Thinking about switching to AG... advice?

[Ashley]

I started kit brewing in May this year and recently started experimenting with hops and additional malts etc. This was great fun and added a bit of something new to the techniques.

However. It has made me realise that i'm not really making "my own" beer, im just making someone elses. A bit like baking a cake from a packet.

So i've spent most of the last few days looking at the equipment needed and the processes via youtube etc. I have looked at the prices of some all grain starter kits and found these...

http://www.brewuk.co.uk/all-grain-starter-set.html#review-point

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Deluxe-All-Grain-Mashing-Setup.html#.VE0xY3tFDMI

https://www.hopandgrape.co.uk/starter-kits/beer-starter-kit/all-grain-beer-starter.html

The last one is the cheapest but there is an option to upgrade to a brupaks boiler at an additional cost.

The second one seems a bit ott as i have 4 PB's and 5 fermenting vessels already.

Would anyone recomend any of the above starter kits or should i consider something else?

Sorry if i am asking questions with glaringly obvious answers here.

Thanks in advance,

Ash

 

[MyQul]

Some of those starter kits are pretty pricey I see. If your set on going three vessel i'd buy it seperately and make as much of it as you can to save money eg making the wort cooler yourself out of copper tube, make the boiler out of a large FV and kettle elements (think there are instructions elsewhere on the forum), make your mash tun out of a cool box (bet you could get a cheap one off flea bay)

If you just want to make great AG beer quickly, simply ,go BIAB. Big pot will cost you about £30 and a mash bag will cost £10 (or you can use a 5G paint strainer £5 for 5 off ebay)

 

[Niman]

its a bit of a nightmare trying to buy your kit....id does pay to shop about looking at the links you posted i thing i bought a few bits from a couple of the selections you showed,

I bought the "deluxe" mash tun reasoning being it could handle more grain if i wanted to do a "big" beer"

on the cheaper scale i got the peco/electrim boiler cause i got in in a deal with a ss chiller at a good price.
on the downside i tend to brew outside for space reasons and a rolling boil was hard to achieve with the boiler...
solved this on second brew by sticking it in coal shed.

worked for me

good luck in your journey

 

[simon12]

This is cheaper http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Mashing_ALL_Grain_Basic_Equipment_Kit.html#.VE1nmPmsXjc but you can build a better setup for under half the price.

 

[Ashley]

Thank you for the advice guys. I really am not very good at making things so i am more in a position to buy than create.

I will keep looking and possibly buy my starter kit seperately.

Any other advise would be hugely welcomed

 

[Fil]

I would suggest you start off with the most minimal kit you can a stockpot to boil on the stove and a grainbag. a £shop groundmat for insulation if you dont have an old sleeping bag to hand too perhaps.

dont skimp on the pot 40-50l will give you lots of room to steep the grains and provied a healthy amount of headroom to accommodate a healthy rolling boil.

All the links point to set ups with very small volume boilers, you want a minimum of 5-6cm clearance between the still liquid level and the boiler rim as a rolling boil can raise the level significantly and boiling sticky wort is a real PITA to clean up and a shocking waste too. While many brewers manage it i would not be comfortable with a boiler less than 40l for a 23-5l final volume brew, as you could be starting with a preboil volume close to or even over the capacity of the boiler and need to hold liquor back to add when you have boiled of some room to take it.

brewing with minimal kit will also be very informative to you as you will be able to identify what extra kit if any would make the day a better experience for you. a mash tun can get you a better conversion rate and a clearer preboil liquor at a cost, a dedicated hlt is a bit of a luxury unless your kit is really big, chilling the beer actively will encourage a clearer final pint, but many brewers No-chill with very tastey results.. and the best cure for a pint that isnt crystal clear is an opaque mug

start off minimally and invest in quality kit additions that will benefit the beer production your way and your brewday experience.
If you buy one of the kits above i think you will soon start to want to replace the boiler pdq

 

[Ashley]

Thank you. That is great advice. This is a bit of a minefield really. It does feel like one at least. I will keep looking. Thank you for the advice.:-D

 

[Ashley]

I have spoken to my dad and he says he can help me make the equipment if it is cheaper to do that. He is an ex sparky/builder/fireman so has a few skills.

And certainly has all the tools. I have a spanner and a pair of pliers but that's about it lol

 

[serum]

I'd go with making it yourself too. You can tailor it to do exactly what you need and build as you go. I'm crap at making things but still managed it with a little help.

 

[Trigger]

I was in the same position as you about 10 months ago, wondering what I could make and what I'd have to buy, not being the most practical of sorts...I still reckon you can do it for less ££ than your links though.

I bought a new but cheap 30L tea urn from ebay. I've found 30L plenty big enough for 20L brews. I fitted a better tap, made a hop filter out of a piece of copper pipe and disconnected the thermostat to get a good rolling boil. Cost around £50ish.

I got a second hand plate chiller (I think they're better than immersion chillers?) for about £35, again from ebay. I was going to buy the copper piping and make an immersion chiller myself but decided there wasn't that much difference in the cost.

For the mash tun I cannibalised an old Halfords cool box. Drill an outlet hole, fit a piece of pipe through and use some hose braiding as a grain filter. This has worked really well for me. (cost, prob around £30 depending how cheaply you can pick up a cool box - mine is 35L).

There are lots of videos to help you do the practical stuff on the web. To be honest the most trouble I had was getting the right sized bits of pipe, washers, connectors etc! It's a bit of trial and error but at least that stuff is fairly cheap.

Hope this helps, good luck and let us know how you get on :drink:

 

[Ashley]

I might pop round to my dads this weekend and see what he says. If in doubt about anything manual i'll ask him. He's pretty much jack of all trades really.

Id not even thought about buying 2nd hand... i will have a look on ebay and see what i can find.

My dad usually likes a few bottles of my home brew, and was more than prepared to drive for 2 hours to pick up some crates for me in exchange for some beer. Usually when i get an idea he's the first to tell me i am being a prat but he embraced this challenge straight away. When i explained what i wanted to do it was very much a case of "yeah we can do that easy enough."

An answer i wasnt expecting but one i thoroughly appreciate. If i didn't know better id say he was looking forward to it :lol:

 

[Niman]

if you are going down the route of home build

i have 10mm pipe benders u are welcome to if u thinking of making immersion wort chiller

pm me if u want it

 

[DrD]

Equipment for BIAB cost me £46.50.

Have since tried the beer from the FV, very pleasant, somewhat like a more hoppy old speckled hen. Made me realise how underwhelming my kit beers have been.


http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=49956

 

[nac_brew]

If your wanting an immersion chilled, in b and a they sell immersion heater copper which comes already coiled for about £20 and its really easy to bend into shape by hand. Just look in the plumbing section near the normal copper pipe.

 

[Ashley]

if you are going down the route of home build

i have 10mm pipe benders u are welcome to if u thinking of making immersion wort chiller

pm me if u want it

Thats very kind of you, will be a while before i get round to it as some saving needed before purchasing but will keep that in mind ;-)

 

[Ashley]

Bit of a while since i posted this, and as a massive surprise mrs fiance bought me a deluxe AG kit for xmas/birthday (i'm a boxing day baby!).

It has a brupaks 29l boiler and a mash tun with ball valve taps. Only problem is though that i can't turn the handles on the ball valves. Do i have to adjust them? Its the same problem on both...

I appreciate this could be a ludicrous, cretinous question but could really use the advice.

Cheers

Ash

 

[Fil]

some ball valves have a small sleeve of metal sitting on the slope down of the lever which also slips over a peg on the valve which acts as a lock, if present slide the metal sleeve up to open the valve, it may also slip down lockin in the open position too.

some can also be quite stiff

 

[Dads_Ale]

Good luck with your brewing sounds like some good kit. Be careful not to overfill the boiler as it can get quite lively when you add the hops. Hope you sort the ball valves out. As Fil says they usually have a lock sleeve. If they are just stiff try and hold the valve while you turn to take the stress off of the vessel until they loosen up.

 

[Ashley]

Thanks guys. I worked it out this morning and felt so embarrased. I plan to not put all the wort into the boiler at first and then add back in once some has steamed off. Is this ok to do?

I am also thinking about buying a grain mill because i read that crushed grain doesnt keep long but whole grain does.. is it worth doing?

 

[baggybill]

"I am also thinking about buying a grain mill because i read that crushed grain doesnt keep long but whole grain does.. is it worth doing?"

I read that somewhere too and my first thoughts were to purchase a cheap grain mill. Trouble is, one's over here (UK) get pretty poor reviews.

I also read numerous other posts saying crushed grain can keep for months depending on storage conditions. Best way seemed to be an air tight bag in a Tupperware box in a freezer.

Alternatively, another option seemed to be 'food savers':

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001HBP7HW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Haven't tried any of these myself so can't recommend either way... just thought I would put it out there as an alternative to buying a mill