OT - Home Brew Wednesdays: Your Setup

Submitted by goblueram on

In case you missed last week's introduction (something happened and killed the thread) this is Home Brew Wednesday.  Of course we know that everyone loves beer, but it turns out a substantial number of folks on the blog have dabbled in home brewing.  If you are a brewer, or might be interested in trying it out then this is the spot for you.

First topic: Your Setup

Tell us everything about your brewing operation from start to finish (pictures are a plus).  I know there are some pretty impressive systems that people have built in their homes.  Sure you can buy ready-made equipment, but a lot of the fun is the DIY aspect.  If you have a question about building a setup, chances are someone else on the blog has been there and done that.

Cheers!

Laser Wolf

August 3rd, 2016 at 12:42 PM ^

Sorry to hijack the thread but I am an aspiring home brewer struggling to find a starting point. I've seen many starting equipment lists but most differ on opinion of what I actually need to get going. Is there an MGoBlog consensus starter kit?

chunkums

August 3rd, 2016 at 1:04 PM ^

I started with something like this and have been slowly upgrading over time (just got a Speidel fermenter last month). In the summer, a turkey fryer is great for boiling and getting the wort up to temperature and those often come with pots of their own. Otherwise, if you have a gas stove you can brew indoors. Some electrics don't get hot enough. You could probably start with the box sets of ingredients (Brewer's Best or your local homebrew's ingredients) and slowly work toward making your own recipes. 

Farmhouse Funk

August 3rd, 2016 at 1:23 PM ^

I started by purchasing the Northern brewer 5 gallon kit with the big mouth bubblers 6.5 and 5 gallon carboys. Kit was I think around $160. Gets you everything you need except bottles. comes with a choice of I believe 4 kits. 

Would recomend starting with extract kits, don't let anyone tell you that you can't make good beer using extract. This way you get the process of boil to finish down and get used to it. 

A big chunk of brewing is getting the process down and taking good notes.

Make sure to plan the time it can't be rushed. First 5 gallon extract from start to finish (cleanup) took something like 4 1/2 hours. I eventually got it down to just over 3.

Northern Brewer also has a really good forum for questions and concerns. Watch as many videios as possible. 

if possible find agood home brew shop nearby and get to know them they can answer many questions. I also joined a home brew club that has monthly meetings and events, also a great place for info.

Enjoy it will be addictive. I started July 15, once my second beer was in primary I purchased a kegarator. I just upgraded my equipment to all grain, have done 3 batches and each one made some mistakes but learning.

skurnie

August 3rd, 2016 at 2:17 PM ^

Exactly what I did 5-6 years ago. Northern Brewer is a great resource for material and instruction.

I'd also recommend talking to your local homebrew shop guys...nearly everyone I've encountered on the homebrew scene is really friendly and helpful, especially when you're starting out. 

Check out Craigslist for cheap used equipment, too. Lots of guys spend $500+ to get all set up and then realize they don't have the time, space, etc and dump it relatively cheap. 

goblueram

August 3rd, 2016 at 12:44 PM ^

I started from day 1 brewing all-grain (Brooklyn Brew starter kit, can’t recommend it enough).  Since then I’ve augmented my gear and built a system of my own, but not necessarily in a conventional fashion. 

Brew Day: I’ve got two cheap stainless steel pots (bought for under $10 online), that are 3 and 4 gallons each.  These end up servings as my mash tun, brew kettle, bottling bucket, sanitizer holder, and everything in between.  I mash in both pots (wrapped in blankets) using a brew bag.  Combine the two, big pot becomes the kettle and the boil is on.

Fermentation: I love the plastic carboys, I currently am using two 3-gallon carboys (picture is outdated) so I can have a couple batches going at once.  Stick em in an old kegerator and check the temp every once in a while.

Bottling:  I have been using exclusively Grolsch swing top bottles and have had no problems yet.  This gave me an excuse to drink a bunch of Grolsch, which is delicious.  I usually get 20 pints out of a batch, plus a bit in a tester plastic bottle for my own tasting purposes.

Drinking: Who has the patience to wait two weeks to try the beer?  I’m usually grabbing one after 5 days.  I’ve found they are carbing up quicker using table sugar instead of the pre-made drops, so I think that will be my go-to from now on.

Hemlock Philosopher

August 3rd, 2016 at 1:30 PM ^

Cold crash and then add gelatine. You can add one packet or a TSP in a cup of hot water (I raise to 175F, stir in gelatine and rest for 10 minutes to let the gelatine activate). Then pour into the cold beer (34-40F). Let sit for 2-4 days in the cooler, then keg. You will notice precipitated proteins at the bottom of the carboy.

Also, getting good cold break while chilling is a key element to clarity. Basically, cool the hot wort as fast as possible. 

reshp1

August 3rd, 2016 at 5:20 PM ^

I made a counterflow one out of garden hose, copper tubing, and a few plumbing fittings. It was surprisingly easy. Hardest part is you have to solder fittings to the copper tubing at the ends, as there aren't any off the shelf fittings screw on or compression fittings that seal the outside of the tubing, which is what you need to direct the coolant water away from the wort. It's shocking how well it works, wort goes in boiling hot and comes out colder than room temp if you're not careful. Water goes in cold and comes out very hot, which is great for clean-up.

mischill

August 3rd, 2016 at 4:49 PM ^

I've used gelatin with fantastic results on some occasions, but I don't know that I'll do it with hoppier beers anymore. They just don't have the aroma that dry hopping should have given it. I'd heard that it was a problem some people had, and after doing it a couple of times, I saw it in my beers as well. But everything outside of hop forward beers, I'd definitely agree to clarify with gelatin.




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scparksDPT

August 3rd, 2016 at 12:47 PM ^

I have a simple gravity fed system that is doing well for me right now. I'm batch sparging in an Coleman cool  and boiling in a keggle I got from AIH. Pretty solid set up that is hard to screw up with.

PB-J Time

August 3rd, 2016 at 12:56 PM ^

"system" seems extravagant for my setup. 5 gallon pot, 2 carboys, the second with a pour spout for bottling. Nothing fancy

Also, I know not the question asked, but who uses a shop vs. online? I was very disapointed to learn that my local shop will be closing. Much of this has to do with a personal situation for the owner, but poor business was the cheif reason. I was told that between many people leaving homebrewing to start production breweries and those left buying online business has dropped. Disapointing to lose a good small business, especially one that was (for me) far more convinient than online.

kbchex

August 3rd, 2016 at 1:12 PM ^

I live in Utah. A relative beer desert. You can't get a pint of beer that's more than 3.2%. Any beers over that level have to be purchased from the State liquor store, in bottles that or no larger than 32 ounces. You cannot purchase kegs. Stupid, belive me, I know.

Anyway, I started brewing back around the first of the year because I wanted real beer on tap, even if I had to do it myself. A friend help be build a keezer (coverted chest freezer) and I haven't looked back. 

Mostly I've been brewing using the ale extract kits from Nothern Brewer. I feel their kits include higher quality ingredient than I get locally. Also, if you get on their mailing list, you'll be alerted each time they have a sale, which is pretty frequently.

I use an 8 gallons kettle and a Camp Chef stove to brew out on my patio. I use 6 gallon glass carboys for primary and 5 gallon glass carboys for secondary. So far, so good. 

While I'm sure you can make better beer with the all grain method, those of you starting out should try extract brewing first to see if it's your jam. You may be suprised at the quality of beer that can be produced from extract given proper sanitation and patience. 

I'll post some pics later.

Thanks to OP for starting this thread. I hope it takes off!

chunkums

August 3rd, 2016 at 1:16 PM ^

I use a turkey fryer for the boiling, and that came with a stainless steel pot. I had been using 5-gallon buckets for fermentation and bottling, but recently got a Speidel fermenter after I started having oxidation issues (My understanding is that the seal starts to go on the plastic buckets). I'm very excited to give the Speidel its first try this weekend. The last few batches I did were BIAB, but were from specific recipes. This weekend I'm trying my first beer completely from scratch. Going with an American wheat with more of a piney hoppy flavor.  

So far I have done:

American Amber (Brewer's Best) - Failed my first batch ever. Probably had a contamination issue.

American Ale (Brewer's Best) - Meh, not bad.

Witbier (recipe from Grape and Granary) - Refreshing summer beer

Altbier (BIAB recipe from Northern Brewer) - First time we made this it was outstanding. Second time we left too much sediment and it had a strange aftertaste.

Oktoberfest (BIAB recipe from Northern Brewer) - Outstanding, but most of it is sitting in the closet until September.

Saison (BIAB recipe from Grape and Granary) - Absurdly refreshing.

 

Hoppy wheat (Recipe TBD)

 

 

 

Salinger

August 3rd, 2016 at 1:42 PM ^

Gravity fed HLT (switching this over to an 8 gallon aluminum kettle with ball valve - DIY drilling and installing valve) to a cooler Mash tun. Brew Pot on the bottom just got upgraded as well to a 10g Stainless with thermometer and ball valve (one of the less expensive deals on Amazon around Father's Day - Thanks to the MgoWife!!).

Best thing I have though is the sparge arm. It has significantly improved my efficiency and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in brewing all-grain. Also, make sure to sparge sllllllloooooooowwwwwww. It's okay if that process takes you an hour. Slower transfer should lead to more efficient beer.

Cheers and here's a picture of the brew that came out of this run:

That beer is an ESB. 6.43 abv so a little above the standard abv for the style, but very tasty.

 

Hemlock Philosopher

August 3rd, 2016 at 1:42 PM ^

In 2011, I had grown into a brewing fanatic, so I went in on the Electric Brewery system kit - which I built by hand. This is an all electric HERMS (Heat Exchange Recirculating Mash System), which can brew 12 gallons. It utilizes a control box, two pumps (Water and Wort), three 20-gallon Blichmann kettles, a counterfill chiller and two 14-gallon Blichmann conical fermenters a well as food-frade heat tolerant tubing.  

I live in Tampa, so chill water and proper fermentation temperatures are difficult to make and maintain, therefore, I am building a custom walk-in cooler using a CoolBot. It will have an ale room, 50F room (good for wine storage as well), and a 38F Lagering room. I am installing a 55-gallon rain barrel in the cold room that will be used as chill water reservoir. The exterior will have 7 taps (1 nitro) and look like the Tardis from Dr Who. I am about 2/3rds done with it and hope to have it on line for the start of Michigan Football. 

Salinger

August 3rd, 2016 at 1:50 PM ^

1. This sounds like a badass rig.

2. Pics or I don't believe you.

 

All kidding aside, how much does a setup like that cost!? I've been intrigued by the electric brewing method but A) I don't consider myself that crafty so would be afraid I'd blow myself up setting something like that up, 2) I've already invested a bunch of money in the propane rig, and D) I wouldn't know where to begin with a setup like that.

And a build your own walk-in cooler... that just sounds insanely expensive.

Hemlock Philosopher

August 3rd, 2016 at 2:03 PM ^

The cooler is fairly expensive as I am cutting no corners. A 90-degree garage is no place for happy fermentation. All-in-all I am looking at about $3,000 for that. The Electric Brewery system can be as low as $2,500 or as much as $5,000 depending on what volume you want and what peripherials you buy - pumps, hoses, kettles, fermenters, kitchen hood... Blichmann is top-of-the-line and I love it, but you can go with just about anything. 

Electrical work is easy ;-)

Here's the pic I posted of the set up last week. 

Some in-progress pics of the cooler. 

Nothsa

August 3rd, 2016 at 1:59 PM ^

I did 24 gallons of cider this year. Living in Michigan I find myself surrounded by great apples and sweet cider, and figured I'd try it out.

Of course this means I don't need to boil, though there is a nice malted, lightly hopped cider called graff. I made 9 gallons of the stuff this year. Beer people seem to prefer it over my straight cider, and I like it just fine. That requires under a gallon of wort for a three gallon batch. It is pretty straightforward to make using the usual pots and pans.

All this means I don't have really cool equipment, since basically I need to ferment and let the stuff sit around for months before kegging/bottling. Since I haul carboys from the basement to the kitchen and back, I only brew in 3-gallon batches. I have one 5-gallon glass carboy for primary and three three-gallon glass carboys. Unlike most beer brewing, I have to condition cider for months. That means filling those 3-gallon carboys nearly to the brim to avoid oxygen issues.

I brew straight-up dry cider, I also do add-ins (cranberry, rhubarb) to dry cider. I have a semi-dry that I serve from kegs (the ladies love that stuff), and I also make graff.

I do have a chest freezer in the basement with three three-gallon corny kegs, but I also bottle. So I have the usual autosiphons, funnels, and tubes.

Anyone in the Ann Arbor area (or elsewhere, since they have a significant online presence) should check out Adventures in Homebrewing in Dexter.

Farmhouse Funk

August 3rd, 2016 at 2:15 PM ^

I just moved to an electic all grain setup from extract brewing. I live in a condo so I need to brew inside.

HLT: 8 gallon Mega-pot 1.2

Mash Kettle: 11 gallon Bayou Classic with 240V heating element and recirculation for mash with a Blichmann auto-sparge.

Boil Kettle: 10 gallon Blichmann Boilmaker with 240V boil coil.

Tower of Power electic power controller. 2 Chugger pumps for transfer between kettles. 

Carboys: 6.5 Big mouth bubller for primary and 5 gallon big mouth bubbler for secondary.

I have a 2 keg kegarator. 

Setup:

 

Primary/Secondary/1 gallon:

Kegarator:

Zombie Dust clone fermentation and finished product:

mischill

August 3rd, 2016 at 4:44 PM ^

My setup varies. I've got a single burner, but I use an old kettle for a hot liquor tank, an igloo cooler for a mash tun, and a keggle for boiling. I have a chugged pump that I use to move liquids throughout everything. Occasionally I do a BIAB batch and just use the keggle. The pump makes everything so much easier and quicker. I've been brewing for many years, and that is something I wish I had gotten much earlier.

For fermenting, I've got an SS BrewBucket as a primary, and a couple of car boys that I'll use for a secondary.

In the end, I'm kegging mostly, and have a two tap kegerator that I'll rotate things into.




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Brightside

August 3rd, 2016 at 10:20 PM ^

I've been homebrewing now for about 5 years and just now am moving to all-grain.  I got all of my starter gear from Adventures in Homebrewing (AIH) in Ann Arbor.  Highly recommend them, and their site is good as well (homebrewing.org)

Initially I had a basic setup with an 8 gal brew pot, a 220KBTU propane burner, glass carboys and bottling equipment.  I moved to ball lock soda kegs 2 years ago and haven't bottled anything since.  Force carbination takes 2+ weeks out of the waiting process.

This year I have added 10 gallon coolers for mash tun and HLT.  I also bought an "Oxygenator" to improve fermentation and it works great (cuts fermentation time in half and it is more complete)

Next on my wish list is a permanent home for my setup so I don't have to haul it from the basement to the garage everytime I brew.

AIH has an outstanding clone of Bell's Two Hearted, and that is by far my favorite homebrew so far.

Thanks for starting this, hope to learn much from my MgoBrew family