what do i need

[falafael]

I keep stumbling on threads here, from people brewing AG, and i must say i am interested, however, some photos i see people have the right equipment, whilst a recent one has a photo of a large pan on the boil with hops in i believe?

So my question is, can i do AG with what ihave in the kitchen? Or do i have to have some specific items?, Moneys a bit tight at the moment, thats why i'd like to know if i can do it with whats in the kitchen!!
Thanks for help on this one!

 

[A T]

Depends on what you have in your kitchen! You need some way of mashing the grains (ie) keeping them at a set temperature for about one hour, then you need some way of seperating the grains from the wort. You'll then need some way of boiling the wort for an hour with the hops and again you need some way of seperating the hops from the wort after cooling. So i suppose it depends on what size batch you want to do and what you have around the kitchen. A cheap mash tun and manifold can be made fairly easy from a cool box and a few copper fittings and a cheap kettle and manifold can be made from a fermenter, some kettle elements and some copper fittings. I think Wez made one from a fermenter not to long ago. Also you can make an immersion cooler from some 8-10mm copper tubing. If you have any problems with any of these things or need better instructions there's always somebody around to help

 

[ni9e]

You could check out your local freecycle you never know you might be lucky and get a few bits from there :thumb:

 

[Wez]

I think i'll do a how to convert a Coolbox into a Mash Tun "How To" :thumb:

 

[percival]

just a note to back up ni9.... always worth a quick check of freecycle. nice resource with a nice ethos.

 

[Aleman]

A thermometer!!

I only say that as I started my AG Brewing without a thermometer . . . . Well you have an elbow don't you?

It is possible to make beer with what you have in the kitchen, but the quantities have to be reduced considerably (around a gallon at most).

You can mash in a large stockpot in the oven at 65C
Sparge in a grain Bag suspended in a colander
Boil in a large stockpot on the ring

As yourself one question . . . . Is it worth 5 hours of my time to make 8 bottles of beer?

 

[falafael]

Thanks aleman, at last the answer i was looking for, i wondered how much you could make in a sitting with a large pan, and no, 5 hours for 1 gallon of beer is a waste of time, so for now, AG will take a back seat until i get a bit more money flowing again!
It is only december anyways, looks like a bit of overtime will sort it out!

 

[Wez]

When I first went to AG I knew that the big spend would be the boiler and the immmersion cooler so while I was waiting for a 'good money month' I asked around my family and friends for bits that I would need - I ended up being given a 25L coolbox and enough copper pipe which I converted to a mash tun - so the tun only cost me the price of a drum tap.

There might also be a few folk here on the forum who have upgraded and might be willing to part with thier retired brewery bits at a good price?

Maybe we could do with a Wanted / For Sale Section?

 

[Bobo]

For Sale / Wanted section is always good to have, I've found saints & sinners sections good to so you can put up your experiences of suppliers/omlines shops and also quality of kits etc.

 

[Wez]

Cheers Bobo - I think we'll be setting up a Wanted / For Sale Forum soon :thumb:

 

[falafael]

Great idea wez!, will be looking out for that section,do look forward to trying AG, must admit though, am a bit daunted by it, like how you actually make AG, boiling, mashing, tuns, these are all new terms to me that i have never heard of before till i cam a member on here, but after reading posts you guys have made, i get the impression that a decent made AG just knocks spots of kits, and some would say commercial brews as well.

I like the idea of being able to create your own recipe, as well as clones of famous brews as well, i suppose its a bit like my signature, had no idea when i first got into satellite, now i get loads and loads of movie, sports and entertainment channels as well as about 15 HD channels, all for free!!!

 

[MEB]

I'd happily give you my old boiler but the postage would probably be more than buying one, shame you don't live in NZ.
I done my first AG in the oven with a 15L stockpot and all the hassle that goes with it and it was fairly ***** to be honest. My second AG was almost as ***** as was my third. By the time i got to my 4th all was coming good. Nowadays i feel i can almost always brew a great beer. I think my Styrian Slapper was a good example of getting too complex with malts and over hopping. I still learnt a lesson though.

I still use the stockpot for boiling up a mix for growing on yeasts though. The plastic FV's have seen their best and i now am in the process of getting a nice 50L SS system. Virtually everything i made/borrowed/stole has seen some use throughout my year of brewing though.

The recommendations for freecycle are good though. You never know what you will find and it's always good to save the landfill from an extra glob of stuff.

 

[falafael]

thanks for the offer there MEB, if i could i'd pick it up, just to see NZ!!
On the freecycle note, have made myself a member, but, can someone put up what i should be asking/looking for so i can get some posts done on freecycle.
We al have to starrt somewhere i guess!
Thanks

 

[MEB]

Ask for some kettles. Your going to need a minimun of 2 elements for your boiler. Two more if you wish to have a 3 tier system. Some demijohns are always handy and many people have these ready to 'throw away' for some reason. :wha: A couple of 25L or bigger FV's will do for boiler and HLTthe condition doesn't really matter as you'll be boiling wort in one of them. Hydrometer, thermometer, trial jars, lengths of garden hose too. A SS sieve, some 15mm copper pipe.

That should give you stuff to start of with. :thumb: