Beginning Brewer Equipment and Brewing Questions

Steve Russell said:
my job requires me to travel the beginning of August and all that overtime is buying my equipment. :) I am a NEIPA fan or Hazy IPA but that may be to robust for my first brew. I have seen a couple recipes for basic NEIPA but the dry hopping worries me some with the possibility of oxidation or contamination.
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Welcome Steve! I too admire the jumping in with all 4 but would temper it and suggest some simple for your maiden brew especially if your gonna be traveling..maybe something more forgiving like a plain old pale ale like Zambezi suggests. I don't know how predictable or dependable your schedule is gonna be but I'd factor in the risk..or impact of having to leave your batch in the carboy a few days longer because of a last minute customer or manager's decision that keeps you away from home and your brewing.
 
After careful consideration and welcomed feedback, I purchased a couple buckets, one for fermentation and one for bottling. The buckets were very cheap and as previously mentioned, it gives me a good starting point. I purchased accessories needed to transfer wort and will look into getting bottles and capper also. Everything is ordered except the Grainfather which I will purchase after my two weeks of overtime. Wish me luck! :)
 
Welcome to Brewers Friend Steven, and good luck with your new obsession!
For sparge water I use a cheap SS pot and a sous vide stick.
If your goal is to brew Hazy Juicy's, oxidation is fairly critical to avoid. This can be difficult, but not impossible when bottling.
Here is an article on the subject that may be helpful https://www.beercraftr.com/bottle-conditioning-new-england-ipa/
Grainfather is a great choice for a brewing machine, I have a Brewzilla which is very similar.
David Heath has a number of videos on Grainfather that may be helpfull.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeY07JqsrXM_JFj8NER5T8QqeZSyIJtu9
 
Craigerrr said:
Welcome to Brewers Friend Steven, and good luck with your new obsession!
For sparge water I use a cheap SS pot and a sous vide stick.
If your goal is to brew Hazy Juicy's, oxidation is fairly critical to avoid. This can be difficult, but not impossible when bottling.
Here is an article on the subject that may be helpful https://www.beercraftr.com/bottle-conditioning-new-england-ipa/
Grainfather is a great choice for a brewing machine, I have a Brewzilla which is very similar.
David Heath has a number of videos on Grainfather that may be helpfull.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeY07JqsrXM_JFj8NER5T8QqeZSyIJtu9
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Thank you for the advice, I have watched quite a few video's on the Grainfather and some from David Heath, he is very informative. I am heading to my local brew store today to see what they have for equipment and recipes. I am going to start basic with a blonde and not jump into the Hazy's or Juicy's until I become efficient with the whole process and especially bottling as you mentioned.
 
Steve Russell said:
Thank you for the advice, I have watched quite a few video's on the Grainfather and some from David Heath, he is very informative. I am heading to my local brew store today to see what they have for equipment and recipes. I am going to start basic with a blonde and not jump into the Hazy's or Juicy's until I become efficient with the whole process and especially bottling as you mentioned.
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BTW that is a really good article, I just finished reading it! Makes me a bit nervous but no NEIPA's for a while anyway!
 
My latest update; I returned from my business trip Aug 13 and got my Grainfather G30 on Sunday Aug 15. I assembled it and turned it on and tested the controller. Hopefully working off a brewers list, I have gathered all my other equipment needed so my plan is to clean everything this Friday 20 Aug and then brew on Saturday 21 Aug. I am going to my local brew shop and get a Blonde Ale recipe tomorrow. After getting lots of good advice here I feel pretty confident the process will be go pretty well. I have watched numerous videos and read the Grainfather instruction manual a few times! I will take some pics and update the post once I get the wort to the fermenter. :) Thank you all again for the kind words and feedback.
 
I completed my brew yesterday, it seemed to go ok, I had issues with the Mash In and Mash out part though, maybe have over done the recirculation of the wort through the grains. I posted a thread if any of you have any suggestions or the answer. Thanks
Steve
 
No such thing as over-recirculation. It'll be fine.
 
I recirculate from the start of the mash to the finish. The Germans have been doing something similar for decades. I believe it better for the beer.
 
I put my blonde ale in the keg today, my final gravity was 1.010 so I guess the yeast did its job even though original gravity was a bit low at 1.042 and I didnt see any bubbling in the airlock. Its in the fridge now going to chill it for a day and a half and then use a quick carb lid I got from my local brew store. According to the owner of the store it works pretty good, you add 2 PSI every hour until you get to serving pressure and it should be good in 48 hours. Going to brew and easy NEIPA on Sunday also.
 
Zambezi Special said:
By the way, you do not need expensive equipment to make good beer, but it is nice ;)
/QUOTE]

I probably wouldn't buy big expensive equipment even if I could afford it. I make really good beer with a 5.5 gallon s s pot, a 5 gallon bucket, a bottling bucket and bottles, along with the stopper, airlock and assorted hoses and odds and ends.
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HighVoltageMan! said:
I recirculate from the start of the mash to the finish.
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+1 on that. I use a HERMS system so I recirculate though the HERMS and back on top of the grain bed for the entire process to maintain temperature. Pretty much the same for anyone using a RIMS system also.
 
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