Going AG, any advice?

[prodigal2]

Ok then chaps, I now need to start planning the move to AG.

Due to my location and work commitments,(and the best supplier only shipping once a month) I need to be looking 2 or 3 months in advance
As I'm sure some of you know I only started on kits at the end of last year. Though before I had even started on kits I really wanted to make beer properly, but it took a while to find the required suppliers to even start the journey, seeing as this is a country of brewing wine mainly at home.

What I would like to do is buy stuff that can act as a good base to start with, and can be built upon.
So any how here is the list of stuff thinking of buying and also a couple of items I'm undecided upon.

1)Electrim Boiler- this can become a HLT, when I get chance to buy a large SS pot and gas burner. I did think of going the other way round, but from reading posts here and looking at HB websites it seems to be the smart way to go.

2)Mash Tun- now this has got me in a quandry. I have a perfect 30l coolbox for the job or do I do go the false bottom double fermenter route. One will allow me to use a spinning sparge arm, and the other will mean using a fixed sprinkler type system. Which route do people think would be the best for efficency and a beginner?

3)Tubing- now this is not a problem as at any hardware store I can get various thickness's all food grade.

4)Chiller- CFC or immersion, to tell the truth I'm confused on this one. Both have merits. But which would be right for me?

4)Some more fermenting buckets, I've just found a new hardware store that does 100l for 30euros, good heavy grade plastic too. Designed for wine I think.

5)Hop Bags, not sure really on this, but I do have a load of muslin for jams and jellies and such. would that be suitable?

6) pump- now this is not essential and for 30euros useful, I'm thinking a flowjet that I could hook up to my compressor.

7) thermometers- now what would be a good digital one to get? also I need to get some of the stick ones for my growing stock of fermenting vessel's

Now I think that covers all the basic kit to start brewing properly. I would love to build a herms setup but I would like to be looking at a beer not another DIY project that needs doing when I get home from work after being away for a month or two. So Herms maybe for next year I think.

Any comments are greatly appreciated

I would also like to say thank you for giving me confidence in brewing, since joining I have done 2 Wherrys, 1 Pilsner, 4 TC's, 5 batches of Vossys quick ginger beer, 2 farmhouse quick meads, Bundaberg ginger beer, Black treacle ale, and the odd hangover

sorry for the long post

[steve_flack]

Will Brouwland in Belgium ship to you? They have quite a lot of malts and their prices are pretty good. They're shipping to the UK isn't that bad for a sack of malt (20 Euros). It's actually cheaper to buy a sack of european pils malt from Brouwland and get it shipped here (about £31 shipped) than it is to buy it from a UK homebrew shop (£47.50).

1) In Europe with 240V electricity then heating with electric is probably sensible for 5 gallon batches. There are alternatives to the Electrim bin and making your own boiler is not difficult if you can get a HDPE bucket (HDPE doesn't melt or sag at boiling point).

2) I'd say the coolbox is the best method as it keeps the heat in better.

4) For starting out I'd recommend an immersion as it's easier to sterilise by just popping it in the boil for 10 minutes. CFC's are more efficient and quicker but harder to clean.

5) You get better hop utilisation without a hop bag but it saves having to make a hop strainer and I find I loose less wort with hop bags as I can squeeze them out quite easily. I generally use a hopbag - most people probably don't though.

6) Not really necessary but saves lifting. Make sure it can take the temperatures. Magnetic drive pumps are best.

7) All much of a muchness really. Digital ones aren't necessarily more accurate than analog ones. It's best to calibrate them against a reference thermometer if you can borrow one of those (reference thermometers are expensive).

[bitter_dave]

2) I'd say the coolbox is the best method as it keeps the heat in better.

In my experience my fermenter-in-a-fermenter mt loses less than 1 oC over a 90 minute mash if it is properly insulated and airtight. However, if I was starting from scratch I'd probably go with the coolbox mash tun as it will have less dead space.

Spinning sparge arms can be used with either fermenter or coolbox mashtuns.

Just 2ps worth

[prodigal2]

Thanks for all the feedback chaps

I felt the need to post just to check I was going in the right direction, seems like I am. Because I have to forward plan so much and I can't just pop down a HBS, it made sense I had to make this post.

During the past month or 2 I've spent most of my spare time reading, reading, and reading websites on HB.

DaaB I've read through your site more times than I care to remember, great resource BTW.
Also I would also say to other AG recruits read JHBF members websites, they are jammed with helpful info, links and pictures. It should also be noted that reading all the pages on Jims beer kit really helps getting your head round things.

Re: brouland, yes they will ship to Spain, but I would also like to keep supporting the in country HBS (where possible, mainly for kits mind) as they are so few they need all the trade they can get. But for the grain bill I will more than likely go brouland(a great site though on some pieces of kit I feel they are very expensive)

So onto the kit,
immersion cooler it is,
Boiler, still undecided, though the fermenter with kettle elements is ahead by a nose I think
Mash tun, cool box, with a phils spinning sparge arm
with a pump I will wait
And thermometers I will report back on that


Cheers for all the help chaps,

[PieOPah]

I might have a go at using my Grain Bag for my next mash. Will certainly save on cleaning the inner bucket.

[prodigal2]

PoP
I take a grain bag makes clean up a bit easier?

[PieOPah]

PoP
I take a grain bag makes clean up a bit easier?

It will for me. Basically I have a Bucket in Bucket MT. This means that I have to clean 2 fermenting bins when the mash is over. The inner bucket has hundreds of holes drilled into it which makes it a little harder to clean, especially with little bits of grain getting stuck in them.

If I used a grain bag instead of the inner bucket then all I need to do is rinse the bag and throw it in the washing machine (this is what I did when steeping speciality grains).

[prodigal2]

Cheers for that chaps, I feel that could push ahead of the coolbox solution

[PieOPah]

Remember that you will need insulation to keep the heat in.

Currently I use an old sleeping bag which I wrap my buckets in. This methods sees me losing about 1 degree an hour.

I have sleeping mats in the loft so I may look into cutting one of these up and wrapping it around.

[prodigal2]

If I go this way I was thinking of using double thickness foil lined roller mat with a hot water tank lining jacket.
or plan 2 would be a MDF box to house the MT with polystyrene beans as insulation.

[PieOPah]

I Never had any problems cleaning it when I was steeping grains. Possibly more grains would cause more problems.

After using my grain bag I used to stick it into the washing machine (after a small rinse under the tap) and give it a short wash/spin. I used to put it in with the rest of the washing until SWMBO complained about the grains sticking to all the clothes.

Don't seem to recall having problems drying it either. I think the spin took care of most of that.

[bitter_dave]

I would guess that it would be harder to stir a mash in a grain bag as well.

I can't say I find cleaning my inner fementing bin particuarly difficult. Grain bags also represent no cost saving either, as a fermenting bin costs almost exactly the same as grain bags

[PieOPah]

I would guess that it would be harder to stir a mash in a grain bag as well.

I can't say I find cleaning my inner fementing bin particuarly difficult. Grain bags also represent no cost saving either, as a fermenting bin costs almost exactly the same as grain bags

I've already got 2. I bought one for some strange reason (still haven't worked out why yet) and one came 'free' with my boiler.

I used to use one for steeping and one for hops during the boil

I could always tell which was which. The black bag (from all the roasted barley and black malt) was for grain while the green bag was for my hops.

[Frothy]

You can fit a spinny sparge arm in the top of the 30L coolbox mashtun. Alternatively a fixed 15mm copper manifold is just fine (& really cheap.)

If your in Spain - how about one of those gas powered Paella burners & a stock pot? Quite a few home brewers use them.

Pics of 15mm copper "fixed" sparge arm->
http://www.willmottw.fsnet.co.uk/brew/equipment/

best of luck
Frothy

[ColinKeb]

i use exactly the same proceedure as jim with no problems as long as you dont use the element very much when mashing i.e. to boost the heat up . i did this last time and managed to burn some grain on it . i should have just added some boiling water instead.