I posted this on another forum, but I know there are some folks here that are not there who’s opinion I respect and would like to see what their take is. Read on. LOL
I like to watch Youtube Vids on how to do different things. Auto mechanic stuff, guitar tutorials and beer making. What I find interesting on beer making is the vast variety of equipment used and the complexity of some of the setups. I guess I am a simpleton at heart. As I watch these videos I am left wondering, am I missing out on something? Does spending hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars produce better beer? I have been really happy with what I have made so far. And am in no way a pro, or even a novice yet. But, I see all these fancy setups with all in one mash, boil and sparge capabilities, I see these fermenters that will allow you to ferment under pressure and dry hop without removing the lid. As I said, I am a pretty simple guy at heart and love the idea of doing things very hands on. But, again, do these fancy setups really produce better beer? I only post this as a point of discussion, not to get into a pissing match against different setups or different brands of setups. So, with that said, discuss. LOL
Does owning a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 make you a better driver? No! Seriously though, the short answer is yes and no. Certain equipment and certain processes will and does make better beer. With that said, if your recipe sucks then chances are good the final product will also suck. I made great beer with 2 Gott coolers a keggle and 6 gallon carboys.
Some folks are into bling and/or automation. Or they are “Tim Taylor” and need to have more and more power.
Do they automagically make better beer? I don’t think so.
I mash/sparge in a Coleman cooler, boil in a, cheap by today’s prices, stainless steel pot and ferment in carboys. I, my wife, son and our friends like my beer. Good enough for me.
I used the “extra” money to help pay for my 4 kid’s college.
Being an individual who purchased a fully electric system a few years back and moved everything to the basement, I freely admit that I didn’t need to spend the money. However, living in MN it’s offered me the chance to brew in a good environment year round. Did I take it a little too far with my brewing room? Absolutely. Is it a great place to escape and relieve the stress of work and every day life? Definitely.
In the end I have come to the thought that the most costly part of brewing is time and unfortunately between my career (periodic travel), wife, two grown sons, and a few other hobbies there is never enough time to brew.
I like the idea of making beer with a simple setup. I am a strange “brewer” because building things and having a cool brewing setup does not appeal to me. I found out years ago that if I could buy a wort chiller for $50 but other brewers could build one with parts that cost $39 … most will buy the parts and build it themselves. So in some cases, the really complex brewing systems aren’t necessary but that particular brewer gets a lot of mileage out of it because he likes to tinker. The recipe and the process needs to be solid and the ingredients need to be fresh. Fermentation schedules need to be followed, etc. More complex systems may make it easier to do some things which is always good but rarely necessary.
Awesome responses. Thanks all. It was just kinda an observation that I made as I was watching these vids. There seems to be a wide range of brewers, but if the beer is good to you, then it is all good. I enjoy the time spend making it, I enjoy the time spent drinking it, and my friends seem to enjoy it as well. All good stuff, thanks for the input. Any and all input is welcome to further the discussion.
A solid recipe, quality ingredients and good process are the keys to making great beer. You can spend all you want on fancy equipment but, without these key components, your beer won’t be great.
That said, different people have different reasons for the equipment choices they make. I went to an electric all-in-one system to avoid weather extremes here in the high desert. These old bones can’t take the cold anymore and very little effort leaves me short of breath, especially when it’s hot. Now I brew in the comfort of our kitchen. I’ve also gotten to the point that I have trouble lifting full kegs into my keezer so went with a pressure capable fermenter to facilitate pressure transfers. Neither are fancy nor expensive, but both get the job done a lot more painlessly.
While there are folks who have a thing for bling. If that’s what floats their boats and it fits their budgets, more power to them. Can they make great beer? Yes, but the keys are the same as they are with the simplest setups.
I think there is correlation of some equipment to better beer while other pieces of equipment fall into the nice to have category.
An example of two pieces of equipment that I believe helps me make better beer is a very specific length thermowell I installed on my fermenter lid coupled with the temp controller I use to power my fermentation fridge. These pieces allow me to control the liquid temp +/- 2°F of the set point which I think makes better beer. I don’t recall what I paid for these items but I imagine they would be considered overpriced to an outsider.
An example of nice to have would be a power switch I paid north of $150 for. At first glance the price seems high for a simple switch. However, it keeps me from moving the dryer, unplugging it, plugging in my induction cooktop, moving the dryer back, brewing, moving the dryer, unplugging the induction cooktop, plugging in the dryer, and moving the dryer back. Even though it’s overpriced, it’s worth every penny to me.
In every hobby there are the maximalists that have all the latest and greatest equipment and there are the minimalists who pride themselves on operating at a high level on a shoestring. There’s room for both — whatever floats their boat.
I can only speak for myself. In most things, I am motivated by ease of use and cleanup. I have a low PITA tolerance so I’ll spend money to make life easier. I’ll spring for a technology or piece of hardware to solve a problem but once those problems are solved I get content with what I have. This creates a sort of evolutionary process where I use equipment for a while and realize there’s an easier way. I’ve used the same kettle, mash tun, fermenter, kegs, etc for years, but some equipment has been set aside as a new solution is adopted (e.g. I moved from RIMS to HERMS).
The Jul/Aug Zymurgy has an article about a triangle test between a recipe brewed on very basic equipment and on an all-in-one setup. 9 of the 19 tasters rated the basic equipment batch equal to or better than the batch brewed on the fancy rig.
Why do you think we wrote Simple Homebrewing? It’s not a beginner’s book as the title might imply. It’s for advanced brewers to help them concentrate on what really matters.
We’ve all seen some setups that are VERY complex and expensive. Lots of stainless, lots of expensive plumbing, screens all over the place monitoring various things, etc. My guess is the brewer has an interest in having their equipment look as though it’s in a commercial brewery. Maybe they think it looks impressive to the outsider. Maybe even intimidating. Nothing necessarily wrong with that but I generally brew alone … no one is around to see how the beer is made. What matters to me is the beer itself and the people with me when I’m drinking it. I invested the money in the “pub” area of my house because that’s where the people are and where the beer-drinking is. Believe me, if I found my beer to be disappointing and the only way to fix it was with a sophisticated piece of equipment, I would be looking into it.
I have a pretty tricked out setup. It doesn’t make better beer than my old cooler and converted keg setup, but it does make brewing easier and therefore more enjoyable.
There is a balance between cost, ease of use, space, utility and the types of beers you brew. I don’t think you need a fancy system to brew but I can understand why some people want them or find utility in them–especially when they brew large batches.
Some techniques can produce better beer but don’t necessarily require expensive equipment. I believe there can be benefits to fermenting under pressure and moving beer with minimal oxygen exposure but that can be done with easy modifications to corny kegs as well as much more expensive systems.
Some processes are difficult on expensive equipment that isn’t designed for those purposes. Like trying to turbid mash on many of the big expensive homebrew systems–or even the cheaper all in one systems–is unwieldy at best.
As long as your equipment functions the way it is supposed to for the kind of beers you brew, IMO you’ll get better mileage and brew better beer learning how to excel on the equipment you have than constantly upgrading looking for the perfect equipment.
Something to consider – earlier in my homebrew journey, I avoided trying new techniques (esp. all-grain) because the most visible messaging was that you needed a massive garage, 15 burners, and a 7 figure income to get the “right” setup. I exaggerate slightly, but I think many of you know what I mean. A big tricked-out rig is awesome, but as so many have already said, it’s not necessary. I do worry that the unintentional messaging around our hobby may turn off or turn away some great potential brewers. This is why I’m so glad to see the small-batch brewing subset, all-in-one-systems, and other innovations that create more ways to brew excellent beer. Visibility for a diverse set of brewing techniques will ensure a broader set of brewers.
For my part, once I discovered batch sparging, I learned that all-grain was way more accessible of a technique than I had thought.
I brewed with extracts for an unbelievable FIVE years. I started brewing at a brew-on-premise that used LME so I thought it was a perfectly acceptable way to make beer. Eventually I did get into all-grain and I like the process and the creativity. My setup is super simple. Cylinder-shaped cooler, 10-gallon Polarware pot, 25’ stainless chiller. 10 kegs. Four taps. Speaking of creativity … designing a recipe can be an expression of creativity. Making labels, setting up a space to tap and drink beer, coming up with catchy names for your beer. The design of your brewing system is the same. If you were a person with a real passion for building a huge stainless brewing system in a corner of your basement (or whatever), that’s going to be a motivating factor for sure. Same with a draft system. It’s one of the sweet parts of this hobby … lots of variables. Spend time brewing with another brewer and I guarantee you’ll see some things that you’ve probably never seen before.
Check out Homebrew All Stars. We profile 25 great homeberewers and look at the equipment and processes we use. Makes clear that there are many ways to make great beer.
I started brewing in those days when the overwhelming message was that you would want to do ten gallon batches minimum but you should plan to brew fifteen or twenty gallon batches because you’ll eventually get there and need a significantly larger system. The idea of brewing 1-3 gallon batches was considered a waste of time at best and not considered real brewing by a lot of people. I’ve been brewing for fourteen years and my biggest batch ever was six gallons. I’ve brewed more one gallon batches than any other size and most of my brewing now is just three gallons.
Thankfully we got away from that message being so loud in the community. As homebrewing swelled in the mid-2010s it came with a lot of apartment brewers with no room for that kind of system and no need for twenty gallon batches. Even though I don’t personally like BIAB, it was a huge part of opening the door to brewing for people who wanted smaller batches and lack storage space for a lot of equipment. The hobby is big enough to share space with people brewing on large and luxurious systems alongside people who brew small batches stovetop.
I’ve been brewing since 1999 and my number of batches per year is anywhere from 35 up to about 50 at my peak. So if I brewed an average of 40 batches per year (ish) for 24 years that’s 960 batches of beer. I have never brewed anything other than a five gallon batch.
