All grain

[Bigd2657]

HI All,

Ive just decided to take the plunge and to go out and buy some all grain equipment.

Could someone write down a shopping list of things I need to by which I would be able to get back from the shop and try and make a all grain beer without thinking I am missing something first please.

I want try and complete this as cheaply as possible but I don't want to scrimp and scrape on the items which I need the most orif I need a better quality item I am quite willing to spend the extra on that.


I have completed about 20 beer kit brews so I have all that equipment already.

I will be looking at making about 23ltre brews to ferment .

Many thanks in advance

Bigd2657

 

[Fil]

May i suggest you start with minimal equipment a boil pot and a grain bag, Its all you need to make a beer, and after a couple of brews you will have a very clear idea of just what extra equipment (if any) would suit you and your brewspot.

for the kettle your options start at Budget diy based on a hdpe or PP bucket/barrel fitted with budget kettle elements and copper/brass plumbing fittings for drain valve etc. The copper kettle online brewshop sell PP buckets suitable for boiler making and everything needed to make a 1st class budget brew kettle, ex mango chutney barrels (40-50l) were on ebay for £11 delivered ( not atm tho) and can often be obtained from the local indian restaurant

off the shelf you could look at a peco or ace brew kettle (circa 30l) or a burco (30l) or buffalo (40l) tea urn and exchange the tap/valve. (boil protection may need bypassing/upgrading if using a tea urn)


on top of the boil kettle grain bag and all your cold side kit a chiller to chill the boil to pitching temps would be useful, but you may wish to check out 'no chill' (pasturising a jerrycan or cube by filling with off the boil wort closing tight and rolling the cube to ensure hot wort covers every inner surface so the heat can kill anything lurking.. )

Or jump head first and buy a grainfather or an ace rims kettle all in one system, i am a grainfather fanboy owner so am biased, but they work very well and the folk who have bought into the cheaper ace system all seem to be very pleased going by posts in here..

 

[Gerryjo]

+1 what Fil says as you may as well walk before you run and make sure AG is what you want to do.

Sent from my Hudl 2 using Tapatalk

 

[Pawlo7671]

Your boiler needs to be were you spend some money, weather you go with a big old stock pot and a gas burner or electric urn you can brew in a bag and then later get a mash tun. As Fil says, If your budget allows then an all in one system like the Grainfather is bloody amazing and takes up little room.

The basics you will need :

A boiler
Mash tun
wort chiller
stock pot or urn to heat sparge water

check this out :

http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/all-grain-starter-pack-for-5-gallon-batches-p-1127.html

Going all grain is the best thing in terms of brewing iv done yet, oh and you can knock out a decent 23l batch for little more than a fiver so your equipment soon pays for its self, just be prepared to put a least half a day to one side.

 

[robbym123]

Agree 100%.

I started with a 50l biab set up, apart from upgrading to 100l i have never seen the need to move on. Whilst the set up is different the process is the same, as is the result. Vs. 3 vessel i save time (during brew and tidying afterwards) plus money. C2000 bottles later i see no need to change my set up.

 

[Leon103]

I will argues against the above and if you plan to brew 23l go and buy the kit now. No doubt after one small brew you will want to go bigger and you will need more kit.

I would set a budget and work to that. Buying online is cheaper and our site sponsors have some good deals.

You will need a boiler - minimum 33l for 23l brew. A mash tun (unless going biab)
Chiller.
And something to heat sparge water

 

[MyQul]

Leon mentions a chiller but you dont have to buy one at this stage. You could just do no chill then get a chiller at some point later in your brewing career (or never if your happy with no chill)

 

[IainM]

If you can afford an ACE micro brewery or Bulldog Brewer, I'd go for one of them straight away. If your budget won't stretch then I don't think you can do full size batches cheaper than buying the HBC BIAB bundle (don't forget the additional 5% forum discount code). Probably worth getting their copper hop strainer too.

 

[Simonh82]

+1 for Brew in a Bag. A 30L boiler like a Burco will just allow you to make 23L if you do a small sparge. If you want to do full volume BIAB without a sparge then you would probably need a 40L boiler.

I like getting my brew day over so I think an immersion chiller is a good investment. If you are happy to no chill then it is less of an issue.

 

[photek1000]

One of the BIAB starter bundles from one of the forum sponsors is a great way to get going, good value and a bundled recipe to try.

 

[The Baron]

I bought the BIAB peco boiler kit from the homebrew company in Ireland and is a really good way to start at minimum cost also would recommend buying one of their allgrain kits for your first attempt as it is easy to do (I think they throw a free kit in with your order of the peco BIAB kit)
I do a full volume mash in my peco and it boils no problem

 

[MickDundee]

Another one here saying BIAB. It's the most cost effective way of doing 23L AG brews. You just need a boiler and a bag. A chiller is desirable (especially if you do hop forward beers) but not essential.

A lot of people on the forum swear by the BIAB starter kits that some of the Homebrew shops do (most of these come with everything including a chiller and gain kit), and I have an Ace Boiler from eBay (just boiler and bag, no chiller although I have one from my original 2nd hand BIAB set up) and love it.

 

[shepp]

I would go for the Bulldog Brewer.

 

[chuffer]

Or you could save yourself a few bob and build your own mash tun using an old coolbox (I got a massive 2nd hand one off ebay for £20) and some copper tubing - £10ish from B&Q (there's plenty of how-to thread's on this forum to show you how), then all you'd need is a boiler - you could go for a big stock pot (33L) - £40ish and heat using a propane burner - £30ish or you could get an electric one (not sure how much these cost).....that should keep you going for a while until you feel the need to build a copper immersion chiller using copper tubing - £20 from B&Q

 

[johnnyboy1965]

HI All,

Ive just decided to take the plunge and to go out and buy some all grain equipment.

Could someone write down a shopping list of things I need to by which I would be able to get back from the shop and try and make a all grain beer without thinking I am missing something first please.

I want try and complete this as cheaply as possible but I don't want to scrimp and scrape on the items which I need the most orif I need a better quality item I am quite willing to spend the extra on that.


I have completed about 20 beer kit brews so I have all that equipment already.

I will be looking at making about 23ltre brews to ferment .

Many thanks in advance

Bigd2657

Big choice...gas or electric?

 

[johnnyboy1965]

If its gas....its about £270.00...this set up will out live you or me.
A little bit of DIY is involved, but if you have drill and a little CDF. Its basic