Home brew

[lionnusmb]

I made my own wort chiller out of 20 copper pipe I bought at Home Depot. Was a pita and still recovering from all my blisters, but save about 30 dollars.

also, if you just wait out the boil overs it makes it so much easier. I did my partial boils over a turkey fryer and just picked up the kettle whenever it started trying to boil over. Once the hot break was over, I just added my hops and timed the hour. Worked out well, but don't know if this info is any assistance to you.

 

[TykeClone]

I made my own wort chiller out of 20 copper pipe I bought at Home Depot. Was a pita and still recovering from all my blisters, but save about 30 dollars.

also, if you just wait out the boil overs it makes it so much easier. I did my partial boils over a turkey fryer and just picked up the kettle whenever it started trying to boil over. Once the hot break was over, I just added my hops and timed the hour. Worked out well, but don't know if this info is any assistance to you.

yep.

And make sure that your boil kettle is big enough.

 

[NickTheGreat]

^^^ I do that too.

 

[siklon]

How to Brew by John Palmer is also another great resource.

It's available online for free, but after a few times referring to it, I went ahead and bought the printed copy.

How to Brew - By John Palmer

Good call.

This is a great read for anyone looking to get into brewing. Does a great job of explaining not only the basics but also the more complex aspects of it, as you get deeper into the hobby. Also a little pinch of humor in it as well. Made my first couple batches a piece of cake.

 

[ianoconnor]

Wort chiller is a must. If I were you, I'd save some money and buy a less expensive kettle and use the savings to get a chiller. Blichmann are nice, but expensive.

 

[cycloneworld]

Wort chiller is a must. If I were you, I'd save some money and buy a less expensive kettle and use the savings to get a chiller. Blichmann are nice, but expensive.

My first few batches, I thought I needed a wort chiller for sure since it took forever to cool down.

Now I freeze 2-3 gallons of distilled water and add that to the wort after the boil. Brings it down to pitching temp in no time.

 

[BKLYNCyclone]

I have a 15 gallon megapot and a 15 gallon blichman. Not sure which I like better but it's probably the blichman. Wish I had a 10 gallon Blichman though as I have to do 10 gallon batches with the 15 gallon pots to get the water level up to the thermometer.

Brewing this weekend with my brother. It'll be the first time in almost a year... Twins take up a lot of my time. Looking forward to the brew this weekend, hopefully the weather is good.

 

[intrepid27]

Not to derail thread but I figured this is the right group to ask.
I'm looking for a good smart phone app to find microbrews/craft beers when on the road.
Any suggestions?

 

[Clonefan94]

My first few batches, I thought I needed a wort chiller for sure since it took forever to cool down.

Now I freeze 2-3 gallons of distilled water and add that to the wort after the boil. Brings it down to pitching temp in no time.

This works good for partial boils, but honestly, if you have the means and plan on brewing a lot, I would suggest full boils, even for extracts. There are a lot of benefits, less chance of scortching and or caramelizing the extract and you get better hop utilization. The hops aren't a huge deal on 5 gallon batches, but if you are into IPAs, you want to get every umph out of the hop you can. My beers really improved once I went to full boil. It lost a lot of that "Homebrew taste" and resembled commercial beer a lot more. Plus, if you ever plan on going to all-grain, you'll need a good chiller of some sort.

I just went to Menards and bought the 50ft copper coil. Get at least 3/8, but 1/2 inch is better. Then I just coiled it around a Corny Keg until it was the height I needed. Then I just used copper wire to keep the coils slightly separated and attached to the upright from the bottom pipe. For the price of a 25ft. one you'd buy online, you can make a 50ft. chiller and those extra feet make a big deal when cooling. I'm usually doing 6 gallon batches now and can cool down to pitching temp in about 10 minutes.

The winter has been great, I've just been filling a cooler with snow and using my portable sump pump to recirc the water through the chiller isntead of constantly running the hose. I just keep filling the cooler back up with snow as it melted. It's been giving me an awesome cold break and commercial clearity in my beers after about 4 weeks. As much as I hated the snow this winter. It actually did help my brewing.

 

[dmclone]

Not to derail thread but I figured this is the right group to ask.
I'm looking for a good smart phone app to find microbrews/craft beers when on the road.
Any suggestions?

I use untappd and Pintley.

 

[lionnusmb]

I bought a 7 dollar drill pump and attached this to my drill and wort chiller. I then just cycled ice water through the chiller with the drill pump until cooled to temp. It was cheap and effective, but you do have to sit there with the drill until cooled.

 

[chicagoCy]

Try getting some fermcap to prevent boil overs. I add this in both the boil & fermenter to prevent blowouts (since I make a yeast starter). Since I've begun using it I haven't had a single problem & it doesn't affect the flavor.

If you're looking to go bigger on the pot & boil, i recommend a propane turkey fryer and a 9 gallon pot (for 5g batches) which you can easily find online for under $100. Make sure it has a threaded fitting so you can add a valve so it's easy to transfer to your carboy. I built a copper immersion chiller with hose fittings for about $40 all in instead of buying one. I don't use it any more because I upgraded to a counterflow chiller, if you're interested in it for cheap just shoot me a PM.

 

[isukendall]

The only problem I've had is that I'm just doing partial boils of 2 gallons and then just adding the water(boiled). Even with using 2 gallons I still have boil overs because the kettle is not big enough. This is not cool on my wifes high dollar gas stove. I'm thinking of going all in and getting a 10 gallon Blichman kettle with a temp gauge and ball valve along with a floor standing burner. I have a feeling my next step will be kegging and a wort chiller.

This is not the same problem, this is two different problems. Solutions to two said problems are below.

Try getting some fermcap to prevent boil overs. I add this in both the boil & fermenter to prevent blowouts (since I make a yeast starter). Since I've begun using it I haven't had a single problem & it doesn't affect the flavor.

If you're looking to go bigger on the pot & boil, i recommend a propane turkey fryer and a 9 gallon pot (for 5g batches) which you can easily find online for under $100. Make sure it has a threaded fitting so you can add a valve so it's easy to transfer to your carboy. I built a copper immersion chiller with hose fittings for about $40 all in instead of buying one. I don't use it any more because I upgraded to a counterflow chiller, if you're interested in it for cheap just shoot me a PM.

First cheap solution is to buy some Fermcap. Works great, works even in fermenters (nice once you begin doing yeast starters), and even on Mac N Cheese. Fermcap-S 1 oz. : Northern Brewer

Sounds like if you want to improve your brewing, and make it more fun, get a propane burner and a larger pot. Your beer will improve, you do it in your garage or on your porch instead of your kitchen. Makes both you and your wife more happy about it. Plus, lets you use your wife's happiness as an excuse to upgrade equipment. (Mrs. isukendall hates when I brew inside, doesn't really care when I do it outside). I recommend watching craigslist for burners, and empty kegs. I have a keggle (keg converted to a kettle) and I love it - you can take an old keg to a welding shop and have them cut a lid out, and you can get a ball valve installed pretty easy (can do welded or weldless).

 

[Clonefan94]

I bought a 7 dollar drill pump and attached this to my drill and wort chiller. I then just cycled ice water through the chiller with the drill pump until cooled to temp. It was cheap and effective, but you do have to sit there with the drill until cooled.

Yeah, almost anything will work. A lot of people use the garden pond pumps too. The key, as you know, in recycling the water is having plenty of ice on hand to keep it cool.

 

[dmclone]

Update time

I bought a 10 gallon megpot, wort chiller, and a bayou classic sq14.

View attachment 19476

Here is the Surly clone that I'm going to bottle tomorrow
View attachment 19477

 

[Clonefan94]

Update time

I bought a 10 gallon megpot, wort chiller, and a bayou classic sq14.

View attachment 19476

Here is the Surly clone that I'm going to bottle tomorrow
View attachment 19477

Nice! Just a heads up, I usually brew in my garage (door open), unless it's crazy hot outside. I found I get a lot better efficiency from my burner when it's out of the wind. I've almost cut my gas consumption in half by keeping my burner out of the wind. So if nothing else, just make sure when you are brewing outside, you set up something to block the wind, not only will you save propane, but you'll get your water heated up a lot quicker as well.

 

[dmclone]

Nice! Just a heads up, I usually brew in my garage (door open), unless it's crazy hot outside. I found I get a lot better efficiency from my burner when it's out of the wind. I've almost cut my gas consumption in half by keeping my burner out of the wind. So if nothing else, just make sure when you are brewing outside, you set up something to block the wind, not only will you save propane, but you'll get your water heated up a lot quicker as well.

Good tip. I do plan on doing it in the garage.

On a side note, I plan on doing a full 5 gallon boil. I planned on putting in 6 gallons to take into account for evaporation I know hear that you shouldn't steep the grains with more than 2 gallons. Is this true? If so I assume that you just add the addtional 4 gallons after the steep?

 

[BKLYNCyclone]

That Surly Furious clone is good... So is they Cynicale and Bitter Brewer. I once killed a 5 gallon keg in 5 days of bitter brewer.

I brewed on Easter with my brother for the first time in 6 months or more. Now I've got the bug again... That being said, it's a lot more enjoyable brewing with 2 people than by yourself. Half the work, twice the beers, and great conversation.

Brewed 10 gallons of a Cascade(went with whole hops) Maris Otter SMASH (except I added 12 oz of oatmeal for mouth feel). Split the batch and fermenting half with British Ale II and half with Neo-Britannia. I finished my grain mill that morning (I needed to get 4 screws... to attach it to the hopper I built). I ended up with over 90% efficiency in my mash which caught me off guard since the software I was using defaulted to 60% efficiency. Instead of brewing what I was calling an American Bitter, I ended up with an American IPA. (Aiming for 1048 OG and was at 1067 OG!)

Anyway, this got me going and I finally attended to my lambics I brewed 2 valentine days ago. They were 100% lambic fermented up until easter when I finally added the Brett. I probably need to get another packet of Brett and get a starter going because they might be too acidic for the Brett to take off, or they are just too cold. Tasted them and they were sweet (and interesting, but not funky yet). Pretty sweet crimson mold growing on top of one of them! I'm calling this batch 3-Hearted Zombie Jesus and plan on bottling next valentines day and drinking at Easter. One batch will get cherries dumped into it in 6 months.

I have a pretty nice set up I've been working on since I moved to MN. Bought a 2nd chugger pump finally as I want to streamline my process as much as possible. This will allow me to fly sparge and pump directly into my boil kettle so I can get to the boil faster. Also, I want to set up a herms system eventually and will need it for that since I'm using a single tier brew stand.

I've had a 2nd deep freezer sitting in my garage since last fall that I'm going to convert into a keezer with I-state fat heads. Really looking forward to having beer on actual taps rather than cobra taps... I was at the Happy Gnome last saturday and tried an IPA on nitro, which was amazing... There goes another $200 on a nitro setup but it'll be worth it for NB's Black IPA...

Finally, as you expand, hold out for black friday if you can for equipment. I got my 15 gallon megapot and a 50 ft 1/2" pro (has hose fittings) immersion chiller for $150 total, shipped. Or if you are really into it, go to homebrewtalk and check out the maxout brewery guy's set up (which puts all of us to shame by a mile...). He must have $10k into it.

 

[dmclone]

That Surly Furious clone is good... So is they Cynicale and Bitter Brewer. I once killed a 5 gallon keg in 5 days of bitter brewer.

I brewed on Easter with my brother for the first time in 6 months or more. Now I've got the bug again... That being said, it's a lot more enjoyable brewing with 2 people than by yourself. Half the work, twice the beers, and great conversation.

Brewed 10 gallons of a Cascade(went with whole hops) Maris Otter SMASH (except I added 12 oz of oatmeal for mouth feel). Split the batch and fermenting half with British Ale II and half with Neo-Britannia. I finished my grain mill that morning (I needed to get 4 screws... to attach it to the hopper I built). I ended up with over 90% efficiency in my mash which caught me off guard since the software I was using defaulted to 60% efficiency. Instead of brewing what I was calling an American Bitter, I ended up with an American IPA. (Aiming for 1048 OG and was at 1067 OG!)

Anyway, this got me going and I finally attended to my lambics I brewed 2 valentine days ago. They were 100% lambic fermented up until easter when I finally added the Brett. I probably need to get another packet of Brett and get a starter going because they might be too acidic for the Brett to take off, or they are just too cold. Tasted them and they were sweet (and interesting, but not funky yet). Pretty sweet crimson mold growing on top of one of them! I'm calling this batch 3-Hearted Zombie Jesus and plan on bottling next valentines day and drinking at Easter. One batch will get cherries dumped into it in 6 months.

I have a pretty nice set up I've been working on since I moved to MN. Bought a 2nd chugger pump finally as I want to streamline my process as much as possible. This will allow me to fly sparge and pump directly into my boil kettle so I can get to the boil faster. Also, I want to set up a herms system eventually and will need it for that since I'm using a single tier brew stand.

I've had a 2nd deep freezer sitting in my garage since last fall that I'm going to convert into a keezer with I-state fat heads. Really looking forward to having beer on actual taps rather than cobra taps... I was at the Happy Gnome last saturday and tried an IPA on nitro, which was amazing... There goes another $200 on a nitro setup but it'll be worth it for NB's Black IPA...

Finally, as you expand, hold out for black friday if you can for equipment. I got my 15 gallon megapot and a 50 ft 1/2" pro (has hose fittings) immersion chiller for $150 total, shipped. Or if you are really into it, go to homebrewtalk and check out the maxout brewery guy's set up (which puts all of us to shame by a mile...). He must have $10k into it.

Sounds like you are advanced.

I just checked out that maxout guy. That's no longer a home brew, that's a brewery!

 

[colbycheese]

I use untappd and Pintley.

I second the use of Untappd. It's a pretty B A app. You can also register your "homebrewery" on it for those of you homebrewers out there.