AG set up

[Timmsy]

What im after is a link or a run down on what i can buy and or make to get into AG brewing that wont cost me to much to see if i like brewing like this and to learn. I dont wana fork out heaps then not going through with it as i think my missis would have my balls

[Kevnlis]

I started with a second hand 33L stockpot, 3 ring burner and a Swiss Voile bag my wife made for me. Grand total of $40! Though I did get the stockpot free

I think BIAB is great (even if I never could make great beer with it, or get it to be efficient, some people supposedly can) for people that are not sure they want to do AG brewing. It is a cheap easy way to get into the hobby, and you are not left holding the bag (pun intended) if it falls through. You can always find other uses for a 3 ring burner, and the stockpot could be employed to make jams and do seafood boils etc.

[drsmurto]

Not wanting to knock the BIABers but i would think, nay hope, that every bloke has an esky. Turning it into a mash tun isnt a permanent thing.

So your mash tun is free, plenty of advice on how to make a manifold for it - Kevs got a tute of this? Hell, i have seen ppl use wire strainers to collect the wort or you could use the bag trick as kev suggested.

Pot - this is generally the thing that stops most ppl, you need 30L min but i reckon the bigger the better in this case. I bought a keg, legal one tho, mines an import keg. Cost me $85 for a 50L.

Another pot to be able to heat up your strike and sparge water but a collection of pots will do. I have my old ladies preserving urn, 25L electric jobby.

Burner is nice but it can be done on a stove top. I have a NASA.

Thats it. I wont do the sums, thats your job but cheap AG setup can be cheap indeed.

Some ppl start off with half batches just to see if they like it - takes the same time as a 20 or a 40L batch give or take.

Cheers and beers
DrSMurto

[lethaldog]

Most ppl have an esky between 20-50 litres lying round that they can convert into a mash tun which is very simple then all you need is a few attachments, pot and a burner.

My setup is as follows:

20 litre round willow esky ( $60 from bunnings)
40 litre ally pot ( $105 from local HBS)
4 ring burner and stand ( $115 from grain and grape)
Schmindling malt mill ( optional but with the aus dollar doing so well you would get it alot cheaper than i did)
I copper coil ( chiller) ($ 108 for 18 metres of which i used about 14 meters and made a manifold for the tun with a bit and still have some left for future ventures)
Then all you need is just a few bits and peices such as hose clamps, i chose to put a tap on my tun which is a pretty simple plastic valve ( about $3) a couple of bucks worth of hose clamps and a peice of food grade hose about 1500mm long which was only another few bucks but i have everything i need to make a great AG beer for about $500 give or take a few $.

[warra48]

$40 25 litre esky.
$20 copper pipe and fittings for manifold
$20 tap and fittings for esky
$20 various hoses and syphon
$35 3 ring burner
$19 19 litre SS pot to heat water
$12 11 litre SS pot for extra water, decoctions etc
$110 40 litre alu pot delivered to front door
$20 Electronic scales from Big W
$nil propane tank for burner (spare from father in law). Use your BBQ one to get started.
$16 2 litre pyrex type glass jug. Others steal from kitchen
$302 Total outlay to date
Everything else you need you should already have for your K&K brews.
I have a MillMaster on the way at $210 approx. Get your supplier to crush your grain for your first few brews. Extra fermenters, etc at cost but not strictly necessary for your first AG brews.
Considering your can pay up to $60 for a slab of first rate beer, the cost is about 5 or 6 slabs to get set up.
Improvement in your beer is priceless. You'll love the AG brews and its great variety and character.

[Swifty]

$20 willow esky from K-mart
$10 or so for braided hose from bunnings
$10 or so on a tap from bunnings, bung and little bottler tube for mash tun
$30 on two 19l SS pots from Big W

I use a jug from the kitchen and hose that I use for racking etc for running the wort out. I cool overnight, do a split boil and boil on stove top. It's a bit of a pain but I don't do all-grain all the time so it's a small outlay and have made fabulous beers. I do want to upgrade but haven't as yet and am happy with the outcome and all for less than $70.

[Timmsy]

Wow thanks guys! Im sure i can get big SS pots through work cheap. Have to look into it. I might head to garage sales and the markets on Sundays to see if i can get a few extras.

Also is there any pages on how to make the manifold and or maybe some pics of your guys or examples of these set ups so i can so what i have to do? Ill just tinker along getting bits and pieces together so then its not a huge outlay and the missus will keep that smile on her face

[rwh]

I'd build it up bit by bit. To start with you'll need a pot and a mash tun:

http://cruisenews.net/brewing/infusion/page1.php

[James L]

This has been a very interesting topic. I have been considering AG for quite some time, but i've always had the impression that the setup is quite involved and expensive. I looks as though AG brewing is about as involved and expensive as you want it to be.

I reckon before i'll know it i'll have my hands on a 25L esky and a 40L pot, and will be doing AG too...

I have a burner on my BBQ, i have a mill, I'm getting a wort chiller, i'll be able to get my hands on a pump from work, My friend has a heap of thin stainless guaze to make a false bottom for the esky, and all i'll need then is a few bits and pieces like stainless taps, tubing, clamps, and a thermometer to measure the sparge and strike water with.

Would you guys suggest welding a tap onto the side of the brew pot to help with liquid transfer? I thought this would make it easy if i was to use a plate wort chiller instead of a coil wort chiller? Can you also use the brew pot as your sparge water heater, or would an urn be better?

I know these questions have most probably been asked before, but i've only just realised the possibility of me AG brewing soon.

Cheers

James

[drsmurto]

Not sure of the output of a burner on a BBQ. Dont recall them being too great. I have a wok burner as one of the 5 on my stove top. On full tilt it took a long time to get 10L water from cold to boiling. Electric elements, whilst slow, tend to put out a lot more useful energy (ie in contact with the pot). That said, i have a NASA with a low P reg and it does the job effortlessly

[James L]

my wok burner is pretty powerful.. even the low setting is a little extreme... i think its about 16Mj output... 3 ring bastard thing.... And besides, the GF hates the hops smell that wafts through the house while i brew... Must be something wrong with her cos i love it.... so brewing indoors is out of the question.... I just need to see whether the BBQ will be able to support the weight if i start doing full volumes...

[drsmurto]

Ah, 3 ring burner. No probs then. I thought you were referring to the pissy little thing on the side of my mates BBQ. I think it would struggle to set fire to anything!

Not sure what it is about hops but my partner cant stand the smell of them either. She does drink Pure Blonde tho........

30kg of water plus the pot is a hell of a lot of weigh t expect your bbq to be able to support. Maybe buy a 3 ring burner and claims its for camping....

[James L]

I just got an email back from everdure.... they reckon it wont hold the weight.... I've done ok with the 4L in the pot.. but they reckon no more than that... I think i'll look at either removing that wok burner and putting it on a stand (cos i'm not going to use it otherwise).

[James L]

Thats the main reason why i bought that bloody thing too....

[Timmsy]

Them 3 ring gas burner jobs are they them gas stoves you use for camping?? if so that one less thing i gota buy

[beerdrinker]

i use a 4 ring burner from a camping shop,bloody weighs 15 kilos i think you need it to get a converted keg boiling in a decent amount of time. Takes me almost half an hour to get 40L up to 75C!

[drtom]

I've thought about this a few times. We have a 30L pot and it takes quite a while to get to boiling. I reckon I need to get some flame-proof insulation that I can put around the outside. Kind of a giant tea-cosy. Not only would it take a lot less time to get to boiling, it would also waste a lot less energy keeping it boiling for 60 minutes.

I wonder how flame-proof pink bats are....

T.

[rwh]

Takes me almost half an hour to get 40L up to 75C!

Why don't you fill it from the hot tap?

[drsmurto]

One of these beast would do the trick - i use the NASA and a low P reg to do anything up to 35L boils. No dramas.

Linky

[Trough Lolly]

This has been a very interesting topic. I have been considering AG for quite some time, but i've always had the impression that the setup is quite involved and expensive. I looks as though AG brewing is about as involved and expensive as you want it to be.

When I first ventured into AG brewing, I used kitchen utensils for my first dozen or so batches. Two 12L stockpots, a mesh colander, a 1L plastic jug and a decor 12L plastic tub were all I needed to mash and boil a 21L batch of all grain beer on the kitchen stove (gas powered wok burner was handy!).

I mashed in one stock pot - direct fired from the stove to get the right strike temp.
Used a small jug to scoop the mash into the colander over the decor tub and sparged with hot water from the second stock pot. With a bit of jiggery pokery, I ended up with two stock pots full of wort which boiled down to 21L. Chilled the stock pots with cold tap water via the "Trough Lolly counterflow cooler" in the twin sink (stir cold water on the outside one way and the boiled wort (gently) in the opposite or counterflow direction, inside the pot, to improve cooling time), splash poured into fermenter, yeast pitched and sealed!

Over time, the obsession grew to stainless heaven and I'm glad that I did it this way - I learned much about the brewing process rather than spending oodles on a turnkey system but then again, I prefer making espresso coffee with a manual machine rather than the super automatic "push one button like you do at the airport" type of coffee machines!

Cheers,
TL