Long time lurker, first time poster. I’ve been doing partial boil extract brewing and have been loving every second of it. I was hoping you guys could help me figure out what piece of equipment I needed next. I have a starter set from the LHBS (buckets, siphon, hydrometer, etc), a better bottle, a 3.5 and a 10 gal SS brew kettle from the father-in-law (a big homebrewer back in the day), and a solid inventory of kitchen equipment (the wife and I love to cook). I’m not planning on making the jump to AG yet and our condo has some tight space restrictions.
That being said, I’m not sure how to prioritize what I need next to continue making improvements to my home brews. I think a wort chiller could be next, but I think I would need submersible pump rig since I’m unable to attach anything to the kitchen faucet, so that’s going to be an additional cost. I was also thinking of a stir plate since I began harvesting yeast from previous batches and so I could increase the volume of yeast I’m pitching. Maybe a turkey frier to do full boils?
So I put it to the collective wisdom of the forums - What do I need next?
Every thing that you mentioned would be good to have. Turkey fryer, chiller, and pump would be good. Do you have outside hose bibs at the condo? You will be outside with a turkey fryer, and you could hook up to those and run the spent water into the grass or plants once it cools off.
Chillers are easy to make, consider that to save a $ or 2.
+1 on the turkey cooker. It can make a huge difference in your brew day, especially if you go all grain.
One thing I would recommend, if you don’t already have one, is a valve on you large kettle. I brewed for many years with just a kettle and siphoning the wort to the fermentor. A spigot on your kettle is a huge time saver.
Depending on the faucet, you can get adapters that would allow you to hook on a typical hose-bib threading. If not the kitchen (I know I can’t do it with our current kitchen facuet) maybe the bathroom?
I think a chiller is a very good next step. If not, what about aeration? You could get one of the aquarium pumps or go with disposable oxygen bottles.
Stir plates are so easy to make I wouldn’t buy one.
These would be my first two suggestions, especially since you mention space limitations. If you can’t get your fermentation temps down into the 60’s and have room for an extra fridge/freezer I would then go with something for temp control.
It definitely seems like the chiller might be taking the lead. Right now I’m cooling my wort with an ice bath in the sink. It works relatively well, but it still takes a while. The guys I brew with usually come over to my place, but I think one of their condos has an outdoor bib that we can hook up to. In the meantime though, I can get the pump so I can still use it when I brew solo.
Re: controlling fermentation temperatures - I usually put my primary in our second bathroom where it stays in the mid-60s. Would figuring out a way to control fermentation temperature have a greater affect on the final batch compared to the time needed to chill the wort down? And how big a fridge/freezer are we talking about that it would fit a primary?
I’ll probably add all of this to my toolkit eventually, so I’m really trying to figure out what should go first.
I use a 7ft^3 freezer, and I can fit two 6.5gal ale pails, or two 5gal carboys in it, plus a bit left over. A 5ft^3 would fit one easily, plus maybe a couple growlers. Keep in mind that the temp during fermentation is probably 4-7*F above whatever ambient is, so your “mid-60s” might actually be low-to-mid 70s. IMO proper fermentation is what makes or breaks beer, and having a bit of haze from not getting a good cold break can be remedied by cold crashing in your fancy new freezer.
In short yes, fermentation temperature control. I think every book I’ve read and every professional brewer I 've talked to have said the #1 piece of advice they give to improve ones beer is fermentation temperature control. Don’t get stuck with the idea that it must be a fridge/freezer though. There are some other options and great inventions that can suffice. Check ghetto chill in archives for instance. Also a temp contoller will also be required. I do love my wort chiller too though. My best advice would be , whatever you get be sure it will meet your needs for years to come
You could still go all grain and do 3 gallon batches which will still allow you to boil on your stove top. Perhaps a cooler mash tun would be all you need to get your 3 gallon all grain batches going.
Add my vote for the fermentation temp control. Not that I actually know what I’m talking about, but it’s really cool to have that digital controller hanging next to the freezer telling me the temp of my beer. 8)
Another reason to get the freezer is you can get your wort to a stable low temp (like 60F or whatever) before pitching. And it gives you the ability to do more types of beers.
If you buy new you’re looking at around $300 for the freezer plus temp controller.
I agree that fermentation temp control is the first thing to look at, but since you have a room that stays mid 60s I think you can get the temps you need by spending less than $10 to rig a swamp cooler in there.
A chiller or a burner would be good, but I’d get the chiller first - otherwise you are stuck with a big pot of hot liquid, outside, that is going to take even longer to chill.
A swamp cooler or a chest freezer with a temp controller would be my first choice. Controlling your fermentation is vitally important to making better beer.
I think this would get my vote. 3 gallon batches is the way I do it and I love it. Brew inside, brew more often, and more variety, less heavy lifting, etc. It’s great.
Other than that, fermentation temperature control is highly recommended, obviously. A condo probably won’t have room for a chest freezer. You could probably build some kind of fermentation chamber. Otherwise, a chiller is awesome to have, those can be easy to build I think.
Does anyone sell water beds anymore? The faucet adapter used to available at any store that sold water beds. If those places don’t exist anymore, Northern Brewer (as well as most other LHBS) has a brass version that works great.
Once again, thanks for all the suggestions. I brew with a couple of other guys and I think we’re now going to go in on a used fridge and store it at one of their houses. My next solo purchase is looking more like a wort chiller, but if I can find a small enough footprint for a fermentation chamber I may go in that direction for my solo batches.
The three gallon all grain batch may not be a bad way to go. I’ve only got about six extract batches with specialty grains under my belt though, and I’m a bit apprehensive about moving to AG until I feel like I have my sea legs.
I just noticed you’re in Chicago (I’m slow like that).
PM me if you like. I’m in Edgewater.
I have one of those faucet adapters somewhere that I no longer need, but it served me will in my old apartments. It’s yours if you can use it (and if I can find it).
I’ve got extra rare earth magnets if you want to take a shot at building a stir plate. Again, they’re yours if you want them. Google BYO’s article on this, it’s pretty easy. I can’t bring myself to part with any of my cigar boxes, but you can get those pretty easy.
I’ve also got an excess number of glass 5 gallon carboys and a variety of other odds and ends. I’m sure we could work something out on these. I keep moving them around because I can’t figure out what to do with them. But if your condo is tight on space you might not want my spare junk…
I did about three extract batches then moved to 3 gallon all grain batches. The method I use to do all grain is the batch sparge method similar to Denny’s method (dennybrew.com). Getting together the parts to make a mash tun cooler would be about all that you would need. I got a 48qt rectangular cooler off Craigslist for $10 and put together the rest of it for about another $40 (Stainless steel braid, ball valve, etc…). There is cheaper ways to do this also. When I took on all grain, I asked a lot of questions on this board and received some great advice that helped me produce some great beers!
When I ran a homebrew shop the biggest thing that people wanted/needed was a way to regulate fermentation temp as it is the hardest thing for homebrewers to control. a small chest freezer outfitted with a temp controller works for the summer, you can find something online for usually 50 bucks. as far as affecting your final product it is vital. and not only will you be able to hold your ferm temp but you can also use it to cold crash your beer just like the pros. A chiller is easy to make and usually cost about 30 bucks. 25’ of 1/4 or 3/8 tubing fifteen feet of tubing and a 3/4 hose to barb fitting is all you need.
