New to AGB. Equipment suggestions.

[Jayson Ryland]

Hey guys. Brand new here and really excited by the community and posts.

I am looking at setting up new for AGB. I have got my hands on 2 x kegs for HLT and kettle but need to equip myself fully. Also have fridge and stc-1000.

Does anyone have suggestions for mash tun, pump,fermenter etc.

Thanks and I’m sure there are already topics on this just struggling to find it.

Cheers jays.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

I mentioned this before to another newstarter KegKing have some Robobrews they are unloading with a free pump $440 if that is big enough, I think they were will be open to offers I would say.

 

[Tex083]

The Robobrew is a great starting point. If you want to move to a 3v system in the future you can use the Robobrew as a HLT and use the a HERMS HLT with the included chiller

 

[Whistlingjack]

Basic (and cheap) AG set up. Continues to produce great beers.

A small initial investment gets the beer flowing and upgrades can be introduced. I haven't bothered to change this since building it 12 years ago. In the process of adding a pump.

WJ

 

[Jayson Ryland]

View attachment 112132

Basic (and cheap) AG set up. Continues to produce great beers.

A small initial investment gets the beer flowing and upgrades can be introduced. I haven't bothered to change this since building it 12 years ago. In the process of adding a pump.

WJ

Hey WJ.

Thanks so much. This is almost exactly what I have in my mind.

May I ask a couple of questions?

1. Is this gas powered?
2. If so how do you avoid melting side of mash tun?
3. Where on earth can you find mash tun like this?
4. Is pump for recirculating wort?
5. Do you hotcube?
6. What do you ferment in? I.e plastic, glass or stainless?

Cheers jays.

 

[Whistlingjack]

1. Is this gas powered?
2. If so how do you avoid melting side of mash tun?
3. Where on earth can you find mash tun like this?
4. Is pump for recirculating wort?
5. Do you hotcube?
6. What do you ferment in? I.e plastic, glass or stainless?

1. Yes, gas burners on the HLT and kettle.
2. Melted the handle once with the HLT burner. Now provide a suitable space between and its off the stand getting cleaned while the kettle boil is going.
3. Its a "Keep Cold" 50litre cooler. I got it at the local plastics shop. I've seen them in camping stores also. A suitable size square esky will do the same job. I got the round type because it provides for a deeper mash bed (important when fly sparging, although I batch sparge)
4. The pump is to move wort to a fermenter. I gravity feed at the moment, but the flow slows when a little trub gets stuck in the plate chiller.
5. I use a plate chiller which gets the wort down to around 20C.
6. I do 40 litre batches which end up giving me about 33 litres which I distribute in two plastic fermenters. I will be upgrading shortly to a single, conical fermenter.

WJ

 

[AzfromOz]

Bare minimum set up is similar to Whistling Jack's, but you can get away with:

1. gas burner
2. gas bottle
3. 10 gallon kettle (make it good quality - buy once and never again)
4. 20L stock pot
   
5. 10 gallon mash tun (make it good quality too)
   
6. mash paddle
   
7. immersion chiller
8. fermenter
9. some tubing to transfer, via gravity, from mash tun to fermenter.

You'll need to juggle the kettle on brew day to allow you to sparge and hold the wort that's come out of the mash tun, but a 15 or 20L stock pot from Big W will do the trick to hold the wort until you transfer it to the kettle (drain the mash tun into the stock pot than batch sparge using heated water from the kettle into the mash tun. Then pour the wort from the stock pot into the kettle, and then collect the sparged wort into the kettle). The 7 items I've described were my base set up. I'd mash on the outdoor picnic table and use gravity to move from the mash tun to the kettle and then from the kettle to the fermenter. I would literally carry the kettle from my burner to the mash tun, which I'd place on the ground and pour the strike water in to. Similarly would carry the cooled kettle to the picnic table to transfer to the fermenter. It can be done, and done well. Have upgraded a heap since then, but still manually transfer wort etc.

Up your game by using pure oxygen for oxygenation, make yeast starters and a temperature-controlled fridge. I'm still a brewer who asks dumb questions, but you never stop learning!

Cheers

 

[H@wkeye!]

https://cheekypeakbrewery.com.au has about the best range of brew equipment in Australia (that i've found). Most of my stuff came from them, it also has cheaper, more beginner stuff too (incl. cooler mash tuns - with values).

 

[Schikitar]

If starting out not sure why anyone would go with a 3V system when you can do 1V/2V with significant reduction in expense, space and time!? You know, unless you're like a traditionalist or brewing on a bigger scale - am I missing something??

I'm really happy with my Crown 40L BIAB no-chill system, produces great beer at minimal expense, fuss and a tiny footprint (that said, I don't have as much space as some)! The only thing I'm looking to improve is AFTER the kettle; fermentation, kegging etc.,

 

[Jayson Ryland]

No reason than because that’s her w I’ve seen it done.

Can you give me a breakdown of what’s required if I do a 1 or 2 vessel system similar to above?

Cheers.

 

[Matplat]

If you have a keg, cut the top off, fit a tap to the bottom, then get a 'swiss voile' bag, this can just be a flat bit of 'swiss voile' from spotlight if you want (which is actually easer to clean).

Then with a gas burner you have yourself all the kit you need to brew full volume BIAB no-chill. This will get you going and you can add bits to the system if you want, however this method will produce excellent beer and you will struggle to justify further expense.

 

[S.E]

.

 

[S.E]

If starting out not sure why anyone would go with a 3V system when you can do 1V/2V with significant reduction in expense, space and time!? You know, unless you're like a traditionalist or brewing on a bigger scale - am I missing something??

I started out with 1v BIAB in the early 80s. At that time it was the traditional home brewing setup.

3V systems didn’t become popular until the 90s when mostly American brewers I think started building them and posting pictures on the internet.

These were copied and became the norm here in Australia and grain bags were virtually unheard of until a few members here on AHB revived the method, called it BIAB and made it popular again.

In fact a few of them thought they were inventing the method at the time and continued to claim so despite all evidence to the contrary. This has skewed the facts somewhat and it is still common for BIAB to be thought of as a new revolutionary method but this couldn’t be further from the truth.

If you read any pre 80s homebrew books you will be hard pressed to find anything but 1V or 2V with grain bags or bucket in a bucket mentioned. I certainly have never seen any reference to anything else.

I went to 3V mainly to brew 60L batches I have a simple 4V system now with twin gas HLTs.

 

[Schikitar]

Oh okay, that's kinda cool to know!

 

[MHB]

I don't agree entirely with SE, but there is an element of truth in there. Brew in a bag has been around since the 1950's, but it's reasonable I think its fair to say that Pat re-invented it (along with the 3 page post), I doubt any of us realised it had priors until later.
One thing our American friends did bring was vessel inflation. In commercial brewing only vessels that come into contact with wort are called Brewing Vessels (Mash Tun, Lauter Tun, Kettle, Mash/Kettle, Whirlpool...) an HLT isn't counted, or wasn't until US home brewers thought it sounded better. Most peoples 3V systems really are only 2V and a lot of 2V are really only 1V.
UK brewers tended to use the same type of naming as commercial brewers (until recently) which could and does account for a lot of confusion.

To the OP
The one bit of kit that I think any starting out AG brewer really needs is a good lab grade thermometer.
One you can trust, can use as a reference for all the sensors you will end up having (we are all tech geeks I think).
It will be about the best $15-20 you will ever spend on brewing kit and can save you a whole heap of grief.
Having control of your mashing temperatures can really be the difference between making beer and consistently brewing freaking awesome beer!

Mark

 

[S.E]

but it's reasonable I think its fair to say that Pat re-invented it (along with the 3 page post), I doubt any of us realised it had priors until later.

I really don’t see how it could be reasonable or fair to say Pat re-invented it just because most members on this forum hadn’t heard of it.

I know for a fact that in the UK (and most likely in other countries) BIAB bags were still readily available and on the shelves in home brew shops at the time that Pat was supposed to be inventing or re-inventing them.

They were sold alongside Bruheat boilers which was a purpose built temperature controlled 1v system.

For sure Pat enthusiastically shared his brewing ideas and experiments here on AHB as have many other brewers.

BIAB is such a simple idea that I’m sure anyone in the UK pre 1962 that knew how to brew (anyone that had worked in a commercial brewery for instance) and wanted to brew at home illegally would have come up with the idea independently as they wouldn’t have internet or even HB books. Far easier to conceal than a 3v keg system.

 

[MHB]

Cite 1 reference.
Seriously I haven't seen one, only heard about comments by Dr Fix who mentioned "pillow case brewing" reportedly that dates from the 1950's
If you can find any mention of brew in a bag - share
Mark

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Mrs Beaton mentions it.

 

[S.E]

Cite 1 reference.
Seriously I haven't seen one, only heard about comments by Dr Fix who mentioned "pillow case brewing" reportedly that dates from the 1950's
If you can find any mention of brew in a bag - share
Mark

I have in the past posted pictures from a 70s HB books of single vessel BIAB but can’t find them at the moment and can’t remember which one had the illustrations. I think it may have been Dave Lines Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy.

I have found this old post from yob though: https://aussiehomebrewer.com/threads/dave-line-big-book-of-brewing-1985-edition.92892/#post-1412348

The bag in the picture is being used like a false bottom in a bucket/mashtun but it does say at the bottom that the bag had 4 handles for carrying ‘’or suspending above the boiler if necessary for sparging’’ which is the single vessel BIAB method.

You wouldn't need to suspend it over the boiler for sparging if you are using it in a separate mash tun would you?

My old books are packed away in boxes somewhere if I get a chance Ill find and scan them again.

The only book I have to hand at the moment is Home brewing By Graham Wheeler published 1993. If you have a copy look up Grain bag (p182 in my edition) the paragraph ‘’Mashing using a grain bag and boiler’’ describes how to single vessel BIAB.

 

[MHB]

Not helping the OP much with his question, but...
Been and had a look at my copy of Wheelers book (1993 Ed of Home Brewing), there isn't much mention of a grain bag, except as a way to hold a small amount of Crystal or Dark malt in the kettle when kit/extract brewing. there is an illustration of a bag lining a kettle and being sparged, but it's a hop bag.
Both looking up the reference to Grain Bag in the index and page 182 really don't yield any more. Reading the link above is also far from useful, just a recollection of a undersize bag being available, rather then the full volume kettle lining process now known as BIAB.
I'm nor saying that no one did brew in a bag before Pat. Just that in its present iteration it was independently re-invented by Pat here on AHB. I have no doubt it was used previously, just that it wasn't well known nor in use in this community.
Pretty much what re-invented means.
Mark