So I just bought a place with plenty of space to start all grain brewing. I have read a lot of articles and looked at many different set ups but want to know what I would need for the basics. As much as I would like something badass and tricked out I just want something that will allow me more control of my beer.
I have been brewing extract with specialty grains in my apartment for almost a year now and while the beer taste great I would like to take the next step into this obsession.
Even if you just show me a link to a good site with information or your own set up that would be awesome. And about how much do you think it would cost to get a “starter” set up that I can upgrade easily?
start looking for sanke kegs, to make keggles. a counterflow chiller is pretty easy to make and easier to purchase premade. ball valves. make a manifold or false bottom for a cooler. false bottom for boil kettle is preferable. decide if you want to use gravity or pump(s). do some google searching for ideas
So it looks like I will be doing the “Cheap n Easy” System. I have a 6 gallon brew pot but was thinking of going bigger. Is it worth it to do all grain batches at 5 gallons. I was thinking I could do 10 gallons of wort and use two different yeast strains to make some different beers. Now my question is stainless steel pot or aluminium?
I love this mash tun from homebrewstuff.com. It’s 15 gal but they make them in 5 and 10. It’s got these snap and fit system that is so easy. I get 85% efficiency with it too. Btw I don’t work for them; I just think this works better than my homemade tun and a steel one I have.
I use an 8 gallon kettle to make 5.5 gallon batches and a 5 gallon kettle to just squeeze in a 3.25 gallon batch. So, I think you could probably get away with making up to about a 4-4.25 gallon batch with a 6 gallon kettle.
Denny’s site (from suggestions above) is a great place to start. I got a cheap 48qt rectangular (Blue!) cooler off Craigslist and turned it into a mash tun. You can Google home made mash tun and find several ways to put one together. I decided to do 3 gallon batches, which allowed to me brew in the kitchen and use equipment that I already had from extract batches. This will allow you to start cheap and get your process down before you start building your system will all the cool shiny toys…then again, I’m still doing 3 gallon batches on my stove with my original cheap set up.
Either SS or AL is fine. For the first several years I did AG, I used the 7.5 gal. AL pot that came with my turkey fryer. It was just barely big enough for a 5 gal. batch if I added a bit of top off water after the boil. I still use it for heating mash and sparge water (you can see it in the photo on my website). Keep in mind that if you do larger batches, the mash and boil are just part of the issue. You need a way to maintain fermentation temp control for 2 5 gal. batches at once, too. That’s the main reason I almost always do 5 gal. at a time, not 10.
+1 to that! Think it all the way through. After 5 years I still pretty much use the same basic equipment you see on Denny’s site.
Fermentation temp is the key to the whole shebang. You won’t make good beer without it. So it doesn’t matter if you can brew a huge batch with fancy overkill equipment.
Buy a fridge or freezer and controller first if you don’t have solid fermentation control.
I have been all grain brewing for about a year now and for me simple and cheep works best. Dennys site has some good info for that approach. I brew in the line of 5 to 6 gallon batches and only use a rubber maid 48 qt. cooler with a short piece of 3/8 inch copper tube with slots cut in it and capped off at one end with an old racking cane end as a mash turn ( very easy to clean) . Once I get the mash done I can just slip in my makeshift manifold and batch sparge. An 8 gallon stainless pot I picked up from walmart cheep and a 7 gallon turkey fryer to boil with and a home made submersion chiller. ( total cost about $60.00) Being as I batch sparge the cooler is plenty big enough for around 14 lbs of grain so long as you single step the mash. Like others have said fermentation temp is the key to good beer so I would say invest in a used fridge and a temp controller would be a big plus. Also I would think of how big do you want to go. If you are dreaming of 10 gallon batches than by a system that will handle it up front or your just going to be spending more money down the line to get to where you want to be. You can always brew a 5 gallon batch in a 10 gallon system but you can’t go the other way around. Control comes with time and experience not so much equipment but it helps.
it is as simple as a cooler and a kettle. i have a braid set up for a big cooler but only brew 2gallon batches. yes it is still worth doing all grain. i mash in an igloo 5 gallon cooler with my grain in a bag that i just lift out and let drain. if i am brewing bigger i will use my braid and bigger cooler. plain ol kettle. nothing else is needed to get started. in fact. if you wait until you have all the big keggles and fancy stuff you mill miss plenty of brewing days to actually practice and brew with. just go.
If you spend a little more time and money on your mash tun by making a nice manifold that disassembles easily, you’ll be way ahead of the game, in my opinion. You’ll also be setup to fly sparge if you’re wanting to squeeze out a few extra efficiency points.
I’ve seen all types of systems. This is just my opinion: really, really try to resist the siren call of the sexy “pimp my system” rigs like the Brutus 10 and SABCO systems. Yes, hardware looks great, but your goal should be making good beer. And the easiest and most economical way to do it is to use a rectangular cooler as your MLT. Over time, and as you get older, you’ll also appreciate how much easier it is to transport smaller/light-weight/modular components instead of three 15.5 gal SS keggles and 200+ lbs brew rigs. IME, the best beers have often been brewed by guys with really simple systems. Focus on the process (cleaning, sanitation, fresh ingredients, water profiles, pH, mash temps, yeast starter, fermentation temps) and not the equipment.
If you want to build up over time, start off by doing extract with full boils. Get a 10 gallon pot, ball valve, burner, and chiller. Then add a mash tun a little later.
+1 for fermentation temp control. My best (award winning) beers have come from wort produced with a Gott Cooler, an aluminum pot (that doesn’t even have a valve), and a focused, practical, RDWHAHB mindset.
The trick was the two stage controller with a chest freezer and heat belt. There are plenty of good threads to explain the specifics - but the money spent on these items yielded SIGNIFICANTLY more return than any pump, pot, or shiny automatic widget (and this coming from a Controls Engineer!).
I made my own immersion chiller from 1/2" copper when I started going > 5 gal batches - 'bout as fancy as I get.
Thanks for all the info guys! I have been brewing a little while with extract and grains. Just moving into a place with more room for me to store my equipment. I use a bucket of water right now to keep fermentation temps constent. It works for now. The place I am moving into will have an extra full size fridge and my girlfriend has said it’s dedicated to beer and drinks. So I have that to play with.
But after reading I will stick to 5 gallon batches but will upgrade to a bigger pot to go full boil. And I will pick up a cooler for mashing. One thing I want to get though is a turkey fryer and brew outside. Anyone have useful info about those? I’ve seen them at the LHBS but don’t know about pricing on those.
I can’t wait to finally get some money saved up to start brewing all grain and have full control over my beer.