$150 to spend

[Tim Bulin]

I have a 60 quart Concord Kettles brew kettle cake with a ball valve and thermometer...if I remember right it was under $150 with shipping. They make a pretty nice kettle for the price.

That’s what I would look into, unless you think a grain mill would be a better way to go.

 

[Donoroto]

Yeah, kegs and a CO2 tank (and fittings). Beats bottles hands down

 

[Semper Sitientum]

Lottery tickets

 

[Sunfire96]

Hey Josh, you know I'm super new to brewing, so this may not be actually helpful, but I'd like to try lol. When I started looking at upgrades, I first made a list of the issues that needed to be addressed in my brew process. From that list, I focused on the things that would make my beer taste better (bigger kettle was on the list for a while, but what's the point of making more beer if it tastes like a$$?). I focused on ferm temp control, smaller sample size for gravity readings (meaning more beer into bottles on packaging day), and then fixing inconsistent extract efficiency.

Long story short: I have a budget of $100-150 to spend this black friday/ Holiday season, and I have bought/am going to buy: insulated chamber for my 1 gal carboy + thermometer, refractometer for gravity readings, and finally, a corona/cereal mill to mill the grain consistently every batch. Cheers! Have fun shopping!

 

[Sunfire96]

Aforementioned list, just for entertainment purposes

 

[Nosybear]

Aforementioned list, just for entertainment purposes
View attachment 12490

I'd work the oxidation problem first.

 

[Sunfire96]

I'd work the oxidation problem first.

Thanks @Nosybear, but I'm not trying to steal the thread!

 

[Josh Hughes]

Hey Josh, you know I'm super new to brewing, so this may not be actually helpful, but I'd like to try lol. When I started looking at upgrades, I first made a list of the issues that needed to be addressed in my brew process. From that list, I focused on the things that would make my beer taste better (bigger kettle was on the list for a while, but what's the point of making more beer if it tastes like a$$?). I focused on ferm temp control, smaller sample size for gravity readings (meaning more beer into bottles on packaging day), and then fixing inconsistent extract efficiency.

Long story short: I have a budget of $100-150 to spend this black friday/ Holiday season, and I have bought/am going to buy: insulated chamber for my 1 gal carboy + thermometer, refractometer for gravity readings, and finally, a corona/cereal mill to mill the grain consistently every batch. Cheers! Have fun shopping!

That’s my problem I’m happy with what I’m drinking it’s just convenience I’m thinking about. I just need to shut up and be happy

 

[Josh Hughes]

Thanks @Nosybear, but I'm not trying to steal the thread!

Heck steal away lol. Plus he is right on the oxidation

 

[Craigerrr]

I would have to agree with controlling fermentation temperature, unless you have a handle on that. Your house wiring sounds like a bigger issue though. Have you had that looked at? Overloaded circuits can be very dangerous.

 

[Hamner Brewhouse]

Beer - temp control during fermentation.
House - 200 a!p service (obviously going to be more than $150).

 

[Craigerrr]

Beer - temp control during fermentation.
House - 200 a!p service (obviously going to be more than $150).

Safety - Priceless

 

[GFHomebrew]

Safety - Priceless

Yeah ask me that I welded my main plug to my kettle connection on last weekend brew day couldnt pull the plug out!
I'm not quite sure what went awry but looks like I've gotta pay special attention to how much current I'm using lol

 

[Daniel Parshley]

I would have to agree with controlling fermentation temperature, unless you have a handle on that. Your house wiring sounds like a bigger issue though. Have you had that looked at? Overloaded circuits can be very dangerous.

Thank you for saying this. Just what I've been thinking while reading the thread. My house was built about the same time (1967), cloth covered wire, added circuits... . When we looked closely we found we already had small fires! Now, 200 amp inside box w/ an outside box/shutoff. Adding circuits directly from the box (inside or outside) is now simple. At least get a very good inspection of the current situation.

 

[Josh Hughes]

We planned on this taking place in the summer but didn’t when Covid hit. It’s an ASAP thing for sure. We don’t kick breakers or anything we are just REAL cautious about what we plug in and run at the same time.

 

[Bubba Wade]

Controlling fermentation temperature is key.

Having said that, the Gigawort was one of the best investments I’ve made. This device is great for 5 gallon extract batches. I use it for 2.5 gallon all-grain BIAB batches.

It makes brewing and clean up easier, so I end up brewing much more often. With a couple of well planned shortcuts, I can get through a brew day in right at two hours, start to finish.

 

[Ward Chillington]

kettle.....kettle at least 2 ports

 

[GFHomebrew]

Controlling fermentation temperature is key.

Having said that, the Gigawort was one of the best investments I’ve made. This device is great for 5 gallon extract batches. I use it for 2.5 gallon all-grain BIAB batches.

It makes brewing and clean up easier, so I end up brewing much more often. With a couple of well planned shortcuts, I can get through a brew day in right at two hours, start to finish.

Wow that's impressive! clean up as well?

 

[thunderwagn]

The gigawort is pretty cool. does it come with a pump option?

 

[Bubba Wade]

Wow that's impressive! clean up as well?

Yes. Here's a rough schedule.
10 min. Setup, grain milling, mash water heating.
45 minutes. Mash.
15 minutes. Drain and rinse grain bag. Bring wort to a boil.
30 minutes. Boil. This is sufficient to eliminate DMS from most malts. Slight recipe adjustment for the hops.
10 minutes. Transfer to fermenter, set up cooling system.
10 minutes. Clean up.

I have a stainless fermenter with silicone gaskets on the lid and valves. I have a stainless heat exchanger coil. So, I hook up the cooling system, set the temperature and walk away. I come back a couple of hours later and pitch the yeast. One advantage of pouring boiling wort into the fermenter is that it kills any bacteria that you might have missed.

Keep in mind that there is nothing wrong with the standard mash, sparge, and 90 minute boil method. It's just that over the years, I found that I could reduce the time without impacting quality or flavor. And with shorter brew days, I tend to brew much more often.