I really want to get serious about home brewing so would anyone be able to give me advice on equipment that would make life easier? I use regular 1 gallon pots on an electric stovetop. A Mercury thermometer, a 1 gallon growler that I "try" to ferment in. I know I need something to measure density to find an ABV but idk what else. I feel like this could be a much quicker less mess process with the right stuff. Siphoning is especially the worst let alone constantly fucking with that electric burner during mash and boil. I have so many ideas I think would work into beer that I've yet to see so I'm dying to do it myself. If I need to build a wooden stand or whatever I have the skill and resource to do that too. I'd prefer it to be brewed outside most of the time when it's nice out. Thanks a lot.
You are making 1-gallon all-grain batches? That doesn't seem worth your time. Step up to 5 gallon batches. Easiest upgrade would be to do partial-boil extract recipes on your stove (you boil say 3 gallons of concentrated wort and top up with sterile water). You'd need a 5 gallon pot, plus the basics in a kit like this, or similar from your Local shop: http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/beer-equipment-starter-kits/essential-brewing-starter-kit Or you can get a 10 gallon pot (to boil 5-6 gallons) and propane burner to move your brewing outside.
@Urk1127, if you can provide more details on what your goals are we can be of more help. For example, are you looking to make bigger batches (e.g., 5 gallon). Are you considering extract brewing or only all-grain. Etc. Cheers!
If that auto siphon means no more crud in my mouth from siphoning that way, then I am so happy. Thanks. Yea I was doing all grain the most difficult part for me was keeping a constant temp on mash n boil and siphon. And doing my own recipes I needed to find that abv
Looking to do my own recipes in stead of pre made ones. And brew in the yard because the kitchen is too small for a setup any larger than my current. All grain or extract either way doesn't matter to me. I'm looking to do bigger batches, make my mash and boil easier temp wise instead of hanging a mercury filled thermometer in the pot and the siphoning from fermenter to bottles. Thanks.
Formulating recipes is knowledge based vs. equipment based. Two books I would recommend here is Designing Great Beer and Brewing Classic Styles. I would recommend a 5 gallon brewing kit. If you have an LHBS you like I would recommend buying there. There are online versions like: http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/beer-equipment-starter-kits/essential-brewing-starter-kit If you want to continue the all grain route you want a mash tun which is constructed from a cooler (e.g., Igloo Cooler). You can construct one yourself with stuff from a hardware store or purchase one: http://www.northernbrewer.com/fermenters-favorites-cooler-mash-lauter-tun An option is to purchase a bottling bucket with a spigot to 'aid' the bottling process. You will still need to siphon from the fermenter to the bottling bucket. Maybe an auto-siphon will be the 'trick' for you? If you go to an LHBS they could set you up with a system that best meets your specific needs/desires. Cheers!
Holy shit. thanks a lot. Im going for it this spring and hopefully i have a brew system set up in my yard by April. Cheers.
If you haven't already, read the free online version of How to Brew, or buy the book http://www.howtobrew.com/
FWIW I have heard a lot of good things about Love2Brew. They have 2 locations in North Jersey and they seem to have a robust online business as well. Paging @OddNotion? http://www.love2brew.com/ Cheers!
@Urk1127 when I did small scale mashes I put my mash tun in the oven on its lowest setting once I hit my desired mash temp.
Oh ok lol. I was thinking i need to buy an exact temp digital burner. But buying one big enough for a 5 gallon would be tough if they even exist. So i guess that's where brewers skill comes in then haha.
Now I have a 15 gallon keggle converted as a mash tun. Before it was direct fire I used blankets to insulate it. I would recommend shadowing someone a couple times and seeing what their process looks like and use the processes that works for you.
before you buy anything, read How to Brew at the link above or buy the hard copy from Amazon, it is well worth it.
Love2Brew is my go to homebrew store, they probably get 90-95% of my business. The two owners are very knowledgeable and they have a great selection and prices. I see it almost every time I am in there that they will bend over backwards for the customer and will do everything that they can to help new brewers out. I only go to the location in North Brunswick as it is much closer to where I live so I can not speak for the newer one in Paterson. Though I see in another post that you are around Exit 58 so this place would not be local to you at all, but I would definitely say its worth the trip if you have the time. If you are getting serious about brewing and will be stepping up to 5 gallon batches I would recommend at least a 10 gallon kettle for the boil and getting a propane burner. In my experience, regular kitchen electric stovetops will not get you very far with 5 gallon batches. Always go bigger with equipment than you originally think, I made the mistake of having a 5 gallon kettle (not nearly good enough), a 7.5 gallon kettle (still not enough room, especially with big beers), and now a 10 gallon kettle which is good for 5 gallon batches. So instead of 1 purchase, I have now made 3 (though I still do find uses for those kettles on brew day).
