Homebrewing Equipment

[Sleepy T]

Been thinking about getting a new burner and analog digital control to try and add on to my homebrewing equipment. Anyone have any suggestions on a good place to get this equipment at a reasonable price? Anyone have any info. on the best products?? I have looked at Morebeer.com, Northernbrewer and Midwest Supplies, all have very similar products (if not exactly the same). Here are the two items I am seriously considering..


60,000 BTU- Upping my boils to 10-13 gallons (net 8-10 gallons) but may go up a tad from there in the future (with new kettles). Would this be enough to boil up to 25 gallons as the listing says??

and
Programmable 20-80 degrees Fahreinheit

Thoughts??

 

[Sleepy T]

Also seen this on the classified ads on homebrewtalk.com. Something like this gives me a boner. Eventually want to end up with this kind of rig (or close). Listed for $1400. Sorry it is sideways.

I am also looking at getting a grain mill very soon. So I can buy my base malts by the 50lb bag.

 

[757Hokie83]

the temp controller that you show is the same one that i have on my kegerator, has worked great for me so far, i've had it for close to 2 years now

 

[iv_hokie12]

That looks awesome to me! I have the exact same temp controller on my kegerator, and getting a similar burner next month. I currently brew with a friend, but itll be great to get my own rig

 

[wartyOne]

Go with a minimum of 90,000 BTU (Just did some research; 60,000 BTU is plenty. I thought my burners were 120,000, but I was mistaken). Much more efficient. It will be hard on your kettle, so go with something that can handle it, like these: Heavy Duty Brew Kettle - With Ball Valve (104 Quart/26 Gallon) | MoreBeer

I have a mash tun and kettle from this line, and when I was still homebrewing I couldn't have been happier. They are a bit more pricey, but you won't damage these with an intense burner, and the steel/copper/steel sandwich is VERY efficient at heat transfer.

Those temp controllers, as others have stated, are awesome. They're cheap, reliable, and completely effective.

 

[wartyOne]

Also, if any of you know how to sweat a copper fitting, you can build your own counterflow chiller for about $70. Immediate cooldown from 212 to 68-75 degrees (based on temp of ground water).

Private message me if you're interested and I'll explain the process.

 

[wartyOne]

Finally, use PBW and a cloth rag to clean your equipment. NEVER use one of those heavy duty green 3M scouring pads. You do so much damage to the steel, and inflict bacteria-havens with the scratches you create.

 

[Sleepy T]

Go with a minimum of 90,000 BTU (Just did some research; 60,000 BTU is plenty. I thought my burners were 120,000, but I was mistaken). Much more efficient. It will be hard on your kettle, so go with something that can handle it, like these: Heavy Duty Brew Kettle - With Ball Valve (104 Quart/26 Gallon) | MoreBeer
.

Warty, So you are saying that a 60,000 BTU burner is plenty for 25-30 gallon kettles with say 20-25 gallons of wort (if or rather WHEN I upgrade to a larger kettle down the road)?? Don't know that I am going to get any larger than 10-15 gallon batches, I am sure that size kettle that you have shown (26g) would be perfect for that.

 

[wartyOne]

Warty, So you are saying that a 60,000 BTU burner is plenty for 25-30 gallon kettles with say 20-25 gallons of wort (if or rather WHEN I upgrade to a larger kettle down the road)?? Don't know that I am going to get any larger than 10-15 gallon batches, I am sure that size kettle that you have shown (26g) would be perfect for that.

Yeah, 60,000 would be plenty. The two burners I have are 55,000 BTU.

For a 10G batch, you'll need a 15G kettle (min), but I recommend going with the 26G kettle. More headspace = less mess. AND, if you ever do want to brew a 20G batch, you have the capacity for it, and the difference in cost is negligible (like $30). Also, you don't need a third vessel. You can get away with two if you have a couple five gallon coolers (it's not ideal, but it is cheaper). HOWEVER, if you decide you want three vessels, save a bit of cash on the HLT and go with a 15G vessel. You won't ever need more than 15 gallons of sparge water, even with a 20G batch of beer.

That sculpture in the second post is cool, but not worth the price tag. Buy this guy, Self-Priming Diaphragm Pump for Beer Transfers | MoreBeer, and you can move your sweet wort to the kettle, and your wort to your fermenter (carboy or conical). As it's a diaphragm, you can also use it to transfer from fermenter to keg (if you have the fittings and capability to do so). Why this is important: you won't spend $2,000 on the stainless steel frame, and you can utilize a flat system instead of a gravity feed.

Dang. I could do this all day. Working as a professional has really made me reanalyze everything I did as a homebrewer. If you want my best piece of advice, it's this: focus on your transfers, and spend your money there. Anybody can produce excellent wort. It's what you do with it once it is in the fermenter that counts.

1). Get a conical fermenter with clover clamp fittings that you can pressurize and force beer into kegs. This keeps oxygen out of your beer (the number one problem with homebrewing).

2). Get a fridge so you can temp control your fermentations, and cold crash your beers (drops more out of suspension = cleaner beer).

3). Use fining agents like Biofine (at transfer, not at pre-fermentation).

 

[thecrow124]

Does anyone know where I can get a burner that I can hook up to a natural gas connection?

 

[wartyOne]

Does anyone know where I can get a burner that I can hook up to a natural gas connection?

I can't help with this one. Never even considered it. However, if Morebeer or Northern Brewer don't carry such devices, they can probably point you in the right direction.

 

[Sleepy T]

Does anyone know where I can get a burner that I can hook up to a natural gas connection?

Oh Yeah, Had my eye on this one, just too expensive. Looks very nice though.

72,000 BTU. $150.00. Natural Gas Conversion kit is an extra $15. Leg extensions an extra $40. I am sure there are others online.


Blichmann Floor Burner - Burners - Beer Brewing Equipment - Beer Brewing : Northern Brewer

 

[Sleepy T]

1). Get a conical fermenter with clover clamp fittings that you can pressurize and force beer into kegs. This keeps oxygen out of your beer (the number one problem with homebrewing).

2). Get a fridge so you can temp control your fermentations, and cold crash your beers (drops more out of suspension = cleaner beer).

3). Use fining agents like Biofine (at transfer, not at pre-fermentation).

Got this, hence the need for the temperature controller. Many of the beers I enjoy are fermented at colder temperatures than I can get at the coldest area of my home.

Always good info man. Guess you haven't brewed in awhile?

 

[wartyOne]

Got this, hence the need for the temperature controller. Many of the beers I enjoy are fermented at colder temperatures than I can get at the coldest area of my home.

Always good info man. Guess you haven't brewed in awhile?

Not homebrewed, no. Brewed our Stout on a 15-barrel system on Thursday, though.

And that Blichmann burner is the shit. I've seen them with propane. They're no joke. Best burner I've ever witnessed for a homebrew setup. No joke.

 

[757Hokie83]

Sparks, you might want to check this book out:

some pretty good projects in there, including, I think a grain mill. Its been a little while since i read that one

 

[Sleepy T]

Thanks 757. May have to check it out. Grain mill is one of the next items on my list. They can get quite expensive too. The homebrew forum that I lurk has a nice DIY section as well.

Would really love to build a nice automated setup at some point. With a PLC , solenoid (gas and water) valves, the whole nine yards. I get into that kinda stuff, but it is still $$$ and time. May be able to get some old stuff from work to start. One o these days....

 

[Gatorchip]

I'll be heading to electric soon.

Nice to know we have a real brewer on the board.

 

[757Hokie83]

Thanks 757. May have to check it out. Grain mill is one of the next items on my list. They can get quite expensive too. The homebrew forum that I lurk has a nice DIY section as well.

Would really love to build a nice automated setup at some point. With a PLC , solenoid (gas and water) valves, the whole nine yards. I get into that kinda stuff, but it is still $$$ and time. May be able to get some old stuff from work to start. One o these days....

i know the feeling. i'll try to remember to pull that one off the shelf today and take a look to see what all projects are in there. I remember a lot of stuff that i want to do...but like you said $$$ and time

 

[thecrow124]

I guess I owe my wife an IPAD now. She bought me the Northern Brewer Deluxe Brewing Starter Kit tonight. Along with the Caribou Slobber kit to brew. Also go a 10 gallon all grain Hefeweizen kit for us and our couple friends to brew later this month. So looks like my first batch will be an all grain collaboration. I would actually like to add some hazelnut extract before bottling to about 1/4 of the batch to try to get a banana bread flavor, but for a first batch I will likely just stick to the recipe.

 

[Gatorchip]

grats man. Welcome!

I highly recommend not trying stuff on your own until you nail a recipe as it was intended.