I was so sure I wouldn't do it...

[ScottM]

BIAB is calling me lol. I just can't make logical sense to sticking with extract when BIAB will be around 1/3 of the cost.

It's all going to hinge on 2 things...

1. Just how good my Grolsch extract is, if it's fantastic then BIAB get's a win.
2. How much it's going to cost me, I'm aiming for less than £100 for the initial setup.


If I get a check in those 2 boxes then there will be nothing else for it.

My plan at the moment is to get a 50L boiler with either 1 or 2 kettle elements. I'm not going over 23L batches, certainly not for the moment, so will I require 2 elements or could I get away with 1? I believe they are 2kw each. I don't want to overload the lower ring main and I'll be using a 13a extension at times. I was thinking 2 would probably be OK but then I had it in my head that it's for 60+ minutes at a time.

Next up, I was looking at this. Clearly it would take a MASSIVE chunk out of my budget, but could I do it for considerably less on my own while still maintaining a high quality finish?

Wort chiller is out for the moment. I'll be using the chill cube method as I already have a couple of these cubes in the loft. I just can't stomach paying that money for a length of copper to cool my brew. Hassle with the hose, etc, etc, etc. So chill cube it is for me.

Shopping list, if I go ahead, is looking like the following...

Boiler pot with strainer/tap/etc - £80
Kettles - £5 ea
BIAB bag - £7
Misc - £???

Am I missing anything important?

Cheers :)

 

[dennisking]

Go for it Scott. :thumb:

 

[RobWalker]

scott, honestly, providing you don't want to pump the abv too much, I swear their figures are an oversight. my main tip is to work to the size of the boiler you have, rather than try to end up with the right amount. from a 29L boiler, I fill it up to the brim, add a bag of grain, and get 17 litres back out. it also holds mash temp quite well that way. It took ages for this to click in my head, but once you realise it makes everything so easy, you'll do it! I know that a 3.15kg bag of pale gets me a 4% beer with 17 litres. That way, you can wing any liquoring back for more quantity, or add more malt for a stronger beer, with rough guesses being good enough.

my method is this;

fill boiler to the top with water and wait until you hit strike temp. add 3.15kg pale malt bag, mash for 60 minutes, then decant into an FV and drain bag. attach the hop filter. fill boiler back up, boil, strain through the hop filter and tap into the FV, then cool. It comes out at 4%. I just work on that, really. If you experience high boil off, just add a lid. Our pale malt has barely any DMS whatsoever, and if you can get a decent false bottom for mashing, even better. I take my hop filter out so avoid the grain crushing it and minimize dead space. Don't even chill cube - just pour it into the FV from the boiler, shove it into a cold water bath upstairs, and it's cool in 3 hours. give it a quick splash until it has a little foam, and it's ready for pitching.

Apparently 2 kettle elements is a very good way to work, 2 to heat it and then 1 for a rolling boil, plus you always have a backup as lots of people experience faults with thier bodged together boilers...

 

[PD]

you really should think of having 2 elements, quicker to the boil and easier to maintain a boil ( save on electricity ) and if one goes ***** uppards on a brew day you have one to fall back on.
I would also stretch the budget to include decent elements ( around £13 each) than the Tesco kettle elements, they are far more robust and electrically better shielded. BUT many many folks manage with the Tesco type ones.

Whatever you decide...go for it...

 

[Dunfie]

You won't regret it Scott. :thumb:

You could save a few quid on the boiler by getting the 50l pot direct and fitting the tap yourself. I'm not sure about the latest contact details but I use the very same pot as my HLT and I got it direct. I then got a ball valve tap off eBay for £8.

 

[Hollow Legs]

Apparently 2 kettle elements is a very good way to work, 2 to heat it and then 1 for a rolling boil, plus you always have a backup as lots of people experience faults with thier bodged together boilers...

Second the two elements but don't skimp on them, I made my own boiler when I went AG but the switches etc failed as I bought the budget Tesco kettles.

 

[joe1002]

I would get something like this (or whatever size you want) and convert it :thumb:

 

[ScottM]

Go for it Scott. :thumb:

Cheers mate, if my recipe is bob on then I'm definitely going for it as I can't justify nearly £40 per batch, regardless of how good it is

scott, honestly, I use a 29L boiler and get 17L batches out of it which really isn't too bad. providing you don't want to pump the abv too much, I swear their figures are an oversight, and it's easy to hold mash temp if you can fill it to the top.

my method is this;

fill boiler to the top with water and wait until you hit strike temp. add 3.15kg pale malt bag, mash for 60 minutes, then decant into an FV and drain bag. attach the hop filter. fill boiler back up, boil, strain through the hop filter and tap into the FV, then cool. It comes out at 4%. I just work on that, really. If you experience high boil off, just add a lid. Our pale malt has barely any DMS whatsoever, and if you can get a decent false bottom for mashing, even better. I take my hop filter out so avoid the grain crushing it and minimize dead space. Don't even chill cube - just pour it into the FV from the boiler, shove it into a cold water bath upstairs, and it's cool in 3 hours. give it a quick splash until it has a little foam, and it's ready for pitching.

Apparently 2 kettle elements is a very good way to work, 2 to heat it and then 1 for a rolling boil, plus you always have a backup as lots of people experience faults with thier bodged together boilers...

To be honest my only real reason for the 50L pot was that was the one that was ready to rock. I would be happy with anything around the 35L mark. If 30L turns out my best option then I'll just brew a little shorter.

ABV aims are around 5% once priming is said and done, it's a lager so lets call it 4.5% ABV in the FV.

Ideally I would definitely go with 2 elements, it's the load on the main that I'm concerned about lol. The extension I have is 13A, I would need 2 of them and I would need to connect them to 2 different sockets to use 2 elements. As much as it's good to have a spare, I could just keep a spare with all my kit should something go wrong.

you really should think of having 2 elements, quicker to the boil and easier to maintain a boil ( save on electricity ) and if one goes ***** uppards on a brew day you have one to fall back on.
I would also stretch the budget to include decent elements ( around £13 each) than the Tesco kettle elements, they are far more robust and electrically better shielded. BUT many many folks manage with the Tesco type ones.

Whatever you decide...go for it...

Decent elements sound like a good shout. I could probably get a 3kw element rather than 2kw ones. That way I would get to the boil quicker while still not overloading the socket.

I really don't want to go to all the trouble of re-wiring etc, etc, etc. I could just imagine SWMBO's face if I came out with that one

You won't regret it Scott. :thumb:

You could save a few quid on the boiler by getting the 50l pot direct and fitting the tap yourself. I'm not sure about the latest contact details but I use the very same pot as my HLT and I got it direct. I then got a ball valve tap off eBay for £8.

See one of the reasons I was thinking about doing the lot on my own is that I could go with a smaller pot. I really don't NEED the 50L as I reckon once the grains are out I'll only need around 30L space. Grains in will account for less than 5L so I was thinking a 35L OTA pot.

 

[ScottM]

I would get something like this (or whatever size you want) and convert it :thumb:

Man that's cheap! Great find.

Just noticed it was German shipping costs lol. Might not be quite the bargain by the time the bids go up. I'll definitely keep an eye on it though, cheers :)

 

[ScottM]

Is a 30L Burco boiler a good shout for BIAB?

Only downfall I can think of is that the cut out would need bypassed for the boil, but other than that?

 

[ScottM]

It didn't take long but I'm over budget already.

I've decided I'm just going to take the, reasonable, financial hit and get myself a buffalo boiler. I just can't justify spending £100 on a near DIY job when I can spend not much more on a much better solution.

I'll still need some odds and sods like a decent tap and a hop strainer etc, but bang for buck I think it's the right call. It'll make holding mash temps much easier anyway.

So, the plan appears to be coming together. All that remains is for the beer to be good and I'll have no excuses

 

[BIGJIM72]

Good to see you making the leap Scot-I wish you nothing but the best. If you refer back to your Grolsh thread there were a few comments about how hard a good lager is to make. Might I suggest you ask the forum users for a few lager like recipes if you are going to all the time/expense of going AG? Having a few pale ale recipes might not be a bad thing.

 

[dennisking]

Bought a Buffalo a few months back and very pleased with it. Yes the tap is crap but you can get buy until you have more funds.

 

[ScottM]

Good to see you making the leap Scot-I wish you nothing but the best. If you refer back to your Grolsh thread there were a few comments about how hard a good lager is to make. Might I suggest you ask the forum users for a few lager like recipes if you are going to all the time/expense of going AG? Having a few pale ale recipes might not be a bad thing.

Cheers :)

Yeah I know it's difficult, but it's really the only reason I would be taking the leap. I'm quite hopeful about the grolsch recipe, I made a simple lager prior to it and, other than a lack of hops, it's fantastic. This one is going to be my most expensive brew by a mile, I'm hoping that using top end products and sparing no expense will make for a great end product. If it does, then I'll definitely want to do it again but the only way it's going to be viable is by making it from scratch. Extract is just too expensive

Bought a Buffalo a few months back and very pleased with it. Yes the tap is crap but you can get buy until you have more funds.

I'm quite hopeful that it's going to tick all my boxes. The funds are there..... it's trying to convince the purse string holder that it's a good idea

The way I look at it is if I'm going to spend £100 on kit that's OK, why not spend £140 on kit that's ideal and makes the job much easier.

I understand that the thermostat won't be very well calibrated but that won't be an issue to sort out, so that makes temperature control a doddle.

Did you have to bypass the cut out to get a rolling boil or does it do so well enough as is?

 

[ScottM]

Ok here goes....

40L Buffalo boiler - Approx £120
Insulating Foil - £13
Aluminium tape - £2
Ball valve Mod - £20
Hop Stopper & Tube - £20
BIAB Bag - ??


The bag has got me a bit stumped as I want a decent one but all I seem to find is the Youngs generic ones.

Total so far....£175 + BIAB bag.

 

[BIGJIM72]

Gw' Golden Delicious may be up your street

 

[aamcle]

Unless your desperate for Stainless aluminium is a lot cheaper.
I picked up a 48/50 litre stock pot secondhand for £15 and added a 3Kw element for about the same.

Hard to beat that sort of pricing.


Atb. Aamcle

 

[bunkerbrewer]

BIAB Bag - ??

The bag has got me a bit stumped as I want a decent one but all I seem to find is the Youngs generic ones.

Literally a few quid. Just get a few meters of voile, you don't even need to sew a bag. As long as you've got enough to line your boiler and drape over side (secured with bungee cords), you're good to go.

That's what I do currently - a loose square of material is easier to clean than a bag anyway.

 

[artyb]

BIAB Bag - ??

The bag has got me a bit stumped as I want a decent one but all I seem to find is the Youngs generic ones.

Literally a few quid. Just get a few meters of voile, you don't even need to sew a bag. As long as you've got enough to line your boiler and drape over side (secured with bungee cords), you're good to go.

That's what I do currently - a loose square of material is easier to clean than a bag anyway.

i do the same works a treat .... :party:

 

[rpt]

Keep an eye on Nisbet's clearance store on eBay. I picked up a new but slightly dented 40L Buffalo for £66 inc carriage a few weeks ago. Added a ball valve and hop stopper without any drilling. Bought a piece of voile for £5. Looking forward to my first AG brew next Wednesday.