PART 3
This is the evolution of my brewing journey. From the first beers I have made to where I am today as well as a guide for beginners who are not sure where to start. And to the expert brewers who can relate, or get a laugh from the madness that occurs.
Creating an annual advent calendar really expanded my brewing journey going from all grain 5 gallon batches to small 2.5 gallon and 1.64 gallon batches using LME, DME, Adjuncts and other flavouring. Playing with different hops and yeasts and how they change the profile of the beer and how to get more body and head retention. Making beer and designing recipes became easy and fun, a long way from the recipe book i started out with, the stress of not knowing if my beer would turn out after such a long time waiting for them to carbonate was no longer a worry. one of my favourite resources became BREWGR and still is for building a beer recipe. My biggest problem became my equipment and bottling.
I found regulating the temperature in my cooler mash ton was difficult and changing depending on how much grain was in the bill. the strike temperature didn't always hit my mash temperature and moving from plastic bottles to swing top was ok but still more work then it was worth. As i have been brewing more frequently I set up a permanent brewing station in my garage. Being cold in the winter running a gas burner wasn't ideal so I decided it was time to change my set up. I drilled a hole in my brewing kettle and bolted in an electric heating element, went down to my local electrical supplier got some contactors, switches and ordered an amp meter and PID. I wired up my own 240 control unit and turned my brewery all electric. I was still using a cooler mash ton as i only had the one brew kettle but now my home brewery was starting to take shape. Getting away from glass carboys helped knock time off the overall production as they are hard to handle and clean and finally I invested into co2 a couple kegs and turned an old fridge into a giant kegerator. My brewing process from grain to glass went from 4 weeks to 10 days. I will discuss fermenting in a keg later but i can have a beer ready to drink in 3 days, all bed green but still a good beer.
After 12 years of brewing with lots of changes to equipment and and technique I have found my set up ideal to keep my passion of brewing going without having so much product i can become my own micro brewery. So today I have a set up that can produce 8 gallon run or a 1 gallon. I mash my grains in my boil kettle in a basket this way i can step mash and there is no need for a mash ton, just lift the grains out and boil. I have a conical Fermentor, 2 5gal bucket Fermenters and a 3 gallon and a few kegs. My brew day sits around 3 hours however sanitizing and clean up are much quicker and I can be pouring the first glass of a new run in 5 days. I tend to stay away from exotic or heavy flavoured beers and stick to 6 recipes i like that are consistent mostly everyone will enjoy while once in a while trying some thing more unique but in a small batch. My journey in brewing came with its challenges and took quite some time to find what equipment worked best for my needs. For advise for those just starting out or thinking of I would recommend sticking to small runs of 2.5 gallons or less. Start with a malt extract and some steeping grains play with hops and yeast strains with one recipe. Pick one or two styles and work with them for a bit then start to branch out. this will keep the cost down and brewing time down. When you decide to start brewing all grain beer having the right equipment is imperative. Be ready to spend some money but with a good boil kettle a conical fermenter a mash ton or grain basket and a couple kegs and some CO2 from the start will make brewing enjoyable and easy. from here you can grow your brewery if you want to mimic a micro brewery or keep a small amount of equipment. If you are planning on going electric the grainfather is a great product but the 120volt is a little slow. I would recommend going with 240 if possible either way getting set up right for your space and future brewing goals will keep the passion of brewing alive.