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Mr BR

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could somebody tell me what i need as in a list of stuff for going AG would be much appreciated i know what i need but getting bogged down in the details so a fresh pair of eyes would clear this up for me thanks :cheers:
 
I am getting some ag kit together too and as far as I can see, in addition to the usual stuff which you need whatever method you use, you will need:

Boiler with hop filter
Mash tun with grain filter
Chiller (plate or immersion)
HLT (optional, your boiler can double up as your HLT)

I think that's about it, if not I am sure someone will correct me.
 
that's what I'm using:

Electric Boiler
Coolbox mash tun
Copper immersion cooler

You could not bother with the cooler, some people use a no-chill approach and claim it works fine
 
Have I got this thinking right?
If you use an HLT/Boiler, you have to sparge into your FV, then transfer from the FV back into the HLT/Boiler, then after boiling transfer back into the FV?
Or as usual, am I missing the point! :wha:
 
your biggest thing is gas or electric , if you buy plastic then no gas also if nowhere to brew out doors like a shed , no gas , but having gas does mean no messing with electrics but you have to buy gas and burner , so most go electric . (i have gas)

so boiler that will do at least 33l or more
a mash tun either coolbox or thermo pot at least 25l
a good paddle for mixing grains (plastic ok but bend when hot) in mash tun (for clumping)
how are you sparging ? batch sparge then just refill your mash tun for 2nd time or fly sparge and then you need a sparge arm (and poss pump unless you have a 2 tier bench , which is why batch sparging is easier to start with)
2 hop strainers ,
2 taps or valves,
2 tank connectors or other method to fit hop strainers to mash/boiler plus plumb fittings
thermometers (digital better they can be very cheap)
wort chiller (you could not bother but i'll put money on it you'll soon get 1 after you brew without 1 for a few goes)
digital scales to measure in grammes for hops and also kg for grains (deffo needed)
this is to start with , it is worth it though :cheers:
 
evanvine said:
Have I got this thinking right?
If you use an HLT/Boiler, you have to sparge into your FV, then transfer from the FV back into the HLT/Boiler, then after boiling transfer back into the FV?
Or as usual, am I missing the point! :wha:
from boiler to mash tun and while that's happening at same time from mash tun to FV then when done back to boiler ' thats if using a sparge arm (fly sparging) or
if you was batch sparging you would , from boiler to mash tun ,(60 min mash etc waiting) drain into fv then add more water from boiler to mash tun wait (20 mins etc) drain off to fv then all wort into boiler for boil with hops etc done
 
once again cheers pittsy, cant think why i would use HLT when i already have a boiler that would be sitting doing nothing whilst HLT was boiling water to mash with , maybe i aint grasping something here :wha: , getting or have got graham wheelers brewing real ale book 3rd edition for my birthday on wednesday 9th may so once i have read some of this it might clear somethings up for me :cheers:
 
Mr BR said:
once again cheers pittsy, cant think why i would use HLT when i already have a boiler that would be sitting doing nothing whilst HLT was boiling water to mash with , maybe i aint grasping something here :wha: , getting or have got graham wheelers brewing real ale book 3rd edition for my birthday on wednesday 9th may so once i have read some of this it might clear somethings up for me :cheers:

The main reason for the hlt, mash tun and boiler is time saving. If you only have the boiler and mash tun then you have to collect all your wort in a large bucket (50L in my case) and wait until you've finished sparging before you can pour it in the boiler and start to bring the wort to the boil. I now use 3 vessels, so my mash runoff is coming to the boil while I do my first sparge, I then add that to the boiler while I do the second sparge,this is added to the boiler as it runs off so I'm pretty much at the start of the boil by the time I'm done sparging. However using just the boiler and mash tun my big bucket of wort will have cooled down a lot more and will take a while to get back up to boiling.
So in brief, you only need the mash tun and boiler, but adding the hlt saves time and makes things easier.
 
Im looking at BIAB for starters because of the cheaper start up cost, But how do you add the hops etc? do they just go in the bag?

Could someone do a How To on BIAB brewing?

Andy
 
There are tons of slightly different ways to do it but my process is basically as follows:

Heat water in a big pan to the desired temperature
Put drawstring mesh bag in so the neck ties around the top of the pan
Add grain and give a bloody good stir
Mash for as long as your recipe tells you
Pull out the grain bag and dump in a colander in a bucket
Rinse the grains with hot water then tip this liquid into your big pot
Heat until the wort boils
Add hops directly to the boiling liquid
Cool wort in a sink full of cold water and ice blocks
Rinse and sanitise your mesh bag and place over the neck of your Fermenter
Pour wort, hops, gunk and all into the fermenter using the mesh bag as a strainer
Remove bag and check volume of liquid you have left and the gravity
Adjust with cold tap water if necessary
Pitch yeast
 
Thanks for that puravida.

It seems very simple to do, why do others do it with Boiler Mash Tun and HLT if BIAB works just as good?

Andy
 
Well the main reason is BIAB is limited to how much you can brew at once really.
Much over 20L starts to get tricky as you are listig the bag of grain and pouring stuff around.
I brew 19L batches to fill a corny keg so suits me fine!

I also don't have room for all the kit I'd need to brew the conventional way. Added to which I have two small children so with BIAB I can make beer start to finish in the kitchen whilst entertaining them too!
I've got the process pretty dialled now so providing I pay attention to the timer clock I set then I can go off and do other stuff.
 
Thanks again,

It's a very cheap way of getting into AG and i supose the pan can be converted to an electric boiler at a later time if thats the way i choose to go!

This will be my entry point to BIAB AG in September.

Andy
 
Mr BR said:
once again cheers pittsy, cant think why i would use HLT when i already have a boiler that would be sitting doing nothing whilst HLT was boiling water to mash with , maybe i aint grasping something here :wha: , getting or have got graham wheelers brewing real ale book 3rd edition for my birthday on wednesday 9th may so once i have read some of this it might clear somethings up for me :cheers:

I drain off the mash and fly sparge into 2 FV's - 15 litres each, simply because 15 l is easy to lift back up and pour into the boiler. I could use a pump at this stage. 30 litres is usually about right to give a 23 litre final volume after evaporation and losses to hops. I have a 40 litre boiler, and I'm glad I do have that spare capacity just to reduce the chances of boil overs
 
puravida said:
PS - yes it is simple!!!!!

:thumb:

puravida said:
If you can make soup, you can make beer!!!!!

Mixed veg ale ABV 5% :sick: :sick: :sick:

although ..... you never know intil you've tried it :wha:

.... think I'll leave it to someone else though :lol:
 
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