All Grain Set Up Questions.

[nine_cases]

Hey guys,

I'm considering moving into AG but the cost of the equipment is the only set back. The LHBS was selling a complete set up for about $600 (if my memory serves me right). I have two questions,

1. Can I build an AG set up for less, sourcing gear from o/s and locally, and if so how much would I be looking at?

2. If I were able to obtain a commercial beer keg (legally) and cut the top off would that work at a brew pot?


Cheers.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Hey guys,

I'm considering moving into AG but the cost of the equipment is the only set back. The LHBS was selling a complete set up for about $600 (if my memory serves me right). I have two questions,

1. Can I build an AG set up for less, sourcing gear from o/s and locally, and if so how much would I be looking at?

2. If I were able to obtain a commercial beer keg (legally) and cut the top off would that work at a brew pot?


Cheers.

Read the BIAB (brew in a bag) thread - there are 2 majors - "all grain stovetop brew for $20" is one of them.

It's all grain brewing without the prohibitive start up cost. That way you can brew all grain, and if you want to gradually acquire equipment, you can.

Then again, blokes like Bribie G have stuck with BIAB and never gone the way of 3V. I now have an esky mash tun, but I pretty well do BIAB in an esky.

Goomba

 

[j1gsaw]

Its bloody cheap to set up really (BIAB). Just chase up a 50L keg from your local drive through or etc, sure, its not the done thing, but 8 outta 10 brewers use em.
Cut the top out of it, and use a 3 or 4 ring burner on a small gas bottle, or etc. Grain bags are super easy to make/buy, and a temp guage are cheap too.
And away you go... you eventually pick up bits n pieces along the way to make life easier. Failing that, good old 19L bigW ss pot, and do it on the stove etc.

 

[ekul]

If i had $600 and i was just staerting up i could get

BIAB
140L pot for $210 delivered
Mongolian burner and stand for $220 Or you could get one from auscrown.com or www.keeferbros.com.au No stand but cheaper price for the same burner

$10 for you bag if you make it or $45 if you buy it

And you've still got money to buy a few bags of grain and some hops

And you'll need some cubes as well, because that 140L bad boy is going to knock out 4 cubes a go.

I wouldn't be spending $600 unless its got herms, because you can build a cheaper system yourself.

 

[Northside Novice]

hi mate

1 yes you can . i set up for about $300, 2nd hand urn $50 ,2nd hand esky $5, 2nd hand keg $50, 4 ring burner + gas bottle $80,
brew stand $50 + bits n bobs n taps n bits n bobs

2 yes you can. be carefull cutting top off keg , there are a few vids on youtube and think on here to guide you through the motions.
it's pretty easy if you can use a grinder .

but $600 sounds not too bad for a flash new complete set up . probly with a little garantee from shop ?

i really enjoyed finding the stuff for my set up and putting it together but it did take about 6 months .
if you cant wait too find all the bits $600 may not be that much pay to have a setup asapp !
i never tried brew in a bag so cant comment on the costs .
hope this helps mate and good luck

 

[Nick JD]

For $600 I'd want it to talk to me like KITT did to Michael Knight - in a slightly limp-wristed English voice.

"Would you like to add the hops now, Sir?"

Why, yes. And a TURBO BOOST button. YEEEEEHAAAW!

 

[jimmyjackpot]

I got setup for AG BIAB for around $200.

50 litre stock pot
3 ring burner
BIAB bag
Thermometer
Siphon
Cube for no chill

And I was away

 

[bignath]

I got setup to All Grain for $250..........at least that's what i told the wife... h34r:

 

[nine_cases]

Really appreciate the speedy replies guys. I'm going to have to do some research into BIAB I think that is the way for me to go right now. Although it would be nice to have a set up that spoke to me in a limp British accent.

When I cut the top off the keg should I completely take the top off or just cut the lid out?

 

[Pollux]

I'll take a photo of the way I cut the top of my keg/mashtun, I somehow managed to cut it in such a way that the lid off my old 19L pot I had for extract brewing fit perfectly (not bad given the lid was here at home and I was up at my parents nearly 500kms away when I cut it)....


I started out AG with a crown urn from craftbrewer and and got my wife to sew me up a bag, it worked perfectly for ages and the only reason I have switched to 3V is I like shiny things, and having a pump powered rig just makes life easier.

 

[seemax]

If you have the time to hunt for stuff you can find all you need on evilBay, trading post, gumtree, AHB, etc.

As stated... BIAB is hard to beat to kick off your all grain addiction.

40L pot is the about the minimum for BIAB making standard batches of around 23L. I managed to find 2 x 40L pots for under $50 and recently a 80L pot for $55.

A 3-ring or 4-ring burner "could" do the job... but ideally you need a medium/high pressure regulator .. $40 from USA or $50-60 locally.

Start with the basics and you can be up and running for $150... spend the rest on a mill , get some bulk grain and import a bucket load of hops from USA an brew, brew, brew

 

[hsb]

When I cut the top off the keg should I completely take the top off or just cut the lid out?

Definitely just the lid. Like this Keep the handles, no sense in throwing them out. You can reuse it as a Mash Tun etc.. down the road more easily. Some cut the whole top off but handles FTW.

 

[Lecterfan]

Seriously - learn the theories (the WHY not the HOW) and apply the principles. Then when you have the moolah to splash out you can buy the bling. In the meantime you're making fantastic beer with cheap gear that will still prove useful down the track as back up materials etc.

My only regret in the world of brewing is letting the idea of fancy gear prevent me from going AG. :icon_cheers:

 

[argon]

When I cut the top off the keg should I completely take the top off or just cut the lid out?

3rd response for keeping the handles. Dependant on the type of keg you have cloned h34r: will determine what lid you'll be able to fit on it. The CUB kegs clones, can take a 19L BigW Stock pot lid. If you get a Lion Nathan/Tooheys keg clone, head over to target and they sell 28cm diameter glass lids for about $11 if i remember correctly. Just cut to size.
:icon_cheers:

 

[bignath]

Seriously - learn the theories (the WHY not the HOW) and apply the principles. Then when you have the moolah to splash out you can buy the bling. In the meantime you're making fantastic beer with cheap gear that will still prove useful down the track as back up materials etc.

My only regret in the world of brewing is letting the idea of fancy gear prevent me from going AG. :icon_cheers:

One of the best posts i've read in a long time LF.

I have a mate who has just started wanting to brew beer (and he is jumping in at the deep end with AG). So we've caught up for a chat over some beers and he was surprised to learn he pretty much already had the gear to go all grain, he just didn't know it.

I started talking about how beer is made, and what the processes are, and that you need something that can do this, and something that can do that etc....

Saved him a shitload of coin, and as he has never brewed anything in his life (seriously, hasn't even opened a can o goo) if it turns out to be something he doesn't want to pursue, he hasn't spent much money. He does his first brew on the weekend if time permits him...

Nath

 

[Malted]

Hey guys,
I'm considering moving into AG but the cost of the equipment is the only set back. The LHBS was selling a complete set up for about $600 (if my memory serves me right). I have two questions,
1. Can I build an AG set up for less, sourcing gear from o/s and locally, and if so how much would I be looking at?
2. If I were able to obtain a commercial beer keg (legally) and cut the top off would that work at a brew pot?
Cheers.

I think the other aspect not yet mentioned is: how much of a handy man are you? Some folks admit that they couldn't put a tent together without getting hurt and that is fine, not all folks are handy at building things. Folks like that prefer to buy things. I like to build and make stuff and that is why I went for a 3 vessell system: (1) HLT - hot {water} liqour tank, (2) Mash tun and a (3) boiling vessell. Some folks like to build things just for the fun of building it; so they totally over engineer things just for the joy of building it. Your ability can become a major part of what sort of system you want/can afford/ or able to build.

There is a heck of a lot of research to do to sort out what you may want. As a mashtun you can put one bucket with holes drilled in the bottom inside another with no holes - cheap as. You may even get the buckets for free from a fish 'n' chip shop. A cheap 19L pot from BiG dub or a big ally pot from St Vinnies to heat the water on the stove... it doesn't have to cost the earth. It just depends upon what sort of system & complexity you want.

In my opinion BIAB (Brew In A Bag) is a really good and economical way to start even though I have never touched it myself. You have an urn with a bag in it, simple. If you then want to go into a three vessel system you already have one crucial part as the urn becomes the HLT. I think it is a great way to chip your teeth in all grain. It may even suit your space requirements or you may just like it's simplicity and stick with it forever. It would seem as though there are cheap urns around but they are exactly that, get a good brand (such as crown) either new or second hand. In the long run it will save you money as the cheap ones shit themselves and you're back to square one and out of pocket.

So depending upon what the LHBS gear is, it may be good value or you may be able to do it cheaper yourself, perhaps you could tell us more about it?

 

[nine_cases]

Thanks again for all the informative replies. I had heard of BIAB but having stuck to extract brewing never really investigated it, I think you could say that "I have seen the light".

No doubt I will be asking more and more questions in the coming weeks as I build my set-up.

Cheers.

 

[[email protected]]

I think the other aspect not yet mentioned is: how much of a handy man are you? Some folks admit that they couldn't put a tent together without getting hurt and that is fine, not all folks are handy at building things. Folks like that prefer to buy things. I like to build and make stuff and that is why I went for a 3 vessell system: (1) HLT - hot {water} liqour tank, (2) Mash tun and a (3) boiling vessell. Some folks like to build things just for the fun of building it; so they totally over engineer things just for the joy of building it. Your ability can become a major part of what sort of system you want/can afford/ or able to build.

I think wanting to be an all grain brewer and liking building stuff are not independent character traits. I don't think you'll find a lot of allgrain brewers who don't love to make all their own bits and pieces.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

snip

I managed to find 2 x 40L pots for under $50 and recently a 80L pot for $55.

Where? How? :icon_cheers:

Goomba