My Brewing process and peccadillos

When I first started brewing, my process consisted of finding the extract recipe kit I wanted, then brewing pretty much lock step with the instructions in the kit.

I added equipment in incremental steps.  First was adding a glass carboy for secondary (which I thought were important at the time, not so much now).  Then, a turkey fryer, a 12 gallon pot, and a copper coil which became an immersion chiller.  I also bought two coolers, and made a manifold from cpvc pipe to turn it into a mash tun (based on How to Brew). I also bought a two roller mill.

Next was buying a freezer for fermenting.  The problem with my freezer is that it held a fermentation bucket (barely), but a glass carboy would not fit in the deep part of the small freezer.  I eventually bought four kegs, tap faucets, a CO2 regulator and tank.  I made a (rather large) collar for the freezer, and had my four keg keezer up and running.

After that was purchasing a Blichmann burner (put the turkey fryer to shame), along with two twenty gallon pots from a restaurant surplus store.  The goal was to put together an electric brewery (still working on that).  After that, I purchased the PID, switches, wiring and other parts to put together a RIMs system.  The control box, etc. is sized so that I can expand the internals and used it for electric brewing when I get to that stage.  I also bought a pump at that point.

At some point I built a stir plate and bought flasks for my for my yeast starters.  With liquid yeast, I always make a starter, as I discussed here.

Finally was the fateful day when I sewed up the brew bag.  My first attempt at brew in the bag was a wit bier.  I had issues with water volume (as in I ended up with 7 gallons of 3.2% beer instead of five gallons of 5% beer).  Volume problems have been solved with Homebrew Finds BIAB volume calculator spreadsheet.
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I have now moved to the point where I use both kettles.  I heat the water in the main kettle, transfer it to the mash kettle with the bag, add grain, recirculate during the mash, and transfer back to the boil kettle when done.  This allows me to leave the bag in the kettle, as lifting it out often results in wort being slopped on the floor of my garage or patio.

I buy base malt in bulk, and usually buy extra specialty malt as well.  One of our local malt distributors has an arrangement with our homebrew club where they will sell us malt at almost their price and deliver it to the local brewery.  All we have to do is get money to the local brewery first, then pick up the grain.

For storage, I have a wire shelf bought at a restaurant going out of business auction.  I have several five gallon buckets and gasketed lids, six large dog food containers, and several one quart and two quart food storage containers for specialty malts.  I also tend to buy hops in bulk (can’t resist the Yakima Valley deals!).

I use Beersmith for recipe formulation and inventory management.  I heartily recommend it, as it allows me to plan out my brews for several months in the future, then get a shopping list of what I need.  Makes it much easier to buy in bulk when you have some idea of what you will need in the future!

 

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