It's time to go all-grain

So you've been brewing for a while and saving a little money and are ready to go all-grain.  If you're like me, you are a bit picky about using quality parts and prefer to get the exact parts you want not the ones included in kits sold by stores.

If you are unable to find used or free equipment, like the cooler, I am going to tell you where to get the parts brand new at the best price.

With that said you just can't go wrong with the following mash tun:

$51 (includes shipping) for a 400 series Industrial Igloo cooler from Zoro Tools.

$36 (flat shipping rate at $5) for all stainless steel plumbing from Bargain Fittings.

Select "cooler bulk head"

- Cooler type ROUND COOLER extra shim washer

- Inside fitting Female NPT x 1/2" Hose barb- Valve Stainless 3 piece valve- Hose Barb - (for valve outlet) 1/2" Hose - SS

Note the 3-piece stainless valve.  Nice for cleaning easily.  Upgrade over the brass mash tun plumbing readily available.  Don't forget Teflon tape for plumbing.

$27-31 (includes shipping) for a 12" false bottom from Amazon.  Search Amazon for best deal of the day.  You won't pay more than $31 if you check back daily for a few days.

$29 (flat rate shipping at $6 so order your sanitizer and a few other things since you are paying for shipping any ways) for a fly sparge from Williams Brewing.

Grand total: $155

Go price that against anything you can find online and you will see even at $130-150 on sale the parts are lower quality.  A lot lower.  And the price is likely higher.

If you can swing it I strongly suggest buying a cheaper 5-gallon cooler (maybe Home Depot or Lowes for $20) and adding plumbing on it from Bargain Fittings to feed your sparge via gravity   Select:

- Cooler type ROUND COOLER extra shim washer

- Inside fitting No coupling

- Valve Brass ball valve

- Hose Barb - (for valve outlet) 1/2" Hose - SS

You will need 12" of 3/8" high temp silicon tubing to connect your false bottom to the valve in your mash tun and about 4-5' of 1/2" high temp silicon tubing for your sparge connection.  The hose provided will over heat and burn you.  This can be bought at Bargain Fittings since you are already paying for the shipping any ways.

For the $200 range you now have a really nice set-up which should yield you near 80% efficiency with your all-grain brewing.  You won't find better quality for the price and you will likely not find poorer quality for the price either.  I have used this set-up and it works very well and stress free  -  Relax.  Have a home brew!

Now if you are in need of a wort chiller you can buy a kit and make one for 1/2 price by ordering through Copper Tubing Sales.  Consider buying the spring feeder for $3 to shape the copper well.

Pruno recipe

Appropriate to the theme of home brewing on a budget is pruno.  I received this email from my friend Erik B. long ago.  I meant this to be my very first post of my blog and though I can back date it, I think it's fine right here:

"You may be aware that home brewing is popular in prison. I've read it's called "pruno" and is more fun to discuss than it is to drink. Apparently, it's dreadful.

Below is a recipe/poem from a death-row inmate. Yeast is not mentioned, so I assume it's contained in the 'mash.'" - Erik B.

Recipe For Prison Pruno  

Jarvis Masters

Take ten peeled oranges,

Jarvis Masters, it is the judgment and sentence of this court,

one 8 oz. bowl of fruit cocktail,

that the charged information was true,

squeeze the fruit into a small plastic bag,

and the jury having previously, on said date,

and put the juice along with the mash inside,

found that the penalty shall be death,

add 16 oz. of water and seal the bag tightly.

and this Court having, on August 20, 1991,

Place the bag into your sink,

denied your motion for a new trial,

and heat it with hot running water for 15 minutes.

it is the order of this Court that you suffer death,

wrap towels around the bag to keep it warm for fermentation.

said penalty to be inflicted within the walls of San Quentin,

Stash the bag in your cell undisturbed for 48 hours.

at which place you shall be put to death,

When the time has elapsed,

in the manner prescribed by law,

add 40 to 60 cubes of white sugar,

the date later to be fixed by the Court in warrant of execution.

six teaspoons of ketchup,

You are remanded to the custody of the warden of San Quentin,

then heat again for 30 minutes,

to be held by him pending final

secure the bag as done before,

determination of your appeal.

then stash the bag undisturbed again for 72 hours.

It is so ordered.

Reheat daily for 15 minutes.

In witness whereof,

After 72 hours,

I have hereon set my hand as Judge of this Superior Court,

with a spoon, skim off the mash,

and I have caused the seal of this Court to be affixed thereto.

pour the remaining portion into two 18 oz. cups.

May God have mercy on your soul.

California State Prison-San Quentin

San Quentin, California

1992

Speakeasy Prohibition Ale (clone) recipe

I have four friends who have expressed interest in learning how to all-grain homebrew - one of which plans to have his set-up running this summer.  He and his wife are serious and ready to plunge into the world of homemade beer.

I asked my local home brew shop, Oak Barrel in Berkeley, CA, to write up a recipe for a clone of Speakeasy Prohibition Ale.  On the spot they came up with this:

Grains:
12 lbs - American 2-Row
3 lbs - Munich
.5 lbs - Crystal 50-60
.5 lbs - Crystal 77 (note: I accidently poured in 1 lbs, which will result in a lighter colored beer)
.25 lbs - Victory

Hops:
1.5 oz Millenium @ 60 min
.5 oz Millenium @ 20 min
.5 oz Columbus @ 20 min
1.5 oz Columbus @ 0 min

Dry hop in secondary with 2 oz Cascade

Yeast:
Wyeast 1056

* Pitched yeast at 64 degrees.  Fermented in bathroom shower with temps of 69-75 degrees.  OG 1.082.

I expect the beer to be approximately 9% alcohol.

5/1/2012 update:
Specific gravity: 1.014
Pitched dry hops.
Beer will need to be filtered quite a bit.  It's lighter colored than Prohibition Ale by quite a lot.
Flavor wise the beer is a bit hoppy and a little bit sweet.

* It would have been wise to have used a "starter yeast" with the initial pitch.  I might have gotten the gravity down a little bit.  A starter yeast is always a smart thing to do with big beers.

Budget set-up for apartment dweller

When space and water are limited you really need to give a lot of thought to your home brew set-up.  I just taught a co-worker, Josue, how to brew all-grain yesterday.  He and his wife are apartment/condo dwellers with a balcony and a garage.  Space is limited!  They said they want to use propane.  Style-wise Josue's wife prefers stouts.  They initially budget $500, but it can be done for less; furthermore, if they move into a house this set-up will serve them well for years to come.

If I were them, this would be my shopping list:

$30: empty propane tank at Costco

$45-55: high pressure burner from local flea market

$55-65: 8-gallon stainless steel pot from local flea market / Goodwill
$45-50: 5-gallon stainless steel pot from local flea market / Goodwill
* I recommend $15 for a copper or stainless steel/heat resistant spout with appropriate connector  from Home Depot.  I also recommend adding a temperature gauge as well.  Use on both pots. (Josue has access to a welder)

$20 for a 10-gallon water cooler (Igloo style or rectangular) from local flea market or Craiglist
$25 for copper or stainless steel fittings with appropriate connector from Home Depot
* Build a mash tun or better yet one with a temperature gauge.

QTY: 2 at $15 for Bazooka Screen for mash tun and Brew Kettle from Home Depot

$25 digital scale from Amazon

$60 Wort Chiller (beer runs through) Freecycle/Craigslist for a 40 quart cooler plus copper tubing and run off to go directly into your carboy.  The beer runs through copper tubing in ice water.  Here's how to make it.

* A counterflow wort chiller can be made for home owners.

$25 for a 6-6.5 gallon carboy (prefer 6 gallon with blow off tube to get rid of by-product) from Craigslist

$15-20 for a 5 gallon carboy (needed for secondary) from Craigslist

$6 for two airlocks from local homebrew shop

$5 floating thermometer from local homebrew shop

$7 hydrometer from local homebrew shop

$100 for a CO2 tank and regulator from Craigslist (Josue has a soda keg already).
* Otherwise a used bottle capper can be found for under $10.

$5-35 for a copper sparge swing arm.  Can be easily made, such as this.

$2.50 stainless steel spoon with long handle from local restaurant wholesaler

**** Please note that this is not meant for people who plan to "just try home brewing out".  This is an expensive set-up and is for people who are committed.  This set-up is comprehensive and will last so many years I can not count on two hands and two feet and it will serve you well.  It will allow Josue to mass produce beer in 5-gallon batches quickly and frequently.  He will have little down time with this system and can hope for 80-90% efficiency once he masters it.

I sent the following email to my brother-in-law to be, which may prove useful for the apartment dweller:

So I have done a bit of research lately and thinking about apartment/town house living and how to best start off home brewing with all-grain and using a budget-friendly system.  Storage space is a priority and so are resources like water, meaning you can't run water through your immersion wort chiller for 30 minutes or more.  So my system I recommend takes this into consideration.  First step is to sign up for FreeCycle in your area and follow Craigslist Free Stuff regularly.  Other items can mostly be purchased used, such as 5-gallon carboys should cost $15.

Read me:

http://www.davincisworld.com/CastleRooms/Brewery/HomeBrew.htm

Good resource -- food for thought:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/metalworking/4323694

Mash tun design:

http://www.azega.com/converting-a-cooler-into-a-mash-tun/

http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=88067

Wort chiller design:

http://homebrewhead.com/tag/diy/

Sparge system (of course you can batch sparge):

Sparge costs $35 plus, but you can make one for $10:

http://www.bohack.com/2010/10/how-to-make-a-rotating-fly-sparge-arm-for-all-grain-brewing/

 

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTFmQt8s4F4

 

My thought is this . . . use two coolers and one pot.  Coolers you will get for free from Freecycle.

Check Google Images for "Gravity Home Brew Systems".

Call me for explanation,

Budget building home brew equipment

Over winter vacation I helped my brother-in-law brew his very first beer -- all-grain brown ale (Sam Smith style). I encouraged him to build his system up over the next year or so. I said focusing on the bare bone essentials is good for now. Most of the items can be found at Goodwill and swap meets. His parents frequent those so he gave them a list to watch for. In the meantime, even though I am in a different state, I started wastching Freecycle and Craigslist to help him out.

The first items I scored were the 40 qrt cooler and the 3-gallon blue cooler, both in mint condition. The 40 qrt he will use as a wort chiller. He will run copper tubing through an ice bath in the cooler. The wort will run through the tubing. He lives in an apartment, so he needs to be efficient with water. The 3-gallon cooler can be used to run sparge water. He will convert these himself DIY-style. The 2-gallon igloo was found on the freeway and would work well for a small scale distery.
Craigslist SF had 2 carboys for sale at $15 each and a bottle capper at $20. $15 is a good price for a carboy and is what you should aim for at the max. New they cost over $30 each and the bottle capper is $35-40. My sister-in-law (married to my blood brother) went for me because she was close to the seller. She was nice to the seller and went home with all three items for $20 total. A super sweet deal! No chips on the Mexican-made carboys with caps included.

There is some surface rust on this bottle capper, but nothing coke and tinfoil can't clean up. In it's current state I would lube the stock then sand down the rust and it with wet sandpaper to smooth out and mount this to a work bench and call it a day.

Recipe: Belgium Triple

Kel at Oak Barrel Beer & Winecraft gave me this very simple recipe. I am aiming for a Chimay-style Triple.

Troubled Triple

12.5 lbs Belgium Pilsner Malt
.5 lbs Acidulated Malt (opens the flavor)
1 lbs Clear Sugar Cane (pitch at 7 gallons to boil down)
2 oz for 60 minutes of Styrian Golding hops (pellet)

Bastogne Belgium yeast (White Labs WLP510)

Single-step Infusion.
- Mash @ 149 degrees
- Sparge @ 160-165 degrees
* Sparged 2 gallons extra to up efficiency

Suggestion for drinking. Test @ 3 months. Test @ 6 months.

* Due to an appointment and issues with my sparge (as well as sparging an extra 2 gallons) I had to stop the boil at 5.5 - 5.75 gallons and therefore we know the alcohol content will be lower, which disappoints me. There was not enough time for the wort chiller to get the beer much below 100 degrees so I had to stop and cover it up. Dang-it. I will be able to get back to it in 2.5 hours. I have never had this problem ever when brewing and it makes me nervous.

When I returned the wort was chilled to 80 degrees. I ran the worth chiller for an additional hour while I picked up my kids from daycare and wife from work. It's a troubled Triple.

I did not filter the wort before pitching it through a cheese cloth like I usually do due to being in a rush; therefore I will need to filter it through a few carboys before I bottle to allow sediment to fall to the bottom.

Pitched yeast at 66 degrees.

OG: 1.082

Volume: approx. 5.75 gallons

Efficiency: 85% (use this calculation to determine your efficiency).

I am happy with this efficiency as it suggests I would have been dang close to 90% had I boiled down to 5 gallons. Sparging with an extra 1.5-2 gallons adds more time, but does help a lot in increasing my efficiency.



Sweet sweet sugar water. Color is true to the style too.

First thing the next morning fermentation begun and by noon it was bubbling rapidly with no breaks.

Equipment: It does not need to be expensive

To get yourself set up as an all-grain outdoor brewer requires a little bit of patience, but not much money.
You will need a stove and likely at your local flea market you can guy a propane stove for about $20-25.

Although, I highly recommend purchasing a "high pressure" stove because it can produce a boil very quickly and save you possibly an hour or more of time waiting for boils during the brewing process.
Many people own a propane tank for their BBQs, but if you don't garage sales and the flea market will possibly score you a tank. You can then refill at our local fill station or exchange it for a full one from Home Depot, Walmat, or alike. Amazing I have even seen one abandoned on the highway -- heck that is where I found my MLT (Mash Lauder Tun) -- a 5 gallon Igloo on the side of interstate.

I recommend purchasing a 10 gallon mash ton, because my 5 gallon only holds 13 lbs of grain, which limits the beers I can make. You can purchase an Igloo or alike at your flea market for $1 per gallon usually. Expect to pay near $10. It does not matter if it is stained by Kool-Aide or anything. Give one good clean and you're done. After all, you will boil your mash afterwards any ways.

To make it, purchase a Bazooka Kettle Screen, to filter out the grain and you can make a run to Home Depot for the copper fittings to make the rest. You can follow this guide to make it. Get the Bazooka screen. It has great reviews and is priced about the same as other products. You do NOT want the filter to get clogged. When all is said and done you will have spent about $50 -- considerably less than buying a pre-made one.
I purchased a spare lid for $5 and drilled it and installed my sparge and it works perfectly. Technically, you can use one lid and put a seal/grommet/cork in the drilled hole and make out just fine.
I purchased a metal spoon for $2.50 at a restaurant distributor store.
My 7.5 gallon stainless steel pot was also bought at a flea market for $50 -- significantly less than what a shop would charge you.

You may also be able to score some items for free from your local Freecycle. I scored three 5 gallon carboys from Freecycle. Just be patient and always looking. You will find a good deal.