flow from drilling a hole in the mash – and I kept spilling 170F water on my hand. That said, if I were you, or if I were me (and I am), I’d investigate getting something like Phils sparge arm, or maybe just batch sparge. -Ed Evans

Response:

Greetings: Thanks to all. I’ve already got into yeast culturing and I recommend it to anyone who brews beer.  I’ll upgrade my wort chiller with a pre-chiller.  That only costs a few bucks.  I’ll definitely be setting up a kegging system in short order.  I’ll turn my 1/2 barrel kegs into a kettle and a mash-tun.  If I find a local source for Gott coolers I’ll pick up at least one. Well, now I know how my next few pay-checks and next few weekends will be spent.                                   Mark A. Fox

Response:

I’ve only got two all-grain brews under my belt so far, but in my limited experience the sparging can be tedious if you have to do it by hand. My first batch I sparged (fly-sparged?) using a ladle. My second I set up a kind of gravity feed system but I had to hold a plate under the sparge tank output to keep the flow from drilling a hole in the mash – and I kept spilling 170F water on my hand.

Aluminum foil with hole punched in it.  Cheap, simple, and easy with no heat loss. Cheers, Mike

Response:

I have used foil in the past but on my last batch I found the plastic lid on a 5 gal bucket fits perfectly in a 10 gal igloo cooler. Drilled several holes in it and voila! Worked good  A side benefit is it floats. So now during recirulation the grain bed is not disturbed at all. — Bill http://home.swbell.net/bufkin Alvin, TX

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’ve only got two all-grain brews under my belt so far, but in my limited experience the sparging can be tedious if you have to do it by hand. My first batch I sparged (fly-sparged?) using a ladle. My second I set up a kind of gravity feed system but I had to hold a plate under the sparge tank output to keep the flow from drilling a hole in the mash – and I kept spilling 170F water on my hand. Aluminum foil with hole punched in it.  Cheap, simple, and easy with no heat loss. Cheers, Mike

Response:

Greetings:   o 10 gal Gott cooler with stainless or Phalse bottom

I tend to do a lot of step mashes, so my kettle doubles as a mash-tun, but a dedicated mash-tun would sure be nice.  I think I’d just insulate a keg with a couple wraps of hot-water tank insulation and that metallic tape.   o the tap-a-draft or Phil’s philler/mini-keg and defer the large expense for kegging equipment

Hmmmm…the expense for kegging doesn’t seem to be that much.  Maybe I’m missing something.  The extra fridge or chest freezer seems to be the lions share of the expense.  Luckily, my workbuddies bought me one as wedding present.  Still, I’ll look into Phil’s stuff.  Thanks for the recommendation.   o If you are thinking about getting more carboys think about a conical instead

See the "conical worries" thread.  Most of the folk were pretty slanted against conicals.  That’s what lead me to ask about other pieces of equipment.  But I’d still like a conical.  Someday.   o do you have a wort chiller?  If not then make or buy one

Yes I do.  Forgot that one.  I am thinking about making a pre-cooling coil for my immersion chiller.  I feel horribly guilty just watching 10s of gallons of cold water go down the drain. Thanks for the ideas.  My brain is warming up now.                                       Mark A. Fox

Response:

With your set up, I’d upgrade in this order: 1.  Wort Chiller.  Make or buy one.  I prefer immersion chillers, others prefer counter flow.  I like the immersion for ease in building your own, and less places for bacteria, etc., to contaminate your wort. 2.  Gott cooler Mash/lauter tun with SS false bottom.  Get at least a 10 gallon.  You WILL use it. 3.  Gott cooler Hot Liquor Tank.  Again, 10 gallon. 4.  Hi temp pump.  Makes moving liquids a lot easier. 5.  Corny kegging set up.  Depending upon how much you brew, you may need to move this up the list! 6.  Grain mill.  No comments…. no war wanted! 7.  Yeast culturing gear.  Great way to save bucks, and it’s a natural extension of this hobby. Enjoy, and let us know what direction you take, Mike

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Greetings: I’m an all grainer with the basic equipment:   40 qt aluminum kettle   A cajun cooker burner   Nested bucket lauter-tun   Couple of 19 qt SS pots (For sparge water and other stuff.)   An assortment of racking canes and hoses (and auto-siphons!)   Bucket and three carboys (1 26L and 2 23L) for fermenting/aging   A capper I will soon have the space to upgrade my equipment.  I’m wondering what recommendations people would have to maximise my return in brewing enjoyment.  My choices seem to be to start kegging my beers or start modifying my brew-day equipment by converting some 1/2 barrel kegs I’ve got sitting around. My thoughts:  I’ll probably upgrade the lauter-tun and start kegging right away. Maybe somebody has some advice for myself and any other all grainers with equipment envy.                                      Mark A. Fox

Response:

Since you’ve got the fridge, I’d go for the kegging equipment first thing. Bottling is great if you’re entering competitions but kegging will free up a lot of time.  Get the kegs at www.rcbequip.com .  NAYYY Next, I’d put a spigot on that 40 qt pot with a bazooka screen or some other type of strainer/FB.  I always hated having to rack from the kettle.  It can double as a mash tun too. If you really hate using that much water, go with a counter-flow chiller. Combined with a pump, I can drain 10 gallons in 10 minutes down to under 70