Upgrading Equipment vs Learning Your System

[theprofessor]

@denny

Years ago I came to the conclusion that the brewer makes the beer, the equipment doesn’t.  That’s not to diss anyone who ises a fancy system.  That’s a personal preference, not a requirement for good beer.  After all these years and all these brews (somebody cue “Still Crazy After All These Years”!), I’m still happy with my incredibly down scale Cheap’n’Easy system.  It fits my style of brewing, I make good beer and I have fun doing it.  Those should be the considerations.

I’m with Denny on this, 1000%.
The only upgrades to my ‘system’ were after I already had 15 years of brewing behind me:  so around 26 years ago I decided to ramp the hobby up a bit and  I built a very simple 3000watt electric ‘keggle’ (simple, as in just on/off, no fancy controls); I also bought a 5 gal Gott/Rubbermaid  cooler for mashing to replace the bucket I was using, and I started using a counterflow wort chiller.  Fortunately, I’ve always been a lunatic  about sanitation.
I’ve only just in the past year replaced the cooler with a new one (of the same type), and at some point soon will add a 10 gal one.  Other than that, I’ve essentially  been brewing on the same ‘system’ since 1986.  I know exactly  what to expect from it and get great results…certainly on par with or better than my local micros are putting.

It’s definitely a ‘ghetto’ system without a doubt, and it’s certainly more ‘hands on’ than an automated system would be, but I couldn’t even imagine changing the setup now, since it has, for so long, consistently delivered what I want.

[mpietropaoli]

Some things you NEED decent gear for.  My answer would be to learn your system, but also learn what those critical components are and could benefit from either monetary or time investment if u are particularly handy.  In this order:

-Chest freezer/temp controller
-blichmann top tier burner
-stir plate
-kegging

Are all great brewing investments, with the first being out to a HUGE lead, and the second helping the most with beer made:time spent brewing ratio (my BIAB brew days are down to 4 hours, cleaned and on the couch with a coldie).

[denny]

@ckpash88

Upgrading can be fun though. I get quite a bit of satisfaction from building and working things out but changing things or the sake of changing things is pointless.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That’s kinda what I meant about having a system that fits your style.  I HATE building equipment and making changes.  I’d rather spend the time brewing.

[safi]

thanks everyone i love reading this thread and getting advice from the experienced brewers!

[jrdunne (Joe Sr.)]

@denny

I HATE building equipment and making changes.  I’d rather spend the time brewing.

I really like building things, and I’ve bought a lot of parts to build a lot of things (hop spider, for one).

But I also don’t like making changes and would rather spend the time brewing.

So I have lots of parts for things I will likely never build.

[mmitchem]

@denny

I HATE building equipment and making changes.  I’d rather spend the time brewing.

EXACTLY. If you know what is going to work for you and allows you to have a good time while making beer - make it happen and stick to it.

All the equipment upgrades and extras will not make up for poor brewing and fermenting practices. Master those things before wrangling a whole new set of obstacles. I would never buy anything with the hope of fixing the faults in my process.

[redbeerman]

@mmitchem

@denny

I HATE building equipment and making changes.  I’d rather spend the time brewing.

EXACTLY. If you know what is going to work for you and allows you to have a good time while making beer - make it happen and stick to it.

All the equipment upgrades and extras will not make up for poor brewing and fermenting practices. Master those things before wrangling a whole new set of obstacles. I would never buy anything with the hope of fixing the faults in my process.

I agree 100%.  Get the process working for you first.  Must understand the basics of brewing good beer before screwing it up with additional equipment.

[dcbc]

Just to pile on to what others have said, but with my own experience.  Get to know your brew day.  All of our home breweries are differently situated.  Once you have yeast management and fermentation temp control nailed down, if you feel the need to make changes, do it with the idea of improving the process, i.e., make it easier and shorter.  Like Denny, I don’t really enjoy building brew stands as much as I like brewing.  That’s why I started off by copying his system.  Over time, I made adjustments to suit me.  But ultimately, I wanted a rig I could automate.  So given my desire not to spend a year building it, I had someone build it for me.  Because I don’t like messing with wiring control panels, I saved up for a pair of the Blichmann TOP controllers.  I did some of the little things, but left the heavy lifting to the experts.  All of this doesn’t necessarily make the beer better.  The improvements in the result is probably a bit of a coincidence coupled with the fact that I have been doing this for a while.  But having a system that holds the mash within 0.5 degrees of what I tell it to without my running around with pots of boiling water or standing and stirring to get that strike water temp just right as it drops from the preheated temp doesn’t hurt.  I don’t miss that extra effort.  I get just as big of a thrill out of watching the machine ramp up temperatures.  But everyone is different.  And no system is perfect for every brewer.

Every major change to my brewing setup took about two batches to get dialed in.

[redbeerman]

@dcbc

Just to pile on to what others have said, but with my own experience.  Get to know your brew day.  All of our home breweries are differently situated.  Once you have yeast management and fermentation temp control nailed down, if you feel the need to make changes, do it with the idea of improving the process, i.e., make it easier and shorter.  Like Denny, I don’t really enjoy building brew stands as much as I like brewing.  That’s why I started off by copying his system.  Over time, I made adjustments to suit me.  But ultimately, I wanted a rig I could automate.  So given my desire not to spend a year building it, I had someone build it for me.  Because I don’t like messing with wiring control panels, I saved up for a pair of the Blichmann TOP controllers.  I did some of the little things, but left the heavy lifting to the experts.  All of this doesn’t necessarily make the beer better.  The improvements in the result is probably a bit of a coincidence coupled with the fact that I have been doing this for a while.  But having a system that holds the mash within 0.5 degrees of what I tell it to without my running around with pots of boiling water or standing and stirring to get that strike water temp just right as it drops from the preheated temp doesn’t hurt.  I don’t miss that extra effort.  I get just as big of a thrill out of watching the machine ramp up temperatures.  But everyone is different.  And no system is perfect for every brewer.

Every major change to my brewing setup took about two batches to get dialed in.

Amen to that!

[davidgzach]

To the OP-pehlman, what is your current set-up?  I don’t think I saw it in the thread.  BIAB, extract, partial mash, all-grain?  And if all-grain, what equipment do you currently have?  As you can tell, there is a lot of advice to be had on this topic, but I’d like to know where you are now and what you are contemplating.  If this is in the thread, just point me backwards.

To safi-I’m assuming you are making an extract brew for your first beer?  Or are you diving in to all-grain?  I would make an extract as my first brew, maybe even a kit, and get through the process once before trying anything fancy.  As has been said, make sure to follow the instructions as best you can, pitch the appropriate amount of yeast in well aerated wort and enjoy the results of making your first brew.  Then make small improvements from there.

Happy brewing!  And rely heavily on the forum.  It’s a great place to learn.

Dave

[alcaponejunior]

@euge

The most valuable upgrades were my two chest-freezers, a digital Ranco and a Johnson analog controller. I would implore anyone without the elusive “year-round cool spot” (does it really exist?) that can do ales and lagers perfectly to make these their first major capital outlay. Not a bigger kettle, large burner, pump or brew sculpture. Not a kegging system. Controlling your fermentation temps will be the single most important thing one can do to improve and achieve consistency in the finished product. Without ferm control everything else goes out the window.

I just picked up a chest freezer and a Johnson controller.  Will probably wind up being the single best investment I could make into my beer ($250 or so for both, brand new).  Since I’m now in TX, it’s basically a MUST have setup to do beer at all, because it’s way too hot here in the summer to brew without some form of temp control.

[dcbc]

@alcaponejunior

@euge

The most valuable upgrades were my two chest-freezers, a digital Ranco and a Johnson analog controller. I would implore anyone without the elusive “year-round cool spot” (does it really exist?) that can do ales and lagers perfectly to make these their first major capital outlay. Not a bigger kettle, large burner, pump or brew sculpture. Not a kegging system. Controlling your fermentation temps will be the single most important thing one can do to improve and achieve consistency in the finished product. Without ferm control everything else goes out the window.

Ain’t that the truth.  Where in Texas are you?
I just picked up a chest freezer and a Johnson controller.  Will probably wind up being the single best investment I could make into my beer ($250 or so for both, brand new).  Since I’m now in TX, it’s basically a MUST have setup to do beer at all, because it’s way too hot here in the summer to brew without some form of temp control.