head up my arse with what to buy / make?

[gifford]

im sure youve heard it all before 'what are the next steps for this amazing hobby -BEER'

ive made a few kits and want to move to what ive kind of accepted to be the 'next stage' in brewing and fancy doing a BIAB. I was going to use a plastic FV and attach a kettle element however Im not overly confident regarding the safety of the plastic and the temperature control.

I promise I’ve done a lot of research, even taken up reading again! but that’s probably the problem there’s so much I’m now stuck. I’ve no intention of splashing out on thousands and yes money is tight but I don’t mind spending a bit of hard earned cash to get a good piece of kit that will work.

Do I buy a big ss pan from local Indian shop, drill a hole fit a atap etc and use gas in the kitchen?
Do I buy an urn and BIAB with that, change the tap and then use that to keep the temp correct?
Do I stick with plastic fv and butcher a new kettle (safely ofcourse and with RCD and separate power supply)

I’m really stuck at where to start and think ive looked so far into things I cant give myself an answer. I’ll be honest I’m that kind of person that sometimes needs to be told what to do. If I didn’t trust everyone’s opinion on here I honestly wouldn’t ask ive learnt so much already just need a kick up the backside I think with someone saying get this, this and fit this to this and your rolling.

I can handle basic DIY stuff btw and cheers everyone

 

[calumscott]

Check out the BIAB how to, the link is in my sig.

Should be enough there to start to form your ideas about how to progress. :thumb:

 

[PD]

It all depends on where you want to end up.will you be happy with BIAB ? or will you want to then go on further and eventually go full 3 vessel all grain.
When I moved from kits to all grain I went the tea urn way for the boiler and hlt with a coolbox mash tun. I made some good beers but was limited to 19 litre brews ( comfortably although 23 litres were possible if you prayed hard...)
I then took the plunge and went 3 vessel all grain 2 large pots for boiler and HLT and a thermopot for the mash tun. I wish I'd gone that way first I could have saved myself £150.
Your going to have to choose the way you want your hobby to go, how much to spend on it the amount of beer you want to make....
Whatever you decide on. Biab or 3 vessel or even Hermes etc I am confident you will enjoy brewing much much more than with kits.
But try and see in your minds eye where you want to end up and try and save yourself unnecessary expense along the way.

 

[gifford]

That’s the problem I don’t want to go half way if I know im going to end up scrapping it after 2 brews because I want more.
To narrow my options down lets say I have £200 im not expecting enormous brand new shiny ss ready made kits but do you think im kind of being a bit optimistic to expect a 3 vesel kit or even a beginner BIAB kit with this amount

Thanks calumscott beleive me I’ve read that guide many a time and my problem is I get ahead of myself and still cant decide!!

 

[calumscott]

With £200 to spend you are looking at full on 3 vessel shiny!!

£100 got me a 70l pot and 50l thermo, I think you could be looking around 125 delivered for 2 x 50l pots + 36l thermo.

BIAB in a pot on the hob while you do the rest of the build...

£75 should pretty much cover all the bits for a simple set up with copper manifolds rather than false bottoms...

 

[wigwamheed]

I've found (doing all-grain) that I really enjoy the whole process of brewing alost as much as i like drinking the product. I went with a tea urn fro a tenner from a house clearance bloke, cooler mashtun and a plastice kettle elemnt boiler. After only a few brews I'm already looking at getting some 70 or 100 liter ss pots and such just so i can have more control and larger batches. I suppose this is a long winded way of saying the same as already been said. If you suspect you might go allgrain and stick it you may as well get some good kit now. It'll save you having to splash out all in one go and you'll be able to knock out some BIAB whilst your doin it

With £200 to spend you are looking at full on 3 vessel shiny!!

£100 got me a 70l pot and 50l thermo, I think you could be looking around 125 delivered for 2 x 50l pots + 36l thermo.

BIAB in a pot on the hob while you do the rest of the build...

£75 should pretty much cover all the bits for a simple set up with copper manifolds rather than false bottoms...

Where did you get these from?????? is it that french ebay seller?? REALLY WANT SOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[calumscott]

Catering Portal on german ebay, AKA Bergland.

Search the forum and you'll find their email address - email them direct and they'll do you a similar deal.

 

[wigwamheed]

thanks, i will. Out of interest are the 70l and 50l thermo the same sort of size? just for my ocd you understand.

 

[calumscott]

You'll be delighted to know that the 70l stockpot and 50l thermopot are *exactly* the same size! :lol:

 

[wigwamheed]

Great!!!! Thats good news, I do like neat rows of things, especially when they're soooooo shiny

 

[bunkerbrewer]

That’s the problem I don’t want to go half way if I know im going to end up scrapping it after 2 brews because I want more.
To narrow my options down lets say I have £200 im not expecting enormous brand new shiny ss ready made kits but do you think im kind of being a bit optimistic to expect a 3 vesel kit or even a beginner BIAB kit with this amount

Something else to throw in the pot (ahem) - if you keep an eye on Nisbett's clearance on eBay you can probably pick up a 40L Buffalo boiler for around £100. Perfect for full-volume BIAB, and no need to change the tap (unless you want to).

Spend the other £100 on grains and hops :)

If you decide you want to do 3-vessel later this will still be part of your setup as an HLT / boiler.

 

[rpt]

Something else to throw in the pot (ahem) - if you keep an eye on Nisbett's clearance on eBay you can probably pick up a 40L Buffalo boiler for around £100. Perfect for full-volume BIAB, and no need to change the tap (unless you want to).

Got my 40L boiler from there for £66 delivered. Slight dent but otherwise brand new and shiny. Changed the tap and fitted a hop stopper without any cutting - see my howto in the howto forum.

 

[rpt]

It all depends on where you want to end up.will you be happy with BIAB ? or will you want to then go on further and eventually go full 3 vessel all grain.

What does 3 vessel give you that BIAB doesn't? The only downside to BIAB I can see is that it won't scale to larger brews. The upside seems to be huge.

 

[gifford]

Something else to throw in the pot (ahem) - if you keep an eye on Nisbett's clearance on eBay you can probably pick up a 40L Buffalo boiler for around £100. Perfect for full-volume BIAB, and no need to change the tap (unless you want to).

Got my 40L boiler from there for £66 delivered. Slight dent but otherwise brand new and shiny. Changed the tap and fitted a hop stopper without any cutting - see my howto in the howto forum.

Im quite tempted by this buffalo boiler by the looks of it thats what i want. no worry for gas in garage and one peice kit. I assume it will stay insualted enough aswell

ill try and find the how to for the tap and hop stopper thanks everyone so far and i think 40l would be plenty

 

[gifford]

It all depends on where you want to end up.will you be happy with BIAB ? or will you want to then go on further and eventually go full 3 vessel all grain.

What does 3 vessel give you that BIAB doesn't? The only downside to BIAB I can see is that it won't scale to larger brews. The upside seems to be huge.

i cant seem to see the massive gains either but than ive never done an AG so i have no place to say

 

[calumscott]

It all depends on where you want to end up.will you be happy with BIAB ? or will you want to then go on further and eventually go full 3 vessel all grain.

What does 3 vessel give you that BIAB doesn't? The only downside to BIAB I can see is that it won't scale to larger brews. The upside seems to be huge.

Nail. Head. Hit.

BIAB (so far in my 4 as far as drinking experience) produces simply stunning beer. As will 3V, of course.

Big beer is a problem with BIAB, from what I've read it's probably to do with the dilution of the enzymes in such a volume of water that the concentration isn't there really go to town on the grain to produce a silly high gravity. In the porridge of a mashtun you've got much less liquid so the concentrations are higher... It might be something else mind...

Generally speaking, efficiency is less with BIAB, you need a bit more grain for the same beer.

But the main thing is scaling up. In my 70l pot I won't quite be able to do a full double BIAB brewlength of a standard strength beer, not far off mind, I'll be able to mash big and sparge the bag to the full boil volume.

When I go to the 3V system I'll be able to mash and boil double lengths of BIG beers if I want.

I'll still BIAB normal beers though. It's SO easy!

 

[t0m]

BIAB is an easy way to start, and if you don't like it you are out the cost of a brew bag, which is to say, nothing much.

Personally I got tired of BIAB pretty quickly but I'd still recommend it, just the same as I'd recommend brewing a few kits to start out even if you think the dark side will eventually take you.

:drink:

 

[joe1002]

Im quite tempted by this buffalo boiler by the looks of it thats what i want. no worry for gas in garage and one peice kit. I assume it will stay insualted enough aswell

I have wrapped a camping mat around mine :thumb:

 

[gifford]

Morning everyone Ive considered all options and decided ill look into buying a buffalo boiler. Ive read the how to first brew but does anyone know of one that i could revise that uses just the boiler and not three vessels. Hope that makes sense or am i making things difficult and should just look around for a thermo tub?

 

[PD]

easily brew with just the buffalo boiler and mash tun...

see pic of my first set up

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