returning equipment set-up suggestions

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drmick

returning equipment set-up suggestions

Post by drmick » Thu Apr 20, 2017 8:00 pm

I used to do quite a lot of all grain brews using the Hop & Grape 10 gallon brewery, but due to moving around and unsuitable flats haven't done any brewing for a couple of years.

I am in the process of buying a house for the long term and will hopefully be getting back into the habit of making good beer again. I will have a brew shed (shed is already in the garden just need to throw away those pesky gardening implements) so will have a dedicated space to do so. My plan is to upgrade my kit and have about a £1k budget to do so.

I see my options as some stainless steel and a propane burner, a grainfather and steel fermenter or a Braumeister and steel fermenter (although would be stretching the £1k budget a touch). I made a brew fridge some years ago so just really need to wort production equipment.

I know this question has been asked in various guises previously but if you had £1k to spend on an all grain set-up what would be your ideal set-up?

I was going to post this in the equipment section but looking at the posts I don't think the grainfather / Braumeister folk go in there, especially as they have a dedicated forum, but hopefully they frequent the main all grain forum hence putting it here.

Cheers

Secla
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Re: returning equipment set-up suggestions

Post by Secla » Fri Apr 21, 2017 12:18 am

I used to have a 3v system but moved over to grainfather due to time constraints, i can get a brew done in about 4.5 hours
only down side for me is the size constraint, some beers id like to brew bigger volumes of !

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Re: returning equipment set-up suggestions

Post by orlando » Fri Apr 21, 2017 7:11 am

If the shed has leccy I would forget propane and go for a decent kettle from Brewbuilder and a SS fermentor and a decent mash tun. If it hasn't I would spend some of the money on getting some to it. You're then going to need a suitable fridge for fermenting in. I would give some thought to getting water to the shed and having some way of disposing of it. Having the kit is one thing but the brewing environment is important too. Lugging your water requirement and the problems of cooling and cleaning up will soon pall the excitement of lots of shiny kit. 80% of brewing is cleaning and sanitation, that requires power and water. Even if you go for a Braufather set up the power and water requirement remains.
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Re: returning equipment set-up suggestions

Post by Kev888 » Fri Apr 21, 2017 11:59 am

If I had space for a permanent setup, I would go for a 3vessel system; they are bigger but IMO more flexible and superior for sparging. But if compactness or a degree of automation were wanted, then a braumeister or possibly grainfather would be first on the list - if you have sufficient electricity to the shed.

If you're thinking of a conical fermenter, make sure it is for the right reasons. They can be superb if your approach makes use of them, but are a premium price (and size) and many people don't actually use their facilities. In that case a brewbuilder flat-bottomed stainless fermenter would be my preference. Similarly, if you want to split batches or overlap brews, one costly FV may be more limiting than two cheaper ones. Don't overlook the ability to control it's temperature either, IMO the humblest bucket that fits in your fridge would be better than a thousand pound fermenter that varies in temperature.

Having brewed in an old garage, I can say don't overlook services. Water and electric supplies and some kind of drain or sump pump (ideally for water, something that doesn't freeze solid in winter). You may be able to manage with (high quality) extension leads and hose pipes on brew day, but carrying water about in buckets makes every brew more effort than you may imagine. Handling the steam can be important too, or else in winter the condensation turns the place into a shower.
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drmick

Re: returning equipment set-up suggestions

Post by drmick » Fri Apr 21, 2017 6:56 pm

Thanks for the responses - 66% in favour of 3 vessel, which is sort of what i was edging towards anyway. I wasn't thinking of conical fermenters just basic ones, and I already have a fermenting fridge that i converted a few years ago

The shed doesn't currently have electricity but I was going to put it in will need it for the fridge, and is only a short distance from the outside garden tap so I will use that for cooling, and take water from the kitchen for the brew.

Been wanting to get back brewing after few years of inactivity and getting quite excited at the prospect

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Re: returning equipment set-up suggestions

Post by Haydnexport » Fri Apr 21, 2017 7:36 pm

ive recently part built a dedicated building area for brewing with my 3v system and by far the best piece of equipment i have is the floor drain , i dont even have to mop now just hosepipe and squeedgy it down the drain. Even if its a drain outside the door of the shed it will be a godsend

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Re: returning equipment set-up suggestions

Post by Normski » Sat Apr 22, 2017 10:50 am

Braumeister.
Last edited by Normski on Sun Apr 23, 2017 7:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: returning equipment set-up suggestions

Post by Fil » Sun Apr 23, 2017 2:10 pm

Well I refitted the brewshed with a good electric supply wipe down walls, waterproof sealed rubber flooring (no floor drain boo hoo) to house my hand built and crafter 3v system only to then buy a grainfather.. the one gem of wisdom i totally overlooked when building up a bigger brewery was when brewing 2-3x the volume you can end up with 2-3x more dodgy beer when a brew doesn't go great And if you like brewing you will end up doing less of it!!
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Re: returning equipment set-up suggestions

Post by orlando » Sun Apr 23, 2017 2:48 pm

Fil wrote: the one gem of wisdom i totally overlooked when building up a bigger brewery was when brewing 2-3x the volume you can end up with 2-3x more dodgy beer when a brew doesn't go great And if you like brewing you will end up doing less of it!!

How many times I have I read a version of this. It ought to be part of a separate forum called Do Not Have a 100 Litre Brewery at Home. :lol:
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Fermenting:
Conditioning:
Drinking: Southwold Again,

Up Next: John Barleycorn (Barley Wine)
Planning: Winter drinking Beer

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Re: returning equipment set-up suggestions

Post by m_rawdin » Sun Apr 23, 2017 4:10 pm

I had a 3 vessel system and now own a Braumeister and haven't regretted the change one bit. The Braumeister is so easy to use and you can brew in your kitchen. I always found the 3 vessel system a little clunky for home brewing, the Braumeister is 10 times more easy to use and allows you to do things like stepped mashes. It also takes up far less room.
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Re: returning equipment set-up suggestions

Post by BenB » Sun Apr 23, 2017 7:14 pm

Electricity down to the shed and water down and waste back up is a nice thing to have but it's not completely necessary unless you're going for big brew lengths IMHO (I manage without). Permanency just removes opportunities for things going wrong. I've had an extension cable down to the shed for four years and counting (the plug is inside- the cable fits under the back door, whilst the reel is inside the shed), while I run a garden hose down to the shed for cooling water and another back up to the house for IC drainage. To fill the HLT I've got a brass quick connect with a length of silicon hose on it so I just fill up a plastic FV from the outside tap (after running it a bit to make sure the water is fresh) through the silicon hose. I carry the HLT worth of water down in two halves so they're not exactly heavy (no heavier than the final volume!). It doesn't add any time to my brew day...

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Re: returning equipment set-up suggestions

Post by Kev888 » Sun Apr 23, 2017 8:58 pm

orlando wrote:It ought to be part of a separate forum called Do Not Have a 100 Litre Brewery at Home. :lol:
Heh, yes - although I'd alter that slightly to Do Not Have ONLY a 100 Litre Brewery at Home.

My last 3v setup would do up to 100L and it was great for proven/regular/staple brews, and when brewing for parties etc. The economy of scale was worth having. However, it could do down to 40L if needed, and there was also use of BIAB for trial brews and the like. I wouldn't have wanted to brew five kegs' worth of anything experimental. Even if it worked, the number of kegs needed to offer more than one style simultaneously rockets.

It depends on circumstances, but I ultimately decided that for me a main batch of 40L or 60L is about right. Though ideally, still with the ability to do small test batches for experimenting.
Kev

drmick

Re: returning equipment set-up suggestions

Post by drmick » Sun Apr 23, 2017 10:04 pm

Thanks for all the replies.

I think I am edging towards a three vessel stainless steel setup. One thing I would like to do is make a 40L mash and then split into two 20L batches for boiling with different hop schedules - two beers for the price of one, which wouldn't be able to do in the all in one set ups. And could utilise my old hop and grape boiler to boil one batch, and get a shiny new one for the second batch so shouldn't take too much longer than a single batch. Would also be able to do a 40L batch when the mood takes.

Can't see me ever doing bigger than 40L batches so won't be tempted by 100L+ set up, then again you never know........

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Re: returning equipment set-up suggestions

Post by Matt in Birdham » Mon Apr 24, 2017 9:18 am

+1 to electric if you can do it - no turning back for me after moving from gas (cost, noise, hassle of refills etc). You're probably aiming a little big (40l batches, 50l boil?) to be able to run an induction, otherwise I would also recommend one of those (love mine for 20l batches, up to about a 30l boil).
I run a 2 vessel system with water heated in the tun via herms (not the fastest, but doesn't need to be - switch on and leave), and always full-volume mash so I don't need to heat sparge liquor. Certainly simplifies the process a little and saves a good chunk of time on the brew day as well. If you could scale it to your batch size, it might be something to think about.

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Re: returning equipment set-up suggestions

Post by BenB » Mon Apr 24, 2017 10:17 am

Before spending the cash it'd be worth posting your planned set-up for comment. A lot of money to make a mistake with :D

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