re: Homebrewing Thread: Volume II

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I tend to prefer the wyeast at 58

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I used Yeast 2112 and have it fermenting at 60 F. I checked on it this morning and it is fermenting well. It almost looks like an ale fermentation.

Ooh, I like the markings on the side, definitely going to have to do that.

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To keep an eye on the level while filling I used this:
Ball Float

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That didn't work for me for filling the keg. The float wasn't buoyant enough to drag the ball up with it. So I contacted them to see if they had a solution. They sent me some "double floats" that work great. It's like they took two of their regular floats and stuck them together. Now they have enough buoyancy to pull the ball up as the keg is being filled.

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I was looking at the All Grain kit to start. Is that too ambitious for a beginner?

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A lot of beginners start with extract kits but I wish I'd jumped right into all grain from the get go. I don't think I ever made an extract beer that I was really proud of. I know it can be done but I never was able to.

That said, I'd hold off on kegging until you know this is something you're going to be interested in.

That looks like a decent kit (the first one) but if you're reasonably handy you should be able to build your own mash tun for a lot less money. I'm not that DIY-oriented, yet I was able to make a really good mash tun from an Ice Cube cooler and a few feet of copper tubing. Also the 8 gallon pot is going to be a little tight. You're going to have to watch for boilovers very carefully.

Also the second link is busted. Here's one that works: LINK

I would also consider getting the larger mash tun. I used a 5 gallon cooler for a few years and it was occasionally somewhat limiting.

One thing to start considering is how to control fermentation temperature. You can just ferment the beer where ever and hope for the best but if you can keep temperatures in check during fermentation, that's the number one most important thing you can do to improve your beers. One way to go if you don't have something like a spare fridge laying around is to place the fermenter in a large bucket of water and add ice to the water and/or drape wet towels over the fermenter to create sort of a swamp cooler.

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Also the 8 gallon pot is going to be a little tight.

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Get at least a 10 gallon boil kettle and a 10 gallon mash tun. I started with an 8 gallon boil kettle and bought a 10 gallon after 4 or 5 brews. A 5 gallon mash tun is useless IMO.

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even 10 gallon can get tight if you want to use a no-sparge method

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Yea, I always sparge but now have a 25 gallon mash tun and 15 gallon brew kettle......just in case......

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Yea, I always sparge

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I don't bother if I can fit it into the tun. I've been making a few <1.040 beers that fit nicely into it and saving the time

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Could I just use my current boiling pot? 80 qt? Any time of special sanitization? I would think clorox and a pressure washer would be sufficient

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I'd recommend against clorox. There are a number of no-rinse sanitizers that are very effective. My recommendation would be StarSan or SaniClean. Also if you're referring to sanitizing your kettle, there's no need. Just keep it clean (with PBW) and you should be good.

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I guess it's a better idea to get this kit LINK And then add a 15 gal pot (used Keggle) and 10 gal mash tun seperate

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Pretty much what I did. Bought the kit like in your link and then bought my kettles separate. ...

Then read This Book.. It gets pretty technical but the overviews of basic brewing are what you want to read. There is time enough to pull your hair out learning water chemistry at a later date.