Equipment tips for first all grain brew

[Ruby]

Hi guys,

I'm starting to build up equipment for my first all grain brew after about 6 or 7 partial mash brews. I've successfully made a mash tun with a copper manifold, and an immersion wort chiller (by successful, I mean that they dont leak. As for whether they work well.......)

To complete my kitting list, I'm on the look out for:

HLT/Brewpot
Grain Mill
Propane burner

Has anyone got tips for buying? I'd love to know about any regrettable purchases or indispensable items that I might not have thought of.

Thank you!

Ruby

[redoubt]

Hi Ruby,

If you're not looking to buy the mill right off...most places you can buy grain will mill for you (ie. Dave @ Everwood, Noble Grape).

I think some of the guys are looking at Monster Mills on here with Dave. They're supposed to be good, but I've never used one. We use one from Noble Grape. No complaints as of yet.

We got out brewpot from Dave. Price was good, pot is good.

For a burner, we use a Blichmann. It's awesome and we love it.

Cheers,
Keely.

[jeffsmith]

You can probably get away without an HLT if you're just starting out. I still only use my mash tun and kettle. I collect my first runnings in a bucket and them transfer to my kettle after I've added the sparge water to the mash.

You might also be able to get away without a grain mill to start. Unless you're building up a stock of grain, you can ask to have your grain crushed when you buy supplies for your recipe.

[Ruby]

Hi Ruby,

If you're not looking to buy the mill right off...most places you can buy grain will mill for you (ie. Dave @ Everwood, Noble Grape).

I think some of the guys are looking at Monster Mills on here with Dave. They're supposed to be good, but I've never used one. We use one from Noble Grape. No complaints as of yet.

We got out brewpot from Dave. Price was good, pot is good.

For a burner, we use a Blichmann. It's awesome and we love it.

Cheers,
Keely.

Hi Keely,

Thanks for the quick reply! I'd love to get a grain mill just for the freshness and to be as involved with the brewing process as possible, but like you said, it's not 100% necessary straight off. Have you any recommendations for a brew pot? What size did you start off with, and did you find any limitations?

Ruby

[redoubt]

Hi Ruby,

We bought a 15 gal pot, and do BIAB. Only limitation is that it couldn't handle a full 6 gal DIPA recipe. We tried, it overflowed. Just means smaller volume recipes for bigger beers.

-Keely.

[Ruby]

You can probably get away without an HLT if you're just starting out. I still only use my mash tun and kettle. I collect my first runnings in a bucket and them transfer to my kettle after I've added the sparge water to the mash.

You might also be able to get away without a grain mill to start. Unless you're building up a stock of grain, you can ask to have your grain crushed when you buy supplies for your recipe.

Hi Jeffsmith!

Do you batch sparge or fly sparge? If youve tried both, which had better efficiency? I should have room to fabricate and install a sparge arm on the lid of the cooler, but i wondered if it is worth the extra effort or the chance of ruining the insulating properties to fly sparge?

Thank you

Ruby

[LiverDance]

Hi Ruby,

We bought a 15 gal pot, and do BIAB. Only limitation is that it couldn't handle a full 6 gal DIPA recipe. We tried, it overflowed. Just means smaller volume recipes for bigger beers.

-Keely.

Just use some malt extract to bump the gravity once your mash is complete

[jeffsmith]

You can probably get away without an HLT if you're just starting out. I still only use my mash tun and kettle. I collect my first runnings in a bucket and them transfer to my kettle after I've added the sparge water to the mash.

You might also be able to get away without a grain mill to start. Unless you're building up a stock of grain, you can ask to have your grain crushed when you buy supplies for your recipe.

Hi Jeffsmith!

Do you batch sparge or fly sparge? If youve tried both, which had better efficiency? I should have room to fabricate and install a sparge arm on the lid of the cooler, but i wondered if it is worth the extra effort or the chance of ruining the insulating properties to fly sparge?

Thank you

Ruby

I'll be switching to fly sparging when I finally get transitioned to an indoor, electric, 3-vessel setup. Up to now, I've been batch sparging and usually get around 75% efficiency on beers up to 1.060. After that the efficiency starts to go down a bit, but that's expected.

[GAM]

Look at BIAB. Talk to Beckey, I mean Jimmy and get a bag. all you need then is a pot, burner and chiller.

I got rid of my mash tun a year ago.

Sandy

[GuingesRock]

I agree with Sandy. I do full volume mash BIAB type brews. Come 'round for a brew some time if you want to.

[GasMD30]

For the kettle and burner, you can get yourself a turkey fryer from Crappy Tire for 70-90 bucks and modify the kettle with a tap. That's what I have for my 5 Gallon setup.

[CorneliusAlphonse]

I'd suggest a burner from kent, ~50-60$. And a pot from everwood, they're as reasonably priced as the come. Won't regret either purchase!

[Ruby]

Thanks everyone for the top advice. I'd never looked into BIAB before. I've got the mash tun made now though, so I'll probably give the mash a try and maybe try a comparison brew once I get going. I think i'll start with just the one pot for now and then whether mash or BIAB is the way forward, then I wont have overspent. I'll have to pop down to Dave's once I get my pocket money!

Anyone bought equipment that they've regretted later on?

Ruby

[redoubt]

Can't say I've regretted any of what we've bought. It's not all the best gear you can get, but everything does what it needs to. The Blichmann burner wasn't cheap, but I'm a big fan so it was worth it. Not having to upgrade later is nice too.

-Keely

[Keith]

Ruby,
I personally prefer the mashtun as you can get more stable temps and my mashtun will allow me to do a full 10 gallon mash.

[Celiacbrew]

I have a couple of regrets. I bought a 2l Erlenmeyer flask instead of a 5l because I couldn't see how I would store it. But the 2l is just a smidgen too small to make a starter for a lager if you want to save some of it for your next batch/starter. My cooler was used and it is great but I think the previous owner put too much boiling water in it and some of the insulation melted a little or else got destroyed some other way. Not a big deal but there is a leak in the lid and I lose about 3-4 degrees Celsius during a mash. So don't pre-heat your cooler with boiling water, just use hot water or bump your strike water up a little according to beersmiths calculations. Speaking of beersmith, I bought beersmith 2 for the iphone instead of for my computer. I didn't do it to save the ten dollars, I just wanted the software with me while I brew but the stupid iphone software doesn't include all the different grains you find around these parts and I can't use the add on packs like I can for the computer version. I use a lot of weyermann grain and I have to input it all by hand. Which is a giant pain in the ass.

[Ladd]

Speaking of Beersmith software, it was probably the best $30 I spent on brewing equipment. I highly recommend it!

I just wanted the software with me while I brew but the stupid iphone software doesn't include all the different grains you find around these parts and I can't use the add on packs like I can for the computer version. I use a lot of weyermann grain and I have to input it all by hand. Which is a giant pain in the ass.

I'm not sure about the Iphone software but for the computer there is an "addon" area where you can add recipes, equipment, malt and hop updates etc. They just recently added a bunch of different maltsters including Weyermann.

[jmacdonald]

The only purchase I regret is skimping on my burner/pot. I bought a pot and burner combo from Walmart. The burner is VERY sooty (see classifieds, pretty sure my burner is the same) and the pot while large, just was not large enough for a full 5 gallon batch. There would be like an inch of free space once I was ready to start my boil, would boil over a lot! I now borrow my dads blichmann burner, and split with him on a new 15g pot which has lots of extra room.

[LeafMan66_67]

Beersmith is a great investment. I have both the desktop and mobile versions which makes it great for brew day timing or mash, hop addition, etc. For a burner, look for one that doesn't make a mess with soot - I've heard good things about the Kent burner but haven't seen it in action and I bought a Blichman without regret. Get the biggest pot you can afford - you will always find a way to fill it!

[GuingesRock]

I wish I had bought new Italian-made kegs at the outset. They will last a lifetime and well worth the expense as far as avoiding a lifetime of frustrations, issues, wasted beer and CO2 etc. I see OBK is stocking them again with the rubber handles. Noble Grape has them and not a bad deal with the Brewnosers discount and no shipping costs, but they have the ones with the metal handle on the top instead of rubber.

[Barker]

Informative thread. I'm looking at switching to all grain soon.

I've seen some users use a mashtun combined with the BIAB. Is this a little overkill for new to all grain brewers?

[Keith]

Informative thread. I'm looking at switching to all grain soon.

I've seen some users use a mashtun combined with the BIAB. Is this a little overkill for new to all grain brewers?

This is how I am setup. I also have a bag for my pot incase I want to do a 5 gallon BIAB and 10 gallon BIAB in my cooler.
Definitely not overkill and is easier in my opinion. Cooler helps maintain your mash temp preventing you from having to reheat your mash.

[Ruby]

I really appreciate all of the great advice!

I need to do some extensive research on yeast, as this is definitely a weak point for me. I'm sad to say that I usually just sanitise a jug, add some DME, yeast and water and wait for the bubbles before pitching. This is progress though, as I used to just follow the packet instructions and sprinkle on top of the wort. I used to have a lot of lag problems and this probably invited a few undesirables into my beer. I have some liquid yeast for a Weissbeer Partial Mash that i'll do in the next few days.

I'd really like to learn more about Yeasts, starters, re-using yeast and storage. If anyone knows of any good books or online resources.......

For a burner, I like the look of the Bayou Classic units, but a Blichmann wouldn't be too much more to spend, and it has the optional leg extensions. As for a pot, I think after all the good advice, a 15gal would be the best way to ensure that I don't outgrow my pot too soon. It would also give me enough volume to try a BIAB.

I bought the Beersmith iPhone app, and have been playing about with it. It's not being utilised to its full extent with Partial Mashes, so i'm looking forward to using some of the calculators/converters. I'll have to have a look at the full computer version.

I'm still open to advice, and it looks like there are a couple of folks like me, staring at the edge of the cliff waiting to jump into All-Grain, so it would be great to hear about anyone else's transition.....

Thanks again

Ruby

[GuingesRock]

Ruby, I answered your pm about coming around for a brew a week ago. Check your mail box we can make a yeast starter when you are here if you want.

[dexter]

If you can go bigger for a pot do it, I felt I outgrew my 15 g pot rather quickly.