Beer making gear
 

Would like to see what all you guys are using for home brewing gear. Mash tuns. Keezers etc. I'm 5 brews in. All grain.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...967a0ca742.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...360b97b2e1.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...7c8e201482.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f545c62359.jpg

My mash tun is the milkshake cart from the old Dairy Queen in Taber. I bottle in the 1.5 L Grolsch flip tops. American Pale Ale is my choice.

Looper

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

cool thread. been brewing for a while myself.

gotta crash cool for superior beer.... glycol system.

http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/...pspgtzqqrp.jpg

and bottling is a pain in the butt. if you need road pops buy a growler filler. kegging is way better.

http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/...pssi6pygrt.jpg

man they want alot of cash for big stainless pots.... so local pub couple of empty kegs.. cut the top off and boil 10 gallons at a time!!
http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/...psgolfkmnl.jpg

ill add more when i get all my pics on photobucket.

alot of fun we brew 20 gallons a week.

fermenting we like 65 f. so an old deepfreeze with a temp control does the trick nicely. 40gallons doing their thing with yeast.

http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/...pseqoglm8f.jpg

simple keg system.... soon to be upgraded.
http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/...psmldxxgbv.jpg

http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/...pstsgvzqfz.jpg

I did the 3 vessel system with all grain and boiled on my stove.Then I splurged on a Grainfather system.I wish it had been on the market when I got into brewing.It is so SWEET and so simple to use plus cleaning is a snap.

As for fermenting I gave up on glass carboys when I nearly dropped one.I got to thinking about the potential nasty mess and I opted to ferment in corny kegs.Run the cooled wort from the counter flow chiller directly into a sanitized keg and then pour in the yeast that has been spinning all day on the stir plate.Snap on the keg lid and shake the hell out of it then put on a gas line running to a bucket of star san for the blow off/fermentation.Once fermentation is done I cold crash the keg for a day and all the junk settles on the dished bottom.Hook up CO2 and force transfer to a serving keg and force carbonate.

Cleaning is super easy.Just boil a kettle of water and pour that onto a scoop of dishwasher detergent and put on the lid and give it a good shake and then let it sit upside down for 10 minutes.Give it a good shake again and pour out the gunk.Repeat and then repeat twice more to rinse with no detergent.Do another with star san and leave it in there until ready to ferment again.

FTH

Converted cooler, aluminum pot with a big propane burner, DIY copper cooler and plastic buckets. Will not post pictures in fear of being ridiculed :scared:

Check out some videos on youtube for the Grainfather.Then start saving as you will want one :)

FTH

I just started but am using kits/extract for right now - basically just to see how I like it. So my set up includes a few buckets and a few glass carboys....

The next step will be away from extracts and to an all grain brew. Then I'll have to invest a little more for a cooler/mash tun and a big kettle or two, etc.

I use extracts and dry hop aswell and switch up the dry malt extracts. Having a fun time and decent results :)

I don't have much for pictures but mine is BIAB all grain method. Mash tun is a large cooler with the brew bag. 10 gallon stainless kettle and most of my brewing is done in primary buckets. I rarely bother to rack into a carboy anymore.

PS. OP what are you brewing in that second picture? That looks like a lot of hops!


https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...c8fbd4a206.jpg

No ridicule from me. I have some pretty getto looking "I built this after to many beers" equipment as well. It's not about what you use its about a tasty brew.

Lol, I had fewer beers when I built mine :sHa_shakeshout:. Same materials :)

I just noticed the Thermometer gun as well. Does it work well for monitoring your mash/water temp? I currently used a digital thermometer that I have to physically insert into the liquid.

Im not convinced the gun works well. Seeing some discrepancies. Using digital as back up. Looks like alot of hops as the aroma addition are whole leaf Cascade. Its 4 x 1/2 ounce additions.

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

Great topic.......................... I like beeeeeeer.

Started in September with wort kits, festa brew, microbrew, and they were good. My first few were ok but I think I fermented at too high a temperature and got the off flavors.
Now doing partial grain BIAB from Alfreds, and Best Case. It is fun and as my kids say " now you are really making beer".

Started kegging a month ago and no looking back. Keezer will be completed by the weekend and hope to have a few on the taps for Superbowl Sunday.

Did invest a lot but have not bought commercial beer for over 2 months! My wife does reming me of what I spend on gear though!!!! Fun Buster!!

No pics sorry.
Rob

LOL!! I hear ya, everytuime I go to the brew store and spend more and more.... pennies a glass a they say, pennies a glass.

The only time I go to any local brick and mortar store is if it is an emergency.For my hops/yeast and specialty items I buy through Everwood ave brewshop online.The owner is Dave and he runs the shop out of his house.He keeps a HUGE selection of both equipment and ingredients in stock and his prices are damn good.The flat rate shipping is what is really nice.That being said my orders are not cheap as I like to max out the value for shipping.I buy hops by the pound and fill up on specialty grains and always top up on the little things like whirlflock tablets and bitter orange peel.

For my base grains I dont mess about with small orders.I got hooked up with a local home brewer who did twice yearly runs down to Armstrong BC to pick up a load of sacks from Gambrinus Malting.Last order for me was 3 sacks of ESB and 1 sack each of Vienna/Munich/Pale Ale all for $180.Total malt bill was 330 pounds of malt.He no longer drives down but does organize group buys which adds $4 per sack of malt which works out to 1/3rd of what I would pay locally.

If you are interested I can send you his email via PM if you want to get in on the group buy.

FTH

For those that Keg how long does the beer stay good for once it's tapped?

i find you become pretty popular when people find out you have three rotating taps in your garage, and usually an oilers game on the big screen. so im yet to have a keg last long enough to go bad. my pals are usually pretty cool i have a donation jar by the taps to help buy grains/hops.

So if a guy was to get into beer making should I go straight to the Grainfather and skip all the other stuff?

I got into home brewing just over 3 years ago and I jumped into the deep end of the pool right off the bat and opted for all grain as it is the most economical way to go.I hit Wal-Mart and bought 2 large coolers and built my own mash tun/HLT after I ordered an 8 gallon kettle.I built my own immersion chiller as well as a pre-chiller and I got to brewing.Yes my first few brews were not so good but I got it down pretty fast and I was making damn good beer with a kit bashed 3 vessel system.

That being said If the Grainfather was on the market at the time my reaction would be "please take my money and sell me this".The Grainfather is a totally wicked system than not only makes awesome beer it takes up a small foot print for space.The Braumeister is an alternative but it is triple the cost and it does not come with a counterflow chiller.Another option is the Brewha all in one but after I read about a nasty failure with that system I said no way jose'

Another option if you have lots of money is the Brew Easy by Bliccman.....big 2 vessel system that has lots of bling and if you want it electric costs you more....and even more since it is priced in US dollars and then there is shipping cost to consider.

If you want an electric brewing system that you can plug into an outlet in your kitchen next to the sink to feed the counter flow chiller that takes up a very small for print space wise and allows you to step mash and you dont mind spending a grand on it then buy a Grainfather.

Check out some videos on Youtube.The sadly departed Paul Wicksteed of New Zealand did a side by side comparison between the Grainfather and the Braumeister.The Braumeister was easier to use but the Grainfather got better results....plus if you want you can use the Grainfather to distill spirits.

If you want to splurge and by a wicked brewing system I highly suggest the Grainfather.

FTH

By the looks of it I'd say yes. But you can get away with a cooler, a kettle, home made chiller and a bucket and still make some really good bear.

just checking out spike brewing systems. anywhere from 10-50 gallon systems. starting @ $5000usd (likely what i spend a year on beer). really nice looking stuff.

https://youtu.be/kmYMEIXRf98

You are pressuring the beer out of the keg with CO2, so you don't get oxygen on the beer. Because of that it will last quite a while. It's not like the pony pump system you get when you get a Sanke keg at the store and have to keep pumping it up with air. It's just like at the local establishment where you keep pouring brew after brew, with no work besides having to drink it.

I think the longest I've gone is a couple months on one keg with no ill effects in the beer, but I had 4 kegs on the go at the time, so I don't usually have it last like that when I run 1 or 2 kegs in rotation.

There is now another option and that is the Robobrew.The system is a blatant ripoff of the Grainfather with a couple of improvements and a couple of drawbacks.Looks to be half the price of a Grainfather though I dont know when it will be available to the North American market....specifically the voltage specs of 110 here VS 225 in Austrailia.

Something to think about and save your money for.

FTH

I've made beer and wine in the past and have the gear...Always used the kits. The booze was so so. Im pretty interested in these new methods....plus I have tasted some really great home brews lately...great thread.

Don't brew myself but did see this on the news this morning just came out
Brew your own--- Keurig-- style
https://www.picobrew.com/Store/products/pico.cshtml
https://www.picobrew.com/
And it doubles as a Sous vide cooker

Yeah those are perfect for urban hipsters that want to say "I like to homebrew craft beer" whilst a fully automated machine does all the work.

I am familiar with both versions of the Picobrew and I crossed them off my want list immediately.For starters they only make 5 litre batches which is kind of pointless.Secondly they are both entirely dependent on a website which just screams for subscription fees once the market is saturated and no more units are selling.Lastly is the disgustingly expensive cost of the kits.An IPA kits sells for $27.99(US currency) to make a 5 litre batch of beer.For half that money I can make a 5 gallon batch on my Grainfather with a much more complex malt profile and a way bigger hop profile as well not to mention I can amp it up with some crushed corriander seed and some bitter orange peel and then just before I add the yeast I smash it with a pound of corn sugar and vigorously shake the keg and then add the yeast.This gets me a Pliny The Elder IPA meets Shocktop Belgian Wit combo....comes in at about 6.5% with lots of hoppy aroma/taste and a nice citrus zing for all of $18.

To me the picobrew is as undesirable as a breadmaker :snapoutofit:....expensive to buy for what it makes....expensive to use for what it makes and potentially very expensive with possible looming subscription fees to be "on" the picobrew frequency.

FTH

So for all the more experienced beer makers here...

Latest brew was ready to bottle, so got everything ready, filled all the bottles and began to cap (glass bottles with caps). Well, after 15 or so bottles, my capper (plastic POS) snapped.... So know I have 45ish full bottles and no way to get caps on until the store opens tomorrow morning.

Anyone have any suggestions? Can I just place the caps on the lids to "seal" them until morning? Or am I hosed...?

I had to quit home brewing as l found l was drinking way too much. Still grow my own Sterling and Kentish Goldings, l may venture back into the hobby. If l do l will use a Grainfather, never heard of such a thing before reading this excellent thread.

Ignore this. Managed to scramble and find one to borrow tonight.

Good information in this thread