New to Brewing - Jumping in with a Grainfather

[MrEgg]

Hello,
As topic says really. looking for beginner advice for starter equipment, etc.
I will be new to brewing & deciding to jump straight in with a grainfather.

Space is limited for me & a big deciding factor, along with the 'you can do what you like, but not in the kitchen' ruling anything involving the cooker!

So, my toolshed (old rusty tools, a stick for stirring paint & odd job cutoffs that are 'to good to throw out') is going to be turned into a brew shed!
I can easily get water & electric to the shed.

My planned gear list so far consists of :-
Grainfather
Sparge Water Heater
Stirring Spoon!
Some sort of beginner Kit (pref. a Wheat Beer) as I have no idea where to start! Maybe a few beer kits!
Also, wondering about temperature - as my shed is not insulated - should I get the grain jacket in this weather?

Was going to get a plastic fermenting barrel from Wilko (I do have some wine fermenting buckets - so may just utilise them to start.)

Bit stumped for bottling/storing - but I guess I would have a few weeks to sort that out... & time to collect empty bottles :)

Is there anything obvious I am missing to get my first brew started & fermenting?

 

[Toredan]

Wow, jumping straight in with a Grainfather! If you don't have any previous brewing experience I would HEAVILY recommend the Greg Hughes book Home Brew Beer. It has a decent intro and lists a good collection of recipes in easy-to-read format.

How dedicated are you though to the grainfather idea? If you can only use a single pot due to space you may be better off investing in a burco boiler and learning how to brew on that. Amazon has a great deal at the minute where a 30L boiler is only £75 and instead of using a mashtun you could do a biab method with the boiler. I live in a 2 bedroom apartment and this is how I brew.

Lots of people equate using a grainfather to using a breadmaker. I've only had the pleasure of using the GF once but that being said I think it's more akin to buying an expensive oven. If you don't yet know how to cook you might be disappointed with the results.

 

[MrEgg]

Thanks for the reply.
I just want an idiot proof way of brewing as easy as possible.
I guess that comes with the expense of the grainfather!
The less 'work' I can do the better, as its less likely I fudge something up :thumb:

Also interested in maybe distilling at a later date.

I have done wine making previously, so I have a feel for some of the equipment, etc. Just always found wine making a PITA transfering from caboy to caboy, and then waiting game of weeks if not months to find if you have something to drink, or if the creeply crawlers that live in my drains are having something to drink instead.

This will also be done with friends - So we should end up with about a dozen or so pints each a month.
Initially was just going to be for myself & 40pint batches would probably have been to much, but when they also showed interest, I decided to look at the grainfather. Deal is kind of I buy the equipment & they buy the ingredients!

 

[MyQul]

Several forumite's have a GF. @Slid (my fellow mod) has posted his experiences with the GF. I've done a member seach for you and you can read some of his posts on how he's been getting on with it
http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/search.php?searchid=574892

 

[DoctorMick]

I admire people who jump straight in with such big purchases, considering the length of a brew day I wouldn't have been able to convince myself to buy one without having done a few brews first.

As to the original question, where do you plan to ferment?

I have a grain jacket as I brew in a detached garage and it's made a difference since the cold weather hit, shaved quite a bit of time getting water up to temp.

Also, if you get a stirring spoon consider a stainless steel mash paddle, much better than plastic.

Other essentials are fernenter, hydrometer, sample tube, thermometer, protofloc (or similar), campden tablets, Grainfather cleaner and/or pbw, star San (or similar), syphon tube...and probably a load of other thiings.

I'd recommend how to brew by John palmer, the Greg Hughes book is great for recipes but the detail on how to brew is lacking imo.

 

[MrEgg]

I will be brewing / fermenting in a shed, with no insulation.
I could maybe knock something up to help stop big spikes in temperature.

 

[Leon103]

No harm going big and gettin a gtainfather. You need to look at how you will ferment at the right temperatures. Most wheat yeasts will require you to increase fermenting temperature each day, how will you do this?

 

[MrEgg]

No harm going big and gettin a gtainfather. You need to look at how you will ferment at the right temperatures. Most wheat yeasts will require you to increase fermenting temperature each day, how will you do this?

I think I better read the book mentioned above before I try something to ambitious!

I do have some demijohn heaters from my winemaking days. Both wrapjackets & heat pads.

maybe I should take a tiny step back & see how far I can get using the old wine making stuff I dont use.
Just looking at the howtobrew website recommended above

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
I would recommend getting a brewfridge, especially in an unheated shed.
During Winter, you could get away with an insulated "box" with a tubular hater, as the low temperature outside will make a fridge unnecessary. However, come Summer, you will need a fridge to maintain fermentation temperatures.
ACE have announced a brewing "machine" that doesn't have the counter-flow wort chiller, but it comes in at under ��£300.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ACE-Micro...eer-with-pump-DELIVERY-12th-dec-/271687277467

 

[Ale]

If youre starting with beer kits you dont need a grainfather for that. All you do is pretty much empty the kit into a FV add water and yeast and leave for a while (obviously that is a bit simplified). For that you only need a starter kit with FV, airlock, steriliser, hydrometer and bottles or keg. Cost about ���£50. I started with kits so I could get used to the process before doing AG. I've done my first AG today but it takes a lot longer. If you want to spend hundreds of pounds on a grainfather thats up to you but there are some decent kits about so its nnot a necessity. I may go for a grainfather next year if I take to AG.

I think this is the one I got and then added the beer kit I wanted. There a re lots of different kits available though so you can the equipment you want.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Home-Brew...id=100005&rk=1&rkt=6&mehot=pp&sd=322326220623

I've also got a heat belt and if youre using the shed you will need a heat source. I'm adding a fridge before the summer but last summer just had a big tub of water and t shirt ove rthe FV so it wicked the water which cools it and that worked fine. My most recent addition is a temperature controller. I have an STC 1000 that you have to wire yourself but an inkbird is ready made so get that. If you can et a grainfather £30 for that is well within budget.

 

[Alside101]

for your first ever all grain id try this its simple and a good intro to it
http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=51779

 

[MrEgg]

Thanks for the replies.
I wantto skip the kits, simply because I have done similar with wine making & find them quite boring.
I have also done 2 or 3 (over the years)of them plastic bag kits where you add water & end up with some horrible flat tasting stuff.

 

[DoctorMick]

I will be brewing / fermenting in a shed, with no insulation.
I could maybe knock something up to help stop big spikes in temperature.

You'll definitely need something to maintain fermentation temps then as you'll not be able to ferment in the shed outside of summer without it. Best option is a fridge with some sort of heat, next best is a trug with an aquarium heater.

 

[Ale]

You'll definitely need something to maintain fermentation temps then as you'll not be able to ferment in the shed outside of summer without it. Best option is a fridge with some sort of heat, next best is a trug with an aquarium heater.

Personally I'm quite happy with my heat belt on a STC.

 

[DoctorMick]

Personally I'm quite happy with my heat belt on a STC.

That's probably a better option than a trug/aquarium heater, I should have said it was another option rather than the next best. :thumb:

 

[Ale]

Since posting earier I can tell you about the first problem I'vm having with a heat belt. For the first time I am using it on 2 FV's. One 23lt and the other a 5lt demijohn with my first AG brew. I've got the probe attached to the 5lt one as the other has nearly finished fermenting. Im struggling to get them both at the correct heat and seem to be constantly moving it back and forward a little bit. I've got a blanket wrapped around it as well as its in my garage and its cold in there. Once I get a fridge it should be better.

 

[MrEgg]

I like the idea of fridge.... I could put a pourer/tap on top & utilise the fridge. May even be allowed to put it indoors