BARF Homebrewing.

[Bowling4Bikes]

so,

1) a friend gave me a 7.9 gallon FastFermenter conical fermentor. can't wait to try it!

2a) I won my fantasy football league, so I have a little extra scratch to spend on my new-ish hobby. I need just about everything except propane burners and the fermentor.

First is the mash tun. I am upgrading from a turkey deep fryer, so just about anything is going to be off the charts. Unfortunately my win wasn't Blichmann-level, so I'm looking at the 10gal MegaPot 1.2: http://www.northernbrewer.com/10-gal-megapot-1-2, and ordering the optional false bottom.

2b) I want to create clear wort. after 'helping' a friend brew (ie hanging out and drinking his beer) using his really nice sculpture setup, I was astounded at how clear the wort got. It's gotta be the sparge arm. I think I can make a simple one with just a tube, a simple structure, and this cheap jet sparge thing: http://www.northernbrewer.com/fermenters-favorites-fighter-jet-sparge

I am getting a peristaltic pump for free and will use 3/8" fittings and tubing. are there any worries about flow with 3/8" compared to 1/2 for a 10 gallon system?

Any thoughts?

 

[Ozymandias]

Congrats! Always nice getting upgrades. Welcome back(?)! :teeth

As for the Blichmann, I have a 15G Boilermaker, a Therminator, Hop Blocker and an autosparge. I haven't used the autosparge yet but truth be told, none of the other stuff was worth the Blichmann price IMHO. After using each a few times I found they weren't really any better than other things on the market and in some cases they were solutions that caused more problems than they solved (hello, Hop Blocker, I'm looking at you!). The Boilermaker was my boil kettle but is working well as my MLT with the false bottom these days and it works but I could have found cheaper options. I could be talked into selling my Therminator (and back flush adapter) if you want it, $130 for both. Those are $220 retail.

Clear wort comes from the vorlauf (recirculation) part of the process. You'll need a pump, sparge arm and a way of applying heat to maintain temp control.

I don't think I would use a peristaltic pump in the brew house. Maybe elsewhere though. Chugger pumps have been kind of taking over a lot of the market share from March lately as they are cheaper and just as good with some additional R&D after it came to market.

Unless you're only gravity sparging, I found those plastic jet type things are about worthless. They caused channelling way too easily at higher pressure needed to manage temp at an acceptable rate. This looks promising for the price. You could even use it as a model to make your own for less, possibly.

Happy experimenting!

 

[Bowling4Bikes]

Thanks Ozzy!

I've been dabbling in brewing for about two years now, and all-grain for about a year. out of the dozen batches or so, all have been turbid and only about 4 have come out where I was happy with the product. the rest I drank, but wouldn't buy them if I had a choice. My buddy's setup was an inspiration. I really really want clear wort.

Congrats! Always nice getting upgrades. Welcome back(?)! :teeth

As for the Blichmann, I have a 15G Boilermaker, a Therminator, Hop Blocker and an autosparge. I haven't used the autosparge yet but truth be told, none of the other stuff was worth the Blichmann price IMHO. After using each a few times I found they weren't really any better than other things on the market and in some cases they were solutions that caused more problems than they solved (hello, Hop Blocker, I'm looking at you!). The Boilermaker was my boil kettle but is working well as my MLT with the false bottom these days and it works but I could have found cheaper options. I could be talked into selling my Therminator (and back flush adapter) if you want it, $130 for both. Those are $220 retail.

that's relieving to hear about the Blichmann...boy they sure do look nice though. I was dreaming about the 10gal boilermaker with 240v electric heater, but that and all the bells and whistles needed (false bottom, autosparge, etc) put it out of the running.

I would be interested in the therminator...I currently have a copper immersion chiller made for ~5gallon kettle. Will this cause any problems in a 10 gallon with false bottom? I read the therminator is the way to go...is it really that superior to immersion chillers?

Clear wort comes from the vorlauf (recirculation) part of the process. You'll need a pump, sparge arm and a way of applying heat to maintain temp control.

I don't think I would use a peristaltic pump in the brew house. Maybe elsewhere though. Chugger pumps have been kind of taking over a lot of the market share from March lately as they are cheaper and just as good with some additional R&D after it came to market.

I was going to get a chugger pump until I found out I was getting the peristaltic for free. I should at least give it a try, but I'll hold off on buying all the 3/8" quick disconnects and such until I make a conclusion. thanks again.

Unless you're only gravity sparging, I found those plastic jet type things are about worthless. They caused channelling way too easily at higher pressure needed to manage temp at an acceptable rate. This looks promising for the price. You could even use it as a model to make your own for less, possibly.

Happy experimenting!

yeah, for $5 I wasn't convinced it would be great...nothing cheap ever seems to be, haha. My thinking was: if I can score the sparge head for cheap, I could just drill a hole in a piece of wood that spans across the diameter of the kettle, run tubing through it and voila I have an adjustable sparge arm. Is it worth saving ~$80? probably not, but I find it fun to try to make the things I may be able to...although I usually end up buying the right stuff later.

cheers,
Dan

 

[Ozymandias]

Thanks Ozzy!

that's relieving to hear about the Blichmann...boy they sure do look nice though. I was dreaming about the 10gal boilermaker with 240v electric heater, but that and all the bells and whistles needed (false bottom, autosparge, etc) put it out of the running.

I would be interested in the therminator...I currently have a copper immersion chiller made for ~5gallon kettle. Will this cause any problems in a 10 gallon with false bottom? I read the therminator is the way to go...is it really that superior to immersion chillers?

That's the thing about most of the Blichmann gear. You kind of need to go big or go home. The exceptions I've seen are the Therminator (but you have to be sure to whirlpool so hop material doesn't get in it) and the autosparge and both of those have cheaper alternatives to retail.

The chiller will work with any system, really. It will be WAAAAAAY faster than immersion. I cooled a 10G batch a week ago in about 15 minutes. :teeth

yeah, for $5 I wasn't convinced it would be great...nothing cheap ever seems to be, haha. My thinking was: if I can score the sparge head for cheap, I could just drill a hole in a piece of wood that spans across the diameter of the kettle, run tubing through it and voila I have an adjustable sparge arm. Is it worth saving ~$80? probably not, but I find it fun to try to make the things I may be able to...although I usually end up buying the right stuff later.

cheers,
Dan

Sure, I see no reason that wouldn't work. Feel free to experiment like that. That's part of the fun!! I honestly don't think I've left my brewery alone for more than 5 batches with some attempt to improve it.

 

[Bowling4Bikes]

haha, so check this out:

for the blichmann 10gallon boilermaker with thermometer was $350

for the megapot 10gallon + thermometer was $250

I found a boilermaker on craigslist, practically brand new, with thermometer and fully-plumbed bulkhead for $240.

:banana

to celebrate my blichmann 'win', I bought the sparge arm on amazon that you recommended, Ozy. it looks like a winner! :thumbup

my buddy scored an air pump...hooks to my air compressor. what a trip! I feel like steam punk olden days running it. by restricting the air flow with the regulator, adding an inlet AND outlet valve, I find a spot where the air pump CHUGs at a reasonable flow so as to not disturb the grain bed (we'll see if this is true).

unfortunately I didn't realize blichmann are slow ass mofo's, so I'm not going to get the false bottom in time. so I'll use my plastic bucket for a mash tun for now. Hook the new sparge arm to it.

set up male quick-connects out of pump, females everywhere else...any concerns about plastic connectors, btw? seems ok...again, we'll see Friday.

So here's (most) of my rig for now: left is mash tun, middle is boil kettle, next is air pump, right is hot liquor. since I'm pumping and not using gravity, I see no reason to have the HLT as the highest...any concerns here?

cheers,
Dan

 

[Lunch Box]

Nice score, and a nice looking rig. :thumbup

I need to get busy brewing as soon as I get back from Baja. Time's flying by, and St. Paddy's is coming up.

 

[PhoS]

so,

1) a friend gave me a 7.9 gallon FastFermenter conical fermentor. can't wait to try it!



Any thoughts?

While i'm not a fan of plastic fermenters these things intrigue me. I'd probably just use the valve on the bottom to purge rather than having it open 24/7 and having to dump it multiple times. Anything is better than wrastling carboys in the sink arty

 

[Ozymandias]

Nothing wrong with plastic use as long as you know going in that it has a rather short lifespan. Some longer than others, but it is a permeable product. I think I got 20 batches out of the Speidel fermenters I had been using. For the cost of a plastic conical I would probably rather go with SS tech stainless buckets instead if it were me. Though free is free.

Looks like a decent setup, Dan.

 

[Bowling4Bikes]

FastFerment 7.9gallon plastic conical review:

-it leaks at every fitting! After thread-taping everything for the 2nd use, it still leaks out of the main connector to the bottom. very annoying!

-as the trub falls to the bottom, it sticks to the sides instead of all settling at the bottom. AND, there's no side-valve to run off the brew above the trub. I am looking into installing one myself. very annoying!

-Since there's no pour off spout is on the very bottom and the yeast catch is overfilled, I have to run off the extra trub into a secondary container so I can throw it out, before getting to my brew. siphoning could work, but the sides are extremely opaque so I would have difficulty locating the bottom of the tube. And like I mentioned, the trub sticks to the sides, so even after running off the bulk of the trub, the wort is still quite proteinaceous going into secondary. very annoying!

so far I give it a 1 out of 4 stars. so much more headache than just using a glass fermenter and siphoning above the trub. Maybe, maybe with a lot more work, I can get it to stop leaking and add in a side valve. But so far I am far from impressed.

 

[Ozymandias]

You might try getting some of those weldless bulkheads or fashioning something similar with rubber o-rings.

You might also be able to just permanently glue the areas it's leaking from the outside.

The concern I would have no matter what method you use is that it will provide something for the stuff you don't want touching your beer to take hold no matter what you do. Cracks, and whatnot are exactly the kind of things microscopic organisms like to hide out in and later ruin your beer!

 

[PhoS]

FastFerment 7.9gallon plastic conical review:

:wow thanks for the update.

 

[Bowling4Bikes]

Congrats! Always nice getting upgrades. Welcome back(?)! :teeth

As for the Blichmann, I have a 15G Boilermaker, a Therminator, Hop Blocker and an autosparge. I haven't used the autosparge yet but truth be told, none of the other stuff was worth the Blichmann price IMHO. After using each a few times I found they weren't really any better than other things on the market and in some cases they were solutions that caused more problems than they solved (hello, Hop Blocker, I'm looking at you!). The Boilermaker was my boil kettle but is working well as my MLT with the false bottom these days and it works but I could have found cheaper options. I could be talked into selling my Therminator (and back flush adapter) if you want it, $130 for both. Those are $220 retail.

Hey, would your offer still stand?

as it happens, I just won Another fantasy league (this time hockey). so I'm looking for new bits...let me know, thanks.

 

[Lunch Box]

The Therminator is a nice piece of kit. :thumbup

 

[Ozymandias]

Hey, would your offer still stand?

as it happens, I just won Another fantasy league (this time hockey). so I'm looking for new bits...let me know, thanks.

Aw man! You JUST missed out. It literally got shipped to its new owner last week. I do have the hop blocker up for sale though. $40 Won't fit my new boil kettle.

 

[Lunch Box]

You're such a hop blocker, Oz

 

[Ozymandias]

You're such a hop blocker, Oz

And I approve! :laughing

 

[Ozymandias]

I've come to the conclusion that I think I'm going to have to switch to some other brand of yeast. I'm not a fan of this new White Labs packaging.

 

[byke]

I'm looking at putting something together from scratch and have been watching videos on the three main processes; extract, BIAB and all grain. Don't really have much interest in extract, but something I'm confused about is why everything isn't BIAB? From what I can tell, all that's really happening is that you're swapping the filtering via false bottom and using an x micron bag instead, which seems way more convenient. What is lost with BIAB that you gain with a proper all grain setup? Cost-wise, I really like the idea of doing everything in a single kettle.

Also, is there anything different about the grain with BIAB? I see most BIAB kits are 3 gallon, but what's to stop you from buying a 10 gallon all grain kit and using the BIAB process? Are the grains ground differently?

 

[Stormdragon]

BIAB is a great method for average beers, and relatively small amounts of wort. Once you get into high gravity beers that fill your kettle, you find that efficiency drops off a bit, and it's darned hard to suspend 20~40 pounds of grain over the kettle long enough to drain well. You also want a good double lined kettle so your bag and grain at the bottom don't scorch and adhere to the kettle.
Some folks do do large BIAB setups after going to the trouble of making a frame or tripod so they can suspend the bigger bags over the bigger kettles.

As always in these discussions, IMHO, and YMMV.

 

[byke]

Right on, so it is mostly physical issues. I found some articles where people were hanging the bags from ladders, or rigged up a pulley systems from the rafters, stuff like that did seem kind of annoying. Also read about a slight increase in sediment, but it sounds like there really isn't much of a difference and the three pot systems are mostly for ease/convenience, excluding cleaning of course. I'll have to think about that, but I suppose there's no harm in starting with BIAB since the kettle would be just as usable with an all grain setup.