Hello all!

Hello all,

Have been dabbling in some kit brewing and over the last couple of years and have decided to take the plunge into doing it as a primary hobby.
Bought an all in one brewing system and had a go.
First lager is kegged and being left for a while before trying to drink.
Looking to get into some cider and wine making too.
Joined the forum as its been a saviour at times with information. Hoping that I can learn more about it and eventually start contributing to newcomers like myself.
Expect to see me posting around asking some potentially daft questions as Im brewing in a very small space and trying to make the best of what equipment I have without gathering more. Cheers!

Welcome to the forum

Welcome to the forum

What equipment have you got? And what are you avoiding?

Moved to equipment forum - Admin

MashBag said:

What equipment have you got? And what are you avoiding?

Click to expand...

This comment ended up longer than I thought but the more I typed the more that I started to realise that I haven't actually discussed this with folk who know about this topic intimately, it's just been with friends and family who aren't as interested in it at this level so apologies for the length of this but also thank you for allowing me a platform to share my thoughts and ideas on this new personal venture properly.

The easiest question for me to answer right now is I'm trying to avoid clutter. I want my space to be as efficient as possible with the equipment I have complimenting each other as much as possible to avoid gathering a lot of specific tools for specific purposes.
I know that I will gather these specific purpose tools but I want to minimise it as much as possible.

Current Equipment:
All Grain Brewing Equipment

• 35L Brewzilla Gen3.1.1
  • Immersion Chiller
  • Hop Spider
• 30L Fermzilla All Rounder with pressure kit including 80 mesh filter
• 20L, 8L & 4L PET Oxebar Kegs
• Kegland Mk4 CO2 reg with deluxe SodaStream adapter
• RAPT Pill
• Ball lock Spunding Valve G2

Wine/Cider Equipment

• 2×5L demijohns with multiple Airlocks
• 30L plastic bucket
  • probably getting rid for a new one or just use the All rounder for everything moving forward

Other Equipment

• 2×25L HDPE Jerry Cans primarily used for RO water
  • Likely to invest in some smaller ones for waste transport.
• Auto syphons of two sizes (1 for 5L demijohns and 1 I used for buckets that I waaaaaay oversized and could be used for 23L carboys)
• Beer bottling gun
• Pluto Dispense gun
• Manual Hydrometer (will always check manually against the Pill for peace of mind)
• Manual Thermometer
• Bottling wand
• Corker
• Capper

The plan moving forward in order of investment is going to be:

1. DIY Fermentation Chamber using a RAPT Temp Controller
2. Stainless Steel Two Tier workbench
3. Extraction setup to pull boiling wort vapor out the existing Velux window in the room and prevent build up and condensing on internal surfaces
   • made a mess on the walls and ceiling the first time and it's why I've been banished to the room I use as an office space by my housemates, I'm just glad they are still letting me do it in the house so need to suss that one out.
4. Bucket Blaster for cleaning fermenters, demijohns, kegs, bottles etc.
5. Upgrading to 2KG CO2 tank as main source and only have SodaStreams to use for dispense purposes.
6. Upgrading to Corny Kegs
7. Upgrade to Wine/Cider Equipment
   • This will probably need a section of it's own so will break away and put down some initial thoughts under a new header.

My overall goal for my setup is that all of my brewing will be happening in the one room. It's a shared space I use as an office area so when on meetings, having it in the background makes for some fun chat with colleagues.
The only things I want to be taking into the room are Beer/Wine Kits and 25L Jerry Cans of RO water (I know nothing about water chemistry right now but I can use RO water for cleaning).
The only things I want to be taking out of the room are finished products to finish or drink and Jerry cans/bags of waste to dispose of.
I'll be buying whatever premade/custom grain kits as per requirement to avoid containers of raw ingredients sitting around due to space limitations.

I will also be looking to learn about water chemistry and using RO water to build my own water profiles for my beers and looking into how they affect my wines too but it is handy for cleaning as I live in a moderately hard water area and hate looking at chalky water marks after I've finished my cleaning routine.

Upgrade to Wine/Cider Equipment
This is likely where a lot of my daft questions are going to come from, not so much from the perspective of cider but definitely from the wine making side.
I want to gather winemaking equipment to compliment the existing equipment.
I want to be able to make filtered wines for myself and others to enjoy.
I was looking at the idea of closed transfer wine making but this raises more issues such as stabiliser and fining addition as well as degassing methods. I also don't know how consistent exposure of CO2 to wine affects it and I'm unsure of the availability of things like nitrogen or argon to the public in NI. All things that my curious mind would love to try to overcome but the more I think about it the more items I need to gather for it and that bill shoots up even higher and the space required expands which negates my goal.
So not going to over complicate it and stick to the tried and tested methods.
I'm likely going to purchase:

• 2 23L Carboys (PET for ease and cost)
• Degassing wand
• Vinbrite Filter and pads

I feel like I'm forgetting a lot of stuff though by trying to keep it compact.

Do you have running water and waste?

Welcome to the forum.

MashBag said:

Do you have running water and waste?

Click to expand...

No access to running water and waste so water and waste will be transported in and out via jerry cans. Don't see any way round it as I'm in the top room of a terraced house. It's just a bedroom that I've turned into an office/work space.
For the wine making I'll definitely be getting the 23L PET carboys as I bought a fridge tonight for starting a fermentation chamber and measurements from suppliers show that the glass carboys at 560mm tall won't fit.
The internal height (from the compressor ledge) is about 510/520mm so a PET carboy with a blowoff tube would likely be the best option for me.

Google

Wide Neck Wine Fermenter​

Very good. Very versatile. Sensible money.

To keep everything on the one place I thought I'd give a quick update.

1. Have built a fermentation chamber. Got a Kenwood KUL55X23 new from Curry's for £149. Using a tubular space heater and a RAPT Temperature controller. I have a small fan somewhere around the house so will incorporate this in too. So... Fermentation Chamber? ️
2. I've reconsidered this point about a stainless steel two tier table and there really isn't room for it. Have decided to go with a wall mounted peg board instead to wall mount whatever I can.
3. Extraction setup ended up being a Brewzilla Steam Condenser. It's on the way. My housemates have agreed they will deal with the smell with the knowledge if they'll get free beer. I'm good with this lol.
4. Got the Bucket Blaster. Going to go to B&Q and pick up some tubing to adapt it for using to clean bottles too. Two birds and all that.
5. Sticking with sodastream for now but looking into a Shank Tank I've seen on the Brülosophy YouTube channel in the cheapskate brewer tips and tricks video. I'm intrigued by this so will look into it more.
6. PET Kegs are working fine for now. Not in the budget to upgrade to this just yet

MashBag said:

Google

Wide Neck Wine Fermenter​

Very good. Very versatile. Sensible money.

Click to expand...

This comes into point 7... if these are worth it then I will be using these... can you recommend over a carboy?
I'll likely by buying a filter too, just as it's personal preference to filter.

I recommend these wholeheartedly.

MashBag said:

I recommend these wholeheartedly.

Click to expand...

Yes I am still using 2 vintage boots ones that must be 30 years old & still soldiering on.

Back again after a small hiatus.

I'm finishing up my fermentation chamber (finally) and the small fan I have is not going to be suitable. It was just a usb fan that was either on or off and I think I'd prefer a PWM fan.
Bit stuck for what to get though.

Thinking about this group of options:
https://www. amazon .co.uk/GDSTIME-Computer-Cooling-Adjustable-Chassis/dp/B087J1VY26/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY

in either the 120x120x25mm single fan or the 240x120x25 dual fan. Leaning toward the dual fan on a lower setting for a more even airflow spread if that makes sense?
Securing the fan at the top of the fridge door to allow for heat to be pulled up from the heating tube and circulated as well as the cooler air circulated from the back.
Thoughts?

Currently have a PET Oxebar keg in there and realised after an hour that I needed to pressure it slightly to prevent it from caving in on itself so added ~15psi/1bar of pressure to the keg and hope that'll be enough to hold...

I have come to realise I don't have anywhere near enough of the various types of silicone tubing so probably going to do a shop when payday arrives again.
Will keep posted.