I am curious as to what systems are used and how, i know there are many different types of systems and equipment for those systems and just want to understand more or whats out there.
I have a brewers best kit which includes, a 5 gal. fermenting bucket, 6 gal. Carboy, 5 gal. Bottling bucket, came with the standard siphoning hose and bottling hose as well as an airlock, paddle, and cleaning equipment, i use a large stainless steel stock pot for starting and boiling my wort. I have been looking for a wort chiller at my local supply store but somebody keeps beating me to it so i chill in an ice bath for now.
What are you interested in? All grain, partial mash, or extract? Batch size? Electric or propane? 120v or 240v? Indoor or outdoor? Brew in a bag (BIAB) /other single vessel system/ 2 vessel/ 3 vessel?
It’s a choose your own adventure! Help us understand what direction you think you want to go and what your limitations are and we give you our opinions from there.
+1. Just recently cooled my second batch with my new Jaded and I second previous posts on performance. It’s a bit pricey, but you get what you pay for with this hobby and wort cooling is an important step in the process.
Well i didnt even know there was that many so definitely a lot for me to look into and see where i might want to go from here, for now my system and what i have works for me but i know eventually i might want to start experimenting with others so thank you
After many years and many changes I’ve settled on electric BIAB as the simplest way for me to brew. For now I use a commercial 240v induction cooktop, a 20 gal stainless kettle, and bags from wilserbrewer and I’m happy with it. I’ll likely add a hot rod heat stick from brew hardware or add elements to my kettle and buy a controller at some point. I really like the idea of the all in one setups like the grainfather (lil pricey but great quality), robobrew, the anvil foundry, or the mash & boil, especially for smaller batches and to brew at club events.
I did no sparge in a cooler lined with a BIAB for years. I recently got a Foundry because an all in one electric system has always appealed to me and the Foundry was at the right price point for me.
I have my eye on Jaded’s keg immersion chiller, but I’m leery about copper instead of stainless when it comes to potential for oxidation.
How do you like the Foundry system? And why are you worried about copper? It’s my understanding that copper in your system is a GOOD thing as it adds minerals that contribute to healthy yeast. Copper has been used in brewing for centuries [emoji848]
I’m also considering the Foundry and would love to know your opinion after actually using it.
And, I thought some copper in your system was good for yeast health. Did I miss something? (Not that that wojld be too surprising.) 8^)
Regarding copper, it can lead to oxidation. Copper tends to fall out in the trub during the boil, but I have some concerns about post boil contact. I’m not 100% sold that it’s an issue, but I don’t feel like rolling the dice given the price of Jaded’s chillers and my excessive hop utilization.
Regarding the Foundry, I like it overall, and it’s certainly worth the very reasonable price. I got it to simplify my brew day, so I intentionally omitted getting a recirc kit. That said, I would highly recommend recirculation. The PID is really slow, so if you don’t recirculate you will overshoot your temps on the bottom of the kettle since it takes quite a while with the temperature reading to get caught up with the heating element. That said, with some patience, a lower power setting, and some gentle stirring, you can hit and maintain your temps well. One other small annoyance is that the arms on the included chiller aren’t long enough for the chiller to reach the bottom of the kettle.Those are really my only complaints. It is well built, and it heats more quickly than I expected at 110V. I never realized how much I needed a rotating pickup tube until I had one. And if COVID-19 keeps rolling, I might invest in the condenser to make my own craft hand sanitizer.