Brewing in the basement

There is a "goal" option in the recipe editor on this site.
Maybe try entering the recipe then play around with it.
Brewing beer is essentially cooking, using someone elses recipe is a good place to start.

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The Dilution/Boiloff calculator has two options that you can play around with.
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You can use the Recipe Builder to create and modify recipes. Though I usually take someone else's recipe and tweak it. From the Recipe Search menu enter the criteria you want.
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Then copy the recipe and start tweaking
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My post is assuming that you are trying to plan for a particular OG prior to brewing.

To increase gravity without extending the boil you can also add Extract (I always keep some on hand).
Not sure if there is a calculator for that here, but Brewfather has one.
You enter current gravity, and desired gravity, it will tell you exactly how much DME or LME to add to the kettle.

Is there such a calculator on Brewer's Friend people?
 
Triskele said:
Appreciate everyones input. Right now I'm brewing from extracts but interested in jumping to all grain. Right now I'm watching YouTube vids to understand the process before jumping to investing in equipment. Don't want to buy equipment that is being sold on some websites only to find I wasted my money.
Watching the videos makes me realize there are many ways to get to the same point. Only through experience, and asking questions will I develop my own way. (Not necessarily brewing in the basement).
I'm still studying and trying to understand the terminology and understanding the recipes.
The comments by Steve Ruch I find interesting. How do you adjust a recipe to hit a target SG? Is that answer in one of the tools on this site? Is there a tutorial or a book recommended to answer these questions?
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One can adjust a recipe to hit a certain SG by adjusting water volume, grain (or extract) volume, or to a lesser degree, mash process. The recipe builder on this site can help show you the results of changes.
 
There are small bags for smaller batches of BIAB. The 5-gallon variety of BIAB (the easiest way to go all grain) is full volume, and you want a 15 or 16 gallon kettle for it. The reason for the big kettle is the hot break. A ten gallon kettle will easily overflow with seven gallons of liquid during a hot break. With the full volume of liquid (starting at 8 gallons and working your way down) on the 5 gallon batch, you need a shitload of BTUs to heat that much liquid in a reasonable amount of time.
The smaller versions you can do on a cooktop. The kettle will be smaller and the liquid will be less.
 
Basement brewing is an expensive undertaking, in my opinion. I would love to do that since all of my brewing stuff is in the basement.
I've been brewing in our kitchen for years. I'm a BIAB brewer and normally brew 2.5 gallon batches. That still produces quite a bit of steam for 60 or 90 minute boils. Kitchens can handle steam unventilated basements....
 
Over The Cliff Brewing said:
Basement brewing is an expensive undertaking, in my opinion. I would love to do that since all of my brewing stuff is in the basement.
I've been brewing in our kitchen for years. I'm a BIAB brewer and normally brew 2.5 gallon batches. That still produces quite a bit of steam for 60 or 90 minute boils. Kitchens can handle steam unventilated basements....
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Look into a steam condenser. You can make your own for $50-100. I use the reclaimed water for clean up
 
For what it is worth this is the steam condenser, lid, and connector I use on the Brewzilla 35L.
Already had the Brewzilla, so just had to add these three items.
These prices are on the Morebeer site

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And here it is in action
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Over The Cliff Brewing said:
Is a PIA to do hop additions or late boil additions?
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I use a spider for hop additions. Only thing that is a pain (sometimes literally) is that all that piping and the lid is hot! Like instantly burned hot, lol. So get a good silicon oven mit
 
Triskele said:
I have a dumb question:
Right now I brew my beer using extracts. Extracts only require boiling 2.5 gallons which I can due easily with my gas stove in the basement.
If I were to whole grain brew I need to boil 5 gallons. By what I'm reading that I will need to use more BTU's. Many brewers use a propane burner either outdoors or in a garage.
I live in Chicago and I'd rather not brew outside in the winter. I have a propane burner that I fry turkeys with. Any opinions on using this burner indoors?
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I would NOT recommend using a propane burner indoors! For reasons mentioned in previous replies. Not only is it a fire serious hazard, but a health hazard too. I would strongly recommend an electric kettle. Not only are they relatively inexpensive, but much safer.
 
Over The Cliff Brewing said:
Is a PIA to do hop additions or late boil additions?
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A bit, yeah, shit be HOT!
I bag my hops to keep hop matter from circulating through my CFC and potentially clogging the pump.
When it is time I pop the lid and chuck em in.
I do tie them off though, same with whirlpool hops.
Here is an ounce of something ready to go in
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Once the boil is going and the condenser is condensing a bit of a vacuum is created
 
I brew in Montreal in the winter, so I have some experience with brewing in the cold. If you want to use your propane burner, you can do what I do and set up the burner just outside my kitchen door. All of my boiler related activity happens outside, but I spend most of my time inside where it is warm. This also means I can keep my mash tun indoors so I have minimal heat loss. The only real downside for me is that at the end of the boil I have to carry a kettle full of boiling wort into my kitchen to hook up my chiller, but thankfully that is only about ten steps.
 
@Herm brews We love our induction stove, but it's marginal for boiling wort. I limit my boils to 12 litres (that's about 3 gallons in American money), but our induction top really struggles. If I leave it on its highest setting, it will usually turn itself down a couple of notches while my back is turned. Perhaps our is a wimpy model but it may be a good idea to push your salesman on this one before you lay out a pile of cash.
 
Tipple said:
@Herm brews We love our induction stove, but it's marginal for boiling wort. I limit my boils to 12 litres (that's about 3 gallons in American money), but our induction top really struggles. If I leave it on its highest setting, it will usually turn itself down a couple of notches while my back is turned. Perhaps our is a wimpy model but it may be a good idea to push your salesman on this one before you lay out a pile of cash.
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What wattage is your induction stove? I have only ever used one once, at an Airbnb out in the California desert. It was quirky.
My batch size is 2.5 gallons, so I start with almost 4 gallons. Our radiant electric stovetop kicks ass, but the over stove vent fan is lacking in performance and it’s noisy, so I don‘t even bother with that. Instead, I open windows and set up a countertop fan to move the steam out of the kitchen, which can get a little on the cold side during Winter. I always brew while my wife is away at work - she would not appreciate how cold our home gets while I brew in Winter.
 
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