How To Spend Craftbrewer Gift Vouchers ? Keg Gear Or Grain Bills?

[Maheel]

I have a dilemma

Santa gave me some vouchers

i have done a little all grain... stove top BIAB and it was ok (nothing great tasting, but ok = lack of experiance)

i would like to do some more and considered using some of the vouchers to buy a bag of grain and some bits to do a few 15L batches of say a LCPA to try to get it tasting good...

i have fermentors and a temp controlled fridge, bottles and normal HB gear etc. also have some old 50L kegs for possibly keggels etc.....

i also have a old single stage reg, and a mate has an out of date empty CO2 extinguisher i can have (i think)

So then i thought maybe i should buy some keg gear (kegs, pony tap, line, ? etc)
and maybe just use some fresh wart kits from CB and dont worry about AG for now
i would need to add a bit of $ but that is OK

that said i am not super keen on running a keg fridge... then might also need a 2nd ferment fridge if kegs are in a fridge .....
little concerned if i spend up and dont use.... i do like brewing but....

thoughts and opinons ?

go kegging or stay bottling and buy grain and BIAB till i get it tasting good or at least better ?

 

[Pennywise]

I would say if you love the process then deffinatly spend it on the move to AG. If you just want cheaper good beer at the end of the day, and a brew day is a bit of a hasstle, go th FWK's

 

[MarkBastard]

It's just going to come down to personal preference, but I'd go with kegging.

 

[TerritoryBrew]

If you are in any doubt, you can send them my way. I can spend them...

Otherwise get yourself some good gear that can be used for AG in the future, but you can use now to make you BIAB better. A good thermometer, some good cleaning/sanitisation chems, some specialist grains and hops for your BIAB or some of the beer they sell.

Or go for option A and send them my way. PM me for the address :icon_cheers:

TB

 

[Effect]

To comfortably brew AG beer IMO you need,

2 Fridges (one for kegs and one for temp controlled fermentation)
An AG brewery (no brainer there - doesn't matter whether it is BIAB or 3V, whatever floats your boat, but not a stove top job, something that will brew at least 19 litres outside of the kitchen)
A grain mill
Refractometer


Grab whatever you need to get those 4 things...however, don't get into Kegs until you have a keg fridge, I went into kegs when I only had one fridge and therefore lost my temp controlled fridge for fermentation...not a good move.

 

[DU99]

Kegs..no more bottles to wash,no waiting for weeks for it carb..

 

[MarkBastard]

To comfortably brew AG beer IMO you need,

2 Fridges (one for kegs and one for temp controlled fermentation)
An AG brewery (no brainer there - doesn't matter whether it is BIAB or 3V, whatever floats your boat, but not a stove top job, something that will brew at least 19 litres outside of the kitchen)
A grain mill
Refractometer


Grab whatever you need to get those 4 things...however, don't get into Kegs until you have a keg fridge, I went into kegs when I only had one fridge and therefore lost my temp controlled fridge for fermentation...not a good move.

WTF?

Things you definitely don't NEED for AG brewing:
* Keg fridge
* Grain mill
* Refractometer

 

[Hatchy]

Definately need a refractometer & mill to brew AG COMFORTABLY as pointed out. I possibly wouldn't be brewing AG if I didn't have 1 of each.

A keg fridge is required for kegging but AG beer can obviously be bottled.

 

[jonocarroll]

I would say the refrac is a must (even if you're not monitoring SG during your runoff, you will want a pre-boil gravity to check and correct for without waiting for the sample to cool to hydrometer-useful levels).

I would say that a grain mill is not a must - I order all my grains by the recipe, crushed and delivered, and I would certainly say that I brew comfortably. If you want to do it cheaper, well a grain mill is probably quite handy. If you're just getting into using grains, I don't recommend you go out and buy large sacks of grains you haven't experienced yet.

To brew AG you don't need a fridge at all. To make any good beer, ferment temperature control is essential (but that control can be in the form of using a big box with ice bottles, or brewing seasonally appropriate beers) and you can naturally condition your beer in bottles if that floats your boat. If you're going to get into kegs, or lagering, then a fridge becomes a must.

I say get a simple keg setup (fridge, 1 keg, picnic tap, CO₂ charger) and see what you think of it. You can then expand it without losing equipment if you do like it, or sell it on and go back to where you are now if you don't.

 

[MarkBastard]

Definately need a refractometer & mill to brew AG COMFORTABLY as pointed out.

That's complete BS.

 

[Paul H]

Massage with happy finish

 

[geoff_tewierik]

Who does the massage? Anthony, Josh or Ross?

 

[MarkBastard]

Who does the massage? Anthony, Josh or Ross?

more importantly who does the happy finish??? :icon_vomit:

 

[manticle]

I brew AG comfortably without a refrac. I have a grain mill but my LHBS (and many others) will deliver cracked grain on request.

Temp control and gravity readings (and I agree with QB's summation of temp control) are not specific to AG but integral in all forms of brewing.

@OP: Do you see yourself moving towards AG or just wanting tasty cheap beer on tap when mates come around?

Only you can decide - I'd go for AG but that's because I got bitten by the bug a while ago. I still haven't even thought about getting a kegging system yet.

Having said that, you can go AG with stuff from plumbing shops and hospitality suppliers so maybe spend the vouchers on keg stuff.

Contradictory? me?

 

[Goofinder]

Whatever you do, don't just buy ingredients for the next few batches. Get some gear. Once the vouchers are gone it's going to be a lot easier to justify $20 for the next batch instead of $200 for a keg setup/brewery gear.

A refractometer is handy, but not essential. Same with a grain mill. I have both, but managed to brew AG before I got them. I get away without a fermenting fridge with a bit of work and timing things.

The only really essential thing for brewing is a serving fridge. Whether that's a keg fridge or just a normal fridge to put bottles in. :icon_cheers:

 

[Maxt]

Refractometer is far from essential.
My advice would be to take your time, do some homework and not rush into anything. If you can, go visit people who have some of the gear you are considering.

 

[brettprevans]

refracts essential??.....i wasnt aware hydrometers didnt exsist anymore.... yes i have a refrac and i love it but i certainly didnt have it or a fridge when i started AG.

essentially what your asking is AG or kegs. plenty of threads on that argument. it completely depends on your individual situtation and preferances.

 

[Effect]

WTF?

Things you definitely don't NEED for AG brewing:
* Keg fridge
* Grain mill
* Refractometer

Comfortably and IMO were in there for a reason...notice how I didn't put necessity to brew AG beer.

 

[manticle]

'essential' does suggest necessity though - as in can't do without.

 

[MarkBastard]

How is buying unmilled grain, storing it, buying a mill and cracking it more 'comfortable' than ordering each batch from the home brew store cracked, mixed and vac sealed.

The only benefits to milling are long term cost of ownership and being able to make recipes on a whim with stock on hand if you're that way inclined.

As for a refractometer, I don't understand how that makes it more 'comfortable' unless you're the kind of person that stresses out too much. I don't use one and always hit my OG targets.

I understand that a keg fridge is comfortable though. Nothing beats it.