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Fancy Gear/Crazy Gear - a walk on the wild side

Post #1 made 11 years ago
by GuingesRock
Mad_Scientist, The blizzard woke me up early this morning. I’m sitting here waiting for the house to blow away (It’s a complete whiteout outside) and I have been looking through your photos. You have all the latest fancy gear! Your setup looks like Huston Texas a bit. I think you might be designing a rocket. Something’s afoot there.

I’ve seen your fermentor online. How the heck do those fermentors work? What’s that thing that looks like a Corny lid on the top of it? Do they ferment under pressure? Do they have a pressure relief valve? I’m wondering if I had one of those, if I could leave the beer in that and serve from it, without kegging. Is there any way I could hook that up to CO2 at 5 PSI to keep some carbonation in and keep the air out as the beer is dispensed. I heard they take a certain amount of pressure. I only like slightly carbonated beer, and I don't usually age the beer styles that I make.

Would anyone post pictures and explanations of their fancy gear?

Cabin fever is getting to me and I’d like to take a walk on the wild side of brewing.
Last edited by GuingesRock on 09 Feb 2013, 18:11, edited 4 times in total.
Guinges

Post #2 made 11 years ago
by Mad_Scientist
GR, you got some bad weather there! I am a born and raised southern boy in the south, I did not move from my home town.

I'm sorry to disappoint you, I DO NOT have that fancy gear anymore. I sold my Blichmann conical, pump, Blichmann plate chiller, and oxygen system. I also sold my 10 gallon update international pot, hopstopper and 'low boy' black burner. With the sell of those items I purchased more corny kegs, spunding valve parts, beer keg for keggle conversion, keggle add-ons (sight tube and 3 piece valve), Blichmann burner with extension legs, used kegerator (I converted the sanke tap and serving line to 3 gas lines to hold 3 homebrew cornys, ss tower, Perlick 525 SS faucet, and new blue digital temp. control), another immersion chiller, and gram scale.

I kept my DIY 10 gallon beverage cooler mush tun with copper manifold and refractometer.

My photo stream shows what I was doing at the time of the post. My processes have changed over time, i.e. I am not fermenting in plastic buckets, I squeeze my bag in-place via the pully using 2 pot lids and I do not tie my bag off to the side when applying heat but raise it with the pully and I pressure ferment.

I guess I traded bling for other fancy bling gear, after all I am MAD, h@#$ even CRAZY!

Nobody needs a fancy conical, you can make good beer in a plastic bucket, brew on GR and don't get wrapped up in fancy equipment. With your experience, you may add some equipment, to suit you. I would recommend to anybody new to start with the basics.

~richard z mad scientist
    • SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America

Post #3 made 11 years ago
by thughes
I would have to offer that the mark of experience can often be observed in those that have gone full circle from simple, to a shed full of fancy equiptment, back to simple. As you gain experience you will find that all of the expensive/fancy goodies in the world will not compensate for poor technique. Some of the best brewers here in these forums are using nothing more than a pot, a bag, and a burner (and most of these folks have a shed full of fancy gear that has sat unused for many moons). Just my observations.....

---Todd
WWBBD?
    • SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America

Post #4 made 11 years ago
by joshua
Good Day, Don't forget the MASH Tun and Hot Liquer Tun, and when you go NO-Chill/Slo-Chill the IC or Plate chiller.

Then, you buy MANY 5 gallon Plastic Fermenters, when they are on Sale!
Honest Officer, I swear to Drunk, I am Not God.
    • SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America

Post #6 made 11 years ago
by joshua
GR, That's not BIAB, That's 3 vessel, Come on, mang.......
Honest Officer, I swear to Drunk, I am Not God.
    • SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America

Post #7 made 11 years ago
by GuingesRock
joshua wrote:That's not BIAB, That's 3 vessel, Come on, mang.......
:clap: :lol: :lol:

Mad_Scientist wrote:
after all I am MAD, h@#$ even CRAZY!

mad scientist
:) Mad_Scientist. I can feel a new thread coming on ;) how to be a crazy brewer, or maybe just how to be crazy. I'll just edit the title of this one and put in the word crazy. You’re an inspiration. Don’t lose your craziness. It's keeping you young :)

“The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys” :party:

Someone must have some fancy gear to show off/discuss :?: What about a fancy bar :?: If I had the money, I'd like to make a small English pub in my house, complete with dart board.

All I have is a fancy pot from here. Oh! and some nice simple beer glasses, and just the usual Cornys and grain mill, and a bag. It's a fancy bag.

I have some fancy shiny "economy" kegs from here. I love them. They are the same price as used Corneys, free shipping in Canada too. They are new and therefore have none of the glitches that my used Corneys have. Slightly better design too. You can get normal size, but also half size, which is great for small batches. The big ones always seem to be about the same price as the small ones. I wish I had got these for all my kegs. I keep having to frig with the used kegs and replace parts, just like having an old car.
Pot.jpg
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Last edited by GuingesRock on 10 Feb 2013, 08:50, edited 2 times in total.
Guinges

Post #8 made 11 years ago
by GuingesRock
thughes wrote:I would have to offer that the mark of experience can often be observed in those that have gone full circle from simple, to a shed full of fancy equipment, back to simple.---Todd
Todd, You’re getting oak barrels. http://www.biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php ... 898#p27898 They look fancy! ;)

You’ll probably say that oak barrels are the epitome of non-fanciness and few could argue with that. Maybe it's a crazy idea :) maybe it's not so crazy :sad:

It would be great to have a rack of oak casks behind the bar of my old English pub, when I get around to making it. Nicer than those stainless steel gizmos (#5) I had my eye on.
bates-in-pub (Downton Abbey).jpg
edna-stalks-branson-at-the-pub (Downton Abbey).jpg
Todd's barrels.jpg
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Last edited by GuingesRock on 11 Feb 2013, 18:38, edited 2 times in total.
Guinges

Post #10 made 11 years ago
by thughes
Here ya go GR, if you're really interesed in doing cask ales yourself:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brew ... er-engines

I like this kit but I couldn't possibly drink 5 gallons before it went bad so I'd also have to invest in a CO2 breather.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brew ... -base.html

---Todd
Last edited by thughes on 12 Feb 2013, 20:20, edited 2 times in total.
WWBBD?
    • SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America

Post #12 made 11 years ago
by thughes
A CO2 breather is a device that hooks up to your CO2 tank and provides CO2 to the cask at atmospheric pressure. This allows the CO2 to replace O2 as beer is drawn off (to prevent spoilage) but not at a pressure high enough to actually provide any additional carbonation. I imagine that wooden barrels are too porous to utilize a breather, you'd have to go with a SS pin or firkin.
WWBBD?
    • SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America

Post #14 made 11 years ago
by thughes
Do the research on the breather, you can build you own using a propane regulator from a camper (I think you blokes call campers a "caravan") for 1/3 the cost of buying.
WWBBD?
    • SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America

Post #15 made 11 years ago
by GuingesRock
I have a friend who has a "house pub" he said I could post pictures. I haven't been around there yet, but he makes his own Guinness and he has nitrogen for it. He's a telephone engineer and he restored the old phone and made it fully functional.

envy envy
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Guinges

Post #16 made 11 years ago
by GuingesRock
thughes wrote:Do the research on the breather, you can build you own using a propane regulator from a camper (I think you blokes call campers a "caravan") for 1/3 the cost of buying.
Why do you need that fancy breather thing? Why couldn't a person hook the cask directly to a CO2 tank with a regulator set to a very low pressure?

The CO2 would probably only need to be turned on when beer ws being poured.
Last edited by GuingesRock on 15 Feb 2013, 09:17, edited 2 times in total.
Guinges
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