Full Upgrade of Equipment

[Sokratees9]

Hi all,

I've been homebrewing for a few years now, mainly with a big saucepan (approx 30cm diametre and 30cm deep, enough for about 12l or so) and a bucket and a carboy.  I've bee doing 50% grain and adding extract, and then topping up to 20l after boiling, using BIAB.  I've done a couple of all grain half batches, but found they didn't go as well, not sure why.

Anyway, I want to keep producing 20l or so at a time (maybe a bit more, but I don't want to go huge), as I've now got a kegerator set up with two corny kegs.

I'm willing to spend between 500-100 quid on new equipment, so any suggestions on the best way forward would be very welcome.  I want to be able to be as flexible as possible with what I brew, but also to tighten up the procedures a good bit to improve quality.

Do I just go straight for a grainfather (although their webshop seems to be sold out), or are there better ways to use the money?  Is it better to invest money in the fermentation side, or the hot side?

Thanks,
Sok

[pob]

Always better to improve cold side first, even on a Coopers kit setup.

Go fermentation control (Inkbird controller, €35) & 60w heating tube (€25) in a 2nd hand (or new, if budget allows) fridge.

Before you go Robobrew, Brewmonk (€400-500 variants) or Grainfather, €800.

I've done a couple of all grain half batches, but found they didn't go as well, not sure why.

Important to work out why; were they issues on efficiency or was it other areas? were they pre-crushed kits? Need more info, it maybe just a small tech, procedural issue.

Worth also spending €40-50 on a water profile test, if you can't pick on up form a local homebrewer on the same supply.

[Emot]

+1 to all of the above, however I would argue instead of paying €40 for a water profile test, you would be better off spending €50 on a reverse osmosis water filter:

https://www.waterfilterman.co.uk/fish-keeping-water-filters/248-17-reverse-osmosis-water-filter-for-aquarium-discus-fish-marine.html#/22-add_ons-standard_ro

I picked up one of these and it works well. Takes a few hours to fill the water needed for a brew but well worth it knowing I can get my water chemistry bang on with no guesswork.

[Pheeel]

I'd suggest waiting around Black Friday. Always good deals from the homebrew stores around then. I picked up my chiller for a steal

[pob]

Depending on where you are, there may be an existing profile available, eg most GCBrewers are fed by the Roundwood/Vartry Reservoir.

We're lucky as it's very soft & quite low in mineral content, is within a whisker of the Pilsen profile, so a very handy base to build any beer profile from.

[Mossy]

however I would argue instead of paying €40 for a water profile test, you would be better off spending €50 on a reverse osmosis water filter

I heard these are awful wasteful on the water. You only get around a third of the water going through the filter. What's your experience? Can you refilter the water that's not collected?

[Emot]

It does waste a ridiculous amount of water if you don't harvest it. I see no reason why it couldn't be refiltered, only issue would be pumping it back through the system, obviously you don't need to worry about that if you are feeding off a hose.

[Mossy]

@Emot
This is something I've been think about for a while but the waste is putting me off.
Have you noticed a noticable difference in the beers? Are the water profiles you aim for hard to nail down?

[pob]

Do you use BeerSmith for your recipes? if so, then here's a guide to adding water profiles to your recipe.

All the minerals are available through the homebrew shops; you'll get 2 years of brewing from €10 of them (calcium chloride, gypsum, epsom, etc - approx €1.50ea for 100g), you'll also need a fine jewellers weighing scales (~€10).

They definitely make a huge difference to your results, hops pop, malty beers let the malt shine.

[irish_goat]

you'll also need a fine jewellers weighing scales (~€10).

[Emot]

@Emot
This is something I've been think about for a while but the waste is putting me off.
Have you noticed a noticable difference in the beers? Are the water profiles you aim for hard to nail down?

I have noticed a definite improvement in my beers. While I use Beersmith for my recipes and for mash temps etc, I actually use the Brun'water spreadsheet for water chemistry. I find it very easy to match a water profile using that spreadsheet. As pob says, you can get all the chemicals you need on the Homebrew Company website for a few euro.

[Mossy]

I have noticed a definite improvement in my beers. While I use Beersmith for my recipes and for mash temps etc, I actually use the Brun'water spreadsheet for water chemistry. I find it very easy to match a water profile using that spreadsheet

Do you use BeerSmith for your recipes? if so, then here's a guide to adding water profiles to your recipe

Thanks for the info, can the same results be achieved with knowing the water profile coming out of your tap without going the R/O route?

[Emot]

Almost, if you have soft water and know your profile you should be able to more or less match any profile. That's the way I used to do it with good results. If you have hard water then there is no other way (that I know of) to strip metals from the water so you might go the bottled water route.

[Mossy]

Nice one thanks for that, I'll investigate that