Equipment questions please :)

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Now you're talking! Looks really good! Almost reminds me of a staple gun ha ha! I've just been looking what else there is and I've found the nukatap which I like the look of, plus you can slot your counter-pressure bottle-filler straight into it. What do you think?

Yes I'm a bit of a magpie, I like the shine!

 

[Clint]

You'll need a Princess Leia hairdo to use that!

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Lots of shiny options here... Taps - Shanks - Fonts | The Malt Miller

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Not sure what you mean Clint ha ha! I'm guessing you're being a comedian as per usual!

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

The people on here are very helpful but, if you are like me and often think “I must have one of those”, they do cost you a lot of money

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

I don't need any help to spend a lot of money ha ha ha ha ha!

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

So my first purchase has been made from BKT. It’s all very exciting. Now I have to wait for the main money to come in. Arghh I’m not very patient! Pass the wine!

 

[cushyno]

What was your first purchase? I can't stand the suspense!

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Go for black or shiny nukataps and balance the lines, no need for flow control on tap or on the ball lock connector. Do get the springs so the tap auto closes.
Temperature control of ferment, pressure fermenting and closed transfers made the biggest difference to my brew quality. With attention to detail.
Setting up keg fridge allowed me to enjoy those benefits, I went ages without doing that and it was a good way to drink good beer badly.

Then get a beer engine.

 

[matt76]

Just going off on a slight tangent @RoomWithABrew , I get temperature control and closed transfer... but what's so great about pressure fermenting?

(Apart from the obvious "the lid of your FV is maybe less likely to blow up like a balloon when using pressure to drive a closed transfer" )

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

What was your first purchase? I can't stand the suspense!

@cushyno I got the Fermzilla, carbonation caps (3), floating dip tube, diaphragm spunding valve, and jacket for the FZ. My wallet had a heart attack from spending all that in one go (but I love it) and there's more to come soon!

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Go for black or shiny nukataps and balance the lines, no need for flow control on tap or on the ball lock connector. Do get the springs so the tap auto closes.
Temperature control of ferment, pressure fermenting and closed transfers made the biggest difference to my brew quality. With attention to detail.
Setting up keg fridge allowed me to enjoy those benefits, I went ages without doing that and it was a good way to drink good beer badly.
View attachment 49649
Then get a beer engine.

They are very much like the ones I want, silver tap and black handle. I like the shorter, fatter handles better though.

 

[Leon103]

I haven't read the whole thread yet so you may have answered this.

If no temperature control how will you serve cold beer. Are you planning on bottle? I see you asked about bottle filler, do you have gas supply for this?

Opening the bottom bottle introduces oxygen, be careful of this. Most add dry hops via the top and then flush with co2.

I can't emphasise good temperature control. Have you tried many kviek beers? You will struggle to make a neipa with them. Kviek as it's uses but I find it gives a strange off flavour to the beer. You may get bored of using same yeast all the time. I would spend the money now on temperature control before it's gone. You don't need pressure fermenters etc but good temperature control is key.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

To answer your questions @Leon103

Keeping the beer cold is a problem yes, although I am planning on bottling and sharing quite a few with friends and family, and the rest will get drunk quite quickly I imagine. Some beers are better slightly warmer I guess as well, the fridge can turn off the flavour. I would like a kegerator setup but at the moment they're just too expensive.

I am getting a CO2 bottle and a tapcooler or similar - assuming members of the public can buy gas bottles? I know I can get propane gas ones (not suitable I know) because my last house ran on them. They were stored round the back.

I understand about opening the bottom bottle and letting the oxygen in. It was my understanding that I could release the pressure, then close the butterfly valve, put my hops in and then blow CO2 across the bottle before opening the valve again (this is why I bought 3 carbonation caps instead of 2).

I have a heat belt and inkbird on my list so like I say until I get a decent fridge I can only really control temperature upwards. I did source a fridge on gumtree yesterday but they are messing me about so they can shove off lol. I think i'd be better off with a larder type one anyway.

I haven't tried any kveik yet nope (or beers) so I haven't a clue about that. I have learned though that the ones with the bacteria are probably the ones you're on about so I will avoid those.

It's all a learning curve and if something doesn't work, I will tweak it for next time. Experimenting and finding things out is half the fun.

Thanks for the advice. ☺

 

[Rodcx500z]

Hi Lisa yes you can buy gas, i got a 6.35kg bottle £35 deposit and £15 for the gas then £15 a refill, some charge a lot more, just do a google for your area

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Fabulous, cheers Rod!

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

I am getting a CO2 bottle and a tapcooler or similar - assuming members of the public can buy gas bottles?

Yes, you certainly can get gas cylinders as a private individual - either full size ones like you'd see in a pub, or smaller ones about a foot long that you use in SodaStream machines.
The SodaStream ones you can get for instance at Argos, or the in-store Argos at larger Sainsbury's; however the full size ones are better value for a 'home bar' setup.

In general it's the same kind of deal as propane: you pay a deposit on the cylinder and then you return the empty to get a full one. It's really worth shopping around though because some suppliers (e.g. BOC) charge a monthly rental on the cylinders which doesn't make good economic sense. The best thing I've found is to identify an "Air Liquide" distributor near you (e.g. the one below) and talk to them - otherwise a friendly nearby pub might give you some pointers.

Innergy Group Ltd
High Court
Sandy Lane
Stockton on Forest
York
YO32 9UT
0845 8382388

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

That's brilliant, thank you so much!

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

OF course you need a gas regulator too, so as to bring the pressure down to an appropriate level. I got a bit nervous about that because I wasn't sure the two would necessarily fit together - but the threads on the full size cylinders all seem to be compatible. If you go for a SodaStream cylinder you'll need an adapter though - they can be a bit fiddly, so I'm told.

I got this regulator, which works well:

https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/premium-co2-regulator/

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Looks good!