To Urn Or Not To Urn, That Is The (my) Question?

[Wyno]

Hello all,
I visited TWOC supplies at the weekend to show Santa a.k.a The Wife, the starter brew kit i placed at the top of my Santa list and to have a look around and put some questions to the staff there. Santa now has a fermenter shaped parcel under my tree, but i am now more confused than before.
I had planned to do a couple kit brews move onto extract and finally graduate to AG brewing using a Burner, large alu. pot and esky mash tun set up, all within my budget. After chatting to a member of staff they recommended i stay well clear of the aluminium brew pot i had originally planned for (within budget) and go for a steel pot (defo outwith the budget). While thinking this through i noticed the big shiny Urns they had on display and the price tag, which was just a wee bit outside the budget.
So, to my topic question (Finally! i hear you cry) -

Is brewing with an Urn the way to go for a noob or anyone?

Does brewing in an Urn not take the romance away from the brewing process?

Also, whats wrong with using cheaper aluminium pots for brewing (can use weldless fitting, bonus?)?

 

[bum]

After chatting to a member of staff they recommended i stay well clear of the aluminium brew pot i had originally planned for (within budget) and go for a steel pot (defo outwith the budget).

I don't suppose they were selling said shiny pots, by any chance?

Is brewing with an Urn the way to go for a noob or anyone?

It is a way to go. Perfectly valid (and much discussed) method but there is no definite article in this regard.

Does brewing in an Urn not take the romance away from the brewing process?

Dunno about romance but making your own beer is pretty sexy no matter how you look at it.

Also, whats wrong with using cheaper aluminium pots for brewing?

Not shiny enough - that's about it as long as you get a good quality ali pot.

 

[felten]

Nothing wrong with using an ali pot, they're just a little less robust than SS. You can't use harsh chemicals on them (at either end of the pH scale), and they probably scratch easier, but that's about it.

 

[keifer33]

I am glad you have taken the time to talk about this online and research it yourself as the information on here destroys alot of HB shops in Perth for accuracy and I spose even truth for that matter.

1. Nothing wrong with an aluminium pot. The myth of aluminium is bad was just that a myth as has been covered a few times (search function yields more info). There are plenty of people on here using them and can be drilled for a weldless fitting like any other pot (even easier than stainless). Its good to get you started and learn to see what works best for you.

2. Brewing in an urn doesn't act any differently than a burner and a pot. It is merely just an element placed inside a pot of sorts with a thermostat on it. You still do everything else the same so you can romance your pot/urn all you like.

As much as I don't want to say it but look outside of WA when purchasing some things. I got my SS pot welded and fitted how I wanted and delivered cheaper than I could buy just the pot here. You can get from Craftbrewer a 70Lt stainless pot $150 , 2200w element $40, weldless bv fittings $40 and delivery like $50 and still have enough room inside the pot to get a grain bill, some hops and yeast for the maiden brew. I didn't catch the price of the urn but I'm sure it was closer to $300 when I was there last.

EDIT: Grammar

 

[Wyno]

Thanks guys.
Agree with Bum, making your own beer is pretty sexy.
Hey Keifer33, the Ali pot i was looking at was $100 for 40Lish (crab pot from BCF) will defo check out the fitted SS 50L for $150, sounds good.

Cheers

 

[Fat Bastard]

If you're not comfortable with working metal or mucking around with elements and sealing pipe fittings buy an urn,

If you're happy to drill some holes and fiddle about with sealing pipe fittings buy an ally pot.

If you know how to make holes in stainless steel, seal pipe fittings or weld stainless, get a stainless pot. And if you're ok with all that you'll probably be ok with making up a temp controller and hop blocker/false bottom.

Whichever way you go it'll be within 50 bucks in terms of cost, for the basic hardware. If I didn't have access to a machine shop and S/S fabrication facilities, I'd probably just buy an urn. As it was, an urn was still a serious consideration for sheer convenience.

 

[Diesel80]

Thanks guys.
Agree with Bum, making your own beer is pretty sexy.
Hey Keifer33, the Ali pot i was looking at was $100 for 40Lish (crab pot from BCF) will defo check out the fitted SS 50L for $150, sounds good.

Cheers

Got my 80L Alu pot from a wholesale supplier in Northbridge, and bought 2 cases of beer glasses at same time. Sold me the pot in the deal for 116+ GST.

Look at the catering wholesalers in perth. There are about 4 scattered about that all sell to public and prices are not bad with some arm twisting thrown in.

Like everything in perth you will pay more than an item is worth, but $116ex i thought was reasonable deal.

D80

 

[stux]

You can brew nice AG brews with nothing more than a 40L urn and a few meters of swiss voile from spotlight.

Look into BIAB if you haven't already

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=36094

And then add a 20L willow water Jerry

 

[Wyno]

Sweet, cheers D80