How can I upgrade my system?

[Sphense]

Hey, I'm Jack, I'm 21 years old and have recently gotten into brewing. So far I have only been using brew cans. My set up is a fermenter, heat belt, mangroves jack temp controller, 500ml glass bottles and a capper. The product I'm making is fantastic. But I want better. Is there a way I can upgrade my system that isn't too costly. Thanks in advance!

 

[Liam_snorkel]

grab a 40 litre urn and a square metre of swiss voile and away you go

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/36094-using-an-urn-for-brew-in-a-bag-tutorial/

you could dip your toes into all-grain like this also (pictures have been deleted):
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/38674-move-to-all-grain-for-thirty-bucks/

 

[GrumpyPaul]

Hijack.

Welcome to the forum.

Having some form of temp control is a great start.

You could easily step up the quality of your beers by steeping some specialty grains and adding hops. There is plenty of really useful stuff to read up on here. (look up extract brewing, kits and bits or even just steeping grains)

The next step from that is going all grain and using a brew in a bag set up. with a 19l pot from BigW and a grain bag. (look up stovetop brewing, or a thread call something like "going all grain for thirty bucks" or something like that)

Read heaps and don be afraid to ask lots of questions.

have fun

 

[mofox1]

Damn. Wish I'd got into brewing at 21.

I spent too much on shiny blingy things so I'll leave the upgrade advice to others... good luck with the upgrade endeavors!

 

[hellbent]

Damn. Wish I'd got into brewing at 21.

So Do I mate, but then again that was 50 yrs ago and beer was bloody cheap and tasted absolutely great...(too bloody great) :unsure:

 

[buckerooni]

edit: whoops didn't see the 'too costly' bit, moving to kegging is probably a $3-500 exercise (keg fridge, 2 kegs, c02 bottle, reg, taps, lines etc) but 2nd hand options are available - which is what I did. if you are happy with the beer then this will make your life easier (your beer will continue to pretty much taste the same!)

I went from your setup to BIAB (all grain) and then got my keg on. If you enjoy the bottling process don't worry, but cleaning one vessel - a keg (and er...the beer lines regularly) and being able to carb up 20L in an hour took a big chore (bottles) out for me.

and +1 for temp control via fermenting fridge

 

[Sphense]

I think that home brewing is better then most commercial beer. I don't know. But maybe the filtering they use to remove sediment also removes great flavours too? I just feel that the more a beer taste like beer, the better? And I know you guys don't like corona. But I don't mind the occasional one. But now that I've made a coopers lager. WOW. I can see where the hatred comes from

 

[verysupple]

I think that home brewing is better then most commercial beer. I don't know. But maybe the filtering they use to remove sediment also removes great flavours too? I just feel that the more a beer taste like beer, the better? And I know you guys don't like corona. But I don't mind the occasional one. But now that I've made a coopers lager. WOW. I can see where the hatred comes from

I used to think homebrew was better than commercial beer, too. Then I discovered good commercial beer. Don't get me wrong, I make some good beer. But more often than not I'm chasing the quality of a well brewed, well thought out, commercial beer.

I totally agree about liking the odd Corona (or whatever big brand pale lager). There's a time and a place for all beer styles. The big commercial beers taste exactly the way they want them too. Any lack of flavour is intentional, regardless of how they achieve it. Unless these types of beers have been mishandled between leaving the factory and you buying it, you'll be very hard pressed to find any faults with them (from a technical point of view - personal preference is another thing).

EDIT: Oh yeah, as for the upgrade advice: I agree with the comments about trying boiling some hops and maybe steeping some specialty grains. Either one of those alone can radically change a beer. Together the options are limitless. Both can be done with household kitchen gear that you probably already have, with the addition of grain/hop bags which are cheap as anyway.

 

[Dan Pratt]

Yeast Management!

This wont cost you much and will improve the quality of your beer/s. Understanding pitching rates, being able to rehydrated dry yeast or handle liquid yeast starters while keeping temps constant/controlled.

• Stir Plate - $80
• Stir Bar - comes with plate ( look up digital stirplate v3.0 )
• DME - in my opinion costs alot, approx $7 per kg
• 2lt Erlenmeyer Flask - $40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMhFerNTwbQ

 

[Sphense]

Yeast Management!

This wont cost you much and will improve the quality of your beer/s. Understanding pitching rates, being able to rehydrated dry yeast or handle liquid yeast starters while keeping temps constant/controlled.

• Stir Plate - $80
• Stir Bar - comes with plate ( look up digital stirplate v3.0 )
• DME - in my opinion costs alot, approx $7 per kg
• 2lt Erlenmeyer Flask - $40

This is great info thank you. Can I ask what a yeast starter will do to improve flavour? Or is it about consistency? However this is great and pretty cheap. Thank you

 

[MastersBrewery]

The lads have done well so far, and like most of them I'm well in on shiny bling. But one they've missed and can be cheap as, is a dedicated ferment fridge. (I've got 2) Now no need to head off to the local white goods store with your wallet open just yet! Those hard rubish collections on the side of the road are just the ticket, also those big white goods sales people all ways tell you they'll take your old one away so just find their depot, and you got your self a choice of fridges.Temp control of ferment as already mentioned is a big step but not just heating; most of us brew ales around 16-18c not the 22c shown on the can. Read lots learn trial and error, you'll get there :beerbang:

MB

P.S. Better yeast buy something from your LHBS even dried varieties fresh yeast is way better than whats siting on top of than can

 

[manticle]

Temp control.
Good yeast.
Pimp tins or go to extract brewing.
Stovetop biab.

In that order. Cleanliness and sanitation a given.

 

[Red Baron]

Welcome Jack,
Man I wish the internet had been around when I started brewing cans.....

As you've got a temp controller, proper yeast is the next step i'd advise (12deg for lager, 18-20 for ale) 6-8 bucks a sachet, and as Pratty said you can keep them going from beer to beer to lower your costs even further. You'll be surprised at what a proper yeast for style can achieve. If you're not brewing in a fridge, then you'll have to wait for winter to make lagers.

Dry Hopping was another revelation to my kit brewing. Don't even bother with the 12g packets at Big W or the homebrew shop for $3, find a hop flavour you like and buy 90-100g for about $12.

Steeping grains will add heaps of flavour and mouthfeel to your beer, and you can do it on your stove top with a regular pot, so long as you have a thermometer.

These 3 things will make the awesome beer you're already making even better, for no capital outlay- just the materials. Are you starting to hear a common thread???
Hope this helps,
RB.

 

[dannymars]

I found filtering the water made a fairly substantial difference to my beer.... get an inline water filter, the type they use to put into fridges with ice makers... they are really cheap, you just need some cheap BSP fittings to attach them to your tap or hose.

 

[Blind Dog]

Everyone's path is a little different and often depends on our other commitments and interests and thus time that can be devoted to brewing. That said, temp control is a common theme and reliably the or one of the top answers in any thread of this type.

Other than that, i'd suggest some decent books to help you get started. John Palmer's 'how to brew' (1st edition is free at howtobrew.com, but is a bit outdated) and Charlie Papazian's 'complete joy of home brewing' are good starting points. My personal favourite is Randy Mosher's 'mastering Homebrew' which is a recent release. For more in depth information, the Brewers association 4 ingredients books (imaginatively called Hops, Water, Yeast and Malt) are pretty good (IMO).